Jeff Beck guitars used in Bowie performance and with The Yardbirds up for sale

Guitars utilized by “maestro” Jeff Beck astatine the opening of his vocation with The Yardbirds and successful a 1973 show with David Bowie are to spell to auction.

The guitarist, who died aged 78 successful January 2023, had wanted his guitars to beryllium sold to different musicians aft his death, his woman said, arsenic she enactment the items connected merchantability astatine Christie’s, saying she hoped the winning bidders would beryllium capable to “move person to the genius who played them”.

Jeff Beck: The Guitar Collection volition diagnostic much than 130 of his instruments, and includes his recognisable 1954 Oxblood Gibson Les Paul, which is estimated to marque up to £500,000.

The guitar was seen connected the screen of his 1975 solo medium Blow By Blow, was utilized successful the supergroup Beck, Bogert And Appice, and astatine the 1973 quality with Bowie.

Beck joined the vocalist and his set The Spiders From Mars connected the last day of the Ziggy Stardust circuit astatine Hammersmith Odeon to execute The Jean Genie, The Beatles’ Love Me Do and Chuck Berry’s Round And Round.

It was filmed and recorded for the performance movie Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture and its accompanying soundtrack, but the clips featuring Beck lone appeared connected the 50th day variation aft his death. The instrumentalist was said to beryllium unhappy with the recording.

Beck’s widow Sandra Beck said: “These guitars were his large emotion and aft astir 2 years of his passing it’s clip to portion with them arsenic Jeff wished.

“After immoderate hard reasoning I decided they request to beryllium shared, played and loved again.

“It is simply a monolithic wrench to portion with them but I cognize Jeff wanted for maine to stock this love. He was a maestro of his trade. He ne'er lusted aft commercialized success. For him it was conscionable astir the music.

“He perpetually reinvented himself with his philharmonic absorption and I could not azygous retired 1 person, 1 signaling oregon 1 guitar arsenic his favourite.

“I anticipation the aboriginal guitarists who get these items are capable to determination person to the genius who played them.

“Thank you each for considering a tiny portion of Jeff that I americium present hoping to stock with you.”

Also successful the auction is simply a 1958 Gibson Les Paul from his clip successful 1960s British R&B radical The Yardbirds, utilized to laic down immoderate of the band’s best-known and astir influential recordings, specified arsenic Over Under Sideways Down and Happenings Ten Years Time Ago, and the medium Roger The Engineer.

The guitar was besides utilized connected the archetypal Jeff Beck Group medium Truth, which featured performances from Sir Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, and is expected to scope up to £60,000.

There is besides a Tele-Gib customized guitar enactment unneurotic by pickup decorator Seymour Duncan for Beck successful 1973, which combines a Fender Telecaster assemblage and cervix with a brace of Gibson PAF humbucking pickups removed from a Flying V, which is expected to fetch up to £150,000.

Other guitars see a 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, utilized connected the Jeff Beck Group medium Beck-Ola, fixed to him by Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott, a Pink Jackson Soloist utilized to grounds with the likes of Tina Turner, and a achromatic Fender Stratocaster utilized to grounds 4 workplace LPs.

They volition beryllium auctioned connected January 22, 2025, astatine Christie’s London headquarters, aft going connected nationalist show successful Los Angeles from December 4 to 6, 2024, and successful London from January 15 until the merchantability day.