Highest Bidder At Pink Floyd's David Gilmour Guitar Auction Revealed

(hennemusic) The highest bidder at Pink Floyd legend David Gilmour's record-setting June 20 guitar auction at Christie's in New York has been revealed.

Rolling Stone reports Jim Irsay, lifelong Pink Floyd fan and billionaire owner of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, was the man responsible for spending a record-breaking $3,975,000 on Gilmour's famed "Black Strat," the Floyd frontman's instrument of choice on the band's iconic Seventies classics.

"I just love Pink Floyd, man, I cannot deny it," says Irsay. "I think [Roger] Waters' lyrics and Gilmour's playing and their whole story and prominence is just so profound that I cannot say enough about my excitement for this. ... David Gilmour stands by himself."

Placing his bids through a proxy, Irsay picked up another Gilmour artifact just prior to snagging the Black Strat, dropping $175,000 on the Pink Floyd-branded flight case that housed the guitar for decades.

"If I don't get the guitar, I'll look like a jackass," laughs the collector, who also owns axes originally played by Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Prince, among others. "But I love Strats, and this is the Strat. This is the one that was the signature guitar for those incredible Floyd leads."

The Christie's event also saw Irsay add a third Gilmour piece to his collection when he bid $1,095,000 for the 1969 Martin D-35 Gilmour used to record "Wish You Were Here." Read more watch a video of the auction here.

Stream David Gilmour's 'The Piper's Call Live Around The World'

Pink Floyd Icon David Gilmour Addresses Dark Side Wizard Of Oz Speculation

David Gilmour's The Tonight Show Appearance Goes Online

David Gilmour Releases 'Between Two Points' Featuring Romany Gilmour alt-J Remix

More David Gilmour News

Share this article