Kurt Cobain guitar expected to fetch £100,000 at auction

A guitar smashed up onstage by Kurt Cobain on Nirvana’s last tour is up for auction – with the minimum bid set at £34,000 ($48,000).

The black and white Fender Stratocaster is expected to fetch upwards of £100,000 ($140,000) according to auction house Cooper Owen.

The guitar was used during Nirvana’s gig at Palais Omnisport in Rennes, France, on February 16, 1994. It was one of a batch sent to Cobain by Fender to be used in the band’s traditional end-of-set jams during which the frontman smashed up his instrument.

The seller says the guitar was destroyed and then rebuilt. A description in the listing reads: “I’ve been doing a lot of research about this guitar. According to James Vincent, Kurt’s guitar tech from December 1993 onwards, Kurt had five of these lefty black and white Strats, shipped by Fender specifically for the end of set jamming and destruction, as they were cheap and they were scared he would otherwise smash his new Mustangs.

“To my knowledge, everything is stock on this guitar, except from the neck, neck plate and strings of course, which are the first things to break on a guitar, which would later be pieced and glued back together by Jim Vincent with some odd parts. The tuning keys are Gotoh though, Kurt’s preferred brand.”

The auction runs until May 20.

Last year, a lock of Cobain’s hair and one his sweaters went up for auction in the US.

Earlier this month it was confirmed that a graphic novel based on Cobain’s life will be released this year.

The Fender Strat up for auction (Image credit: Cooper Owen Auctions)

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.