Auction in London: Jeff Beck’s guitar collection: Ochsenblut and Tina Turner

A Gibson Les Paul guitar that belonged to British rock legend Jeff Beck (“Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”) could fetch more than half a million euros at auction in the UK. This is what the experts at the traditional auction house Christie’s expect.

On January 22nd, guitars, amplifiers and other things from Beck’s estate will go under the hammer. They can be seen by the public in advance in an exhibition at Christie’s.

Around 130 instruments under the hammer

“Jeff Beck: The Guitar Collection” includes around 130 instruments from the exceptional guitarist’s almost six-decade career – from his joining the influential band The Yardbirds in March 1965 to his final tour in 2022. “The collection represents the entire career of one “One of the greatest rock guitarists of all time,” said Kerry Keane, musical instrument expert at Christie’s London, to the German Press Agency. “Jeff Beck set real standards with his electric guitar.”

At the center of the auction is the Gibson Les Paul known as “The Oxblood” (named after the color), which Beck played during the recording of “Blow By Blow”. The musician is pictured with her on the cover of the 1975 album. “It was really an iconic image of him from that period of his career in the mid-’70s,” said Amelia Walker, head of private and major collections at Christie’s London. Bids of up to 600,000 euros (500,000 pounds) are expected.

Also being auctioned is his guitar “Anoushka” (estimated value: up to 35,000 euros), which Beck played in hundreds of live performances from the 1990s and at a concert in the White House for President Barack Obama, as well as his “Tele-Gib”, which he already used during his time with the band The Yardbirds and which could bring in the equivalent of up to 180,000 euros.

Tina Turner and a special autograph

Another highlight is a pink Grover Jackson electric guitar, which Jeff Beck nicknamed “Tina”. The name came about after Tina Turner signed this guitar in an unusual way. Beck, who played with Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and countless other stars in his long career, contributed to Turner’s album “Private Dancer” (1984).

Instead of a fee for his work, he asked Tina Turner for an autograph on his guitar. “That’s really the cracker of the story,” says music expert Keane. “Tina Turner takes a knife out of her handbag, carves her name into the guitar and then paints over it with some metallic blue nail polish.” The instrument with the special autograph could find a new owner for an estimated 15,000 euros (12,000 pounds).

Jeff Beck died of bacterial meningitis on January 10, 2023. His widow, Sandra Beck, said her husband would have wanted the instruments to be played and loved.

The exhibition “Jeff Beck: The Guitar Collection” is open to everyone free of charge until the day of the auction. Almost exactly a year ago, Christie’s auctioned off part of Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler’s guitar collection. At that time, the estimated values ​​of many instruments were significantly exceeded.