Kurt Cobain’s guitar from Unplugged gig sells for record £4.8m

The guitar used by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain during the band’s MTV Unplugged in New York concert has been sold for $6 million (£4.8 million) at auction.

The 1959 Martin D-18E featured in the grunge group’s performance in November 1993, five months before Cobain’s death at the age of 27.

There had been intense interest in the guitar in the weeks leading up to the sale and organisers Julien’s Auctions opened the bidding at $1m but that was quickly shattered.

The winning bid of $6,010,000 came from Australian businessman Peter Freedman, owner of Rode Microphones, who bid in person in Beverly Hills, seeing off competition from around the world.

The auctioneer said the sale set five world records, including most expensive guitar and most expensive piece of memorabilia.

Mr Freedman plans to display the guitar in a worldwide tour, taking the instrument to galleries and art spaces with all proceeds going to the performing arts.

The guitar was the seventh of only 302 D-18ES built by Martin and was customised by Cobain, who added a Bartolini pick-up to the soundhole.

It came with the original hard-shell case decorated by the singer-songwriter with a flyer from the punk band Poison Idea’s 1990 album Feel The Darkness.

Mr Freedman said he was “scared sh**less and shaking” when the auctioneer’s gavel dropped but he is proud to be able to use the guitar to support artists.

He said: “It’s a big deal. I didn’t even buy it for me.

“I paid for it but I’m going to use it to highlight the plight of artists worldwide by touring it around and then I’m going to sell it and use the dough for that as well, later.”

Mr Freedman, whose family first opened an electronics shop in Sydney in 1967, added: “The musicians and artists have supported my family since the 60s. We’ve been in that game forever so I’ve been very lucky.”

He said he had no limit on what he would have paid, adding: “I was going to get it”.

Mr Freedman said: “There were some seriously rich people here and I suppose somebody who has got billions and billions just pays, what, 20, 30 million? But I would have kept going.”

The auctioneer has previously broken world records for Cobain-related items.

In October last year, the cardigan he wore for the Unplugged performance sold for £270,000.