26 Jun 2016

Prince's ax under the hammer

1:53 pm on 26 June 2016

A Yellow Cloud electric guitar owned and played by the late pop star Prince has sold at auction in the US for $US137,500.

A Yellow Cloud electric guitar owned and played by the late pop star Prince has sold at auction in the US for $137,500 (£100,000).

Prince used the guitar in numerous concerts in the mid-1990s. Photo: AFP

Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale in Beverly Hills, California, said the custom made guitar had been a favourite of the musician.

It was bought by Jim Irsay, owner of the American Football team Indianapolis Colts, according to AP news agency.

Prince died from an accidental overdose at his Minnesota home in April.

The Yellow Cloud guitar was built in the late 1980s by Knut-Koupee Enterprises of Minneapolis and used in numerous concerts until the mid-1990s.

Mr Irsay is a well known collector of musical instruments. He also has items once owned by stars including Bob Dylan, Jon Lennon and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

Last December he was reported to have bought a drum kit played by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr for $US2.1 million.

A Prince owned and played custom made signature yellow cloud guitar (Circa 1988-1994) is displayed during a media preview June 22, 2016 at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, California. The guitar is one of the items offered in a live auction June 24-25.

Prince's signature yellow cloud guitar (Circa 1988-1994) was custom made by iKnut-Koupee Enterprises in Minneapolis. Photo: AFP

-BBC

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