Brighton resident David Gilmour, who is the guitarist, singer and songwriter in the rock band Pink Floyd, raised $21.5 million last week when he auctioned off 126 of his guitars. He is donating all of this money to Client Earth “a charity that uses the power of the law to protect the planet and the people who live on it.”
The auction took place at Christies in New York City and lasted for more than eight hours, with bids from countries across the world. One of the 126 instruments on sale was the Gilmour’s black Fender Strattocaster, that was used to record the bands most famous albums, including “The Dark Side of The Moon”. The piece was initially appraised at $100,000 but sold for over three times the asking price at $3,975,000. This broke records as the most expensive guitar ever purchased – and it’s all going to charity!
The David Gilmour Guitar Collection, the largest and most comprehensive sale of guitars, was 100% sold and totaled $21,490,750 becoming the most valuable musical instruments sale in auction history. (Christies)
Gilmour tweeted:
“The global climate crisis is the greatest challenge that humanity will ever face, and we are within a few years of the effects of global warming being irreversible, as Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist said in a speech earlier this year, ‘Either we choose to go on as a civilization, or we don’t.’ The choice really is that simple, and I hope that the sale of these guitars will help ClientEarth in their cause to use the law to bring about real change. We need a civilized world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”
ClientEarth CEO James Thornton said:
“This is a truly humbling and extraordinary gift, which goes beyond our wildest expectations. It’s difficult to express just how deeply grateful we are to David for choosing ClientEarth as the beneficiary of this historic auction. The law is one of the most powerful tools we have to tackle the world’s increasing environmental problems. This gift is a phenomenal boost to our work using the law to tackle climate change and protect nature. It will allow us to play an even greater role in addressing the climate crisis and securing a healthy planet for future generations.”
Featured image: swimfinfan
