Syd Barrett’s Guitar Up for Auction
Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett’s 12 string guitar, which he discussed in his 1971 Rolling Stone interview, is up for auction by Cheffins. His nephew Mark Barrett, aged 57, is now selling the 12-string Yamaha acoustic guitar with proceeds to be split evenly between mental health charity Mind and the Arthur Rank Hospice in Shelford Bottom.
Edit: Items sold
Guitar £16,000k
Piper girlfriend copy £850
Spotlights £200
School photo £550
Garden furniture £1900
Total £19,500
Mark Barrett said the guitar was stored with his father, Alan Barrett – Syd’s brother – after the Hills Road house was sold in 1974. He said his uncle “never collected the guitar” and his father “continued to store it over three subsequent house moves, eventually offering it to me” after Syd’s death. “I finally collected it from my father’s house in November of 2020, shortly before he died,” he said. “Unfortunately, I never got to know my uncle Roger, though I would have loved to, but he was a recluse in his later years.”
The guitar has a serial number of 1090448 with a date code for October 21 1969.
After Syd Barrett passed away in 2006 from pancreatic cancer aged 60, the Cheffins auction house sold Syd’s posessions for £119,890.
The sale of the 12 string will take place on Thursday October 28, 2021 at 10am, along with some other Syd related items. Take a look at what is available on the Cheffin’s website.
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Syd Barrett 1971 Rolling Stone Interview
Syd thinks people who sing their own songs are boring. He has never recorded anyone else’s. He produces a guitar and begins to strum out a new version of “Love You,” from Madcap. “I worked this out yesterday. I think it’s much better. It’s my new 12-string guitar. I’m just getting used to it. I polished it yesterday.” It’s a Yamaha. He stops and eases it into a regular tuning, shaking his head. “I never felt so close to a guitar as that silver one with mirrors that I used on stage all the time. I swapped it for the black one, but I’ve never played it.”
Rolling Stone
“Still Life with Lemons and Green Bottles” up for auction
In addition to the guitar, the painting which holds the record for the highest price paid at the 2006 auction, is also up for auction with a guide price of £4k-£6k. The item originally sold for £9,500 so could be priced for a quick sale! This painting was done just months before Syd passed away.
The cheapest item in the 2006 auction went for £240 and was A homemade and stained garden table base (no top) and a bird table. I wonder what that’s worth today!
It would be great if a musician actually bought the guitar and made some music with it for people to enjoy. What a nice angle that would be to promote your material. and what an item to own!
Enjoy These
Syd Barrett paintings and artwork
