The Fool, one of Eric Clapton’s iconic guitars which he played while in his first supergroup Cream, sold for $1,270,000 to The Jim Irsay Collection after headlining the Played, Worn, & Torn: Rock ‘N’ Roll Iconic Guitars And Memorabilia Auction.
The 1964 Gibson SG electric guitar is known as Eric Clapton’s Fool guitar having been custom-painted with a psychedelic print by founding members of the Dutch art collective – Marijke Koger and Simon Posthuma – who became known as “The Fool”.
The Fool later collaborated with many other famous musicians, including designing costumes worn by The Beatles during their broadcast performance of “All You Need Is Love” and in their 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour, Julien’s Auctions said.
It is widely reported that Clapton received the guitar from The Beatles star George Harrison after the release of Cream’s 1966 album Fresh Cream and was his principal instrument to develop the “woman tone” which has become an influential sound in rock history, the auction house added.
The auction also saw other items from British stars go under the hammer, including a blue and white blazer worn by Sir Elton John in the music video for his 1984 single “Passengers” which sold for 5,200 dollars.
