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Australian makes Kurt Cobain guitar the world's most expensive, with $9m purchase - Sydney Morning Herald

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana played the guitar during the taping of MTV Unplugged in 1993.

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana played the guitar during the taping of MTV Unplugged in 1993.Credit:Frank Micelotta

Beverly Hills: Grunge became gold when the guitar Kurt Cobain played on Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged performance sold to an Australian music entrepreneur for nearly $9 million, breaking the world record for the most expensive guitar ever sold.

The 1959 Martin D-18E that Cobain played in the band's rare acoustic performance and subsequent live album was sold to Australian Peter Freedman, owner of Rode Microphones, for $US6 million ($A8.8 million) on Saturday at the Music Icons event run by Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, California.

Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E guitar, which sold for almost $9 million.

Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E guitar, which sold for almost $9 million.

The price for the guitar smashed expectations it would sell for over $1.5 million.

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Rode Microphones is headquartered in Sydney's Silverwater with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Seoul.

The bids for the iconic guitar opened at $US1 million for the sale that ended up breaking several world records.

Portrait of Peter Freedman, Founder of Rode Microphones, at its factory in Silverwater.

Portrait of Peter Freedman, Founder of Rode Microphones, at its factory in Silverwater.Credit:Wolter Peeters

The record was previously held by a black Stratocaster belonging to Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, which sold for $US3.95 million last year.

Cobain used the guitar to play tunes including About a Girl and All Apologies at the November 18, 1993, show in New York that came less than five months before the singer and songwriter died at just 27. The performance was played hundreds of times on MTV in the months following his death, and the album version released in November 1994 sold more than 5 million copies.

The sale sets five new world records including that of the most expensive guitar, according to the statement. Julien's has sold other Cobain memorabilia in the past, including a cardigan worn at the same MTV performance for $334,000 and his Fender Mustang guitar, which sold for $340,000.

The “Blue Angel” Cloud 2 electric guitar custom-made for Prince in the 1980s is polished at Julien's Auctions warehouse ahead of the auction.

The “Blue Angel” Cloud 2 electric guitar custom-made for Prince in the 1980s is polished at Julien's Auctions warehouse ahead of the auction. Credit:AP

A day earlier at the same auction event, a custom guitar played by Prince at the height of his stardom in the 1980s and 1990s sold for $US563,500, a small sum compared with the Cobain guitar but well over the $US100,000 to $US200,000 it was expected to fetch.

Elvis Presley wears the ivory macrame belt with accented reflective stones that sold in auction.

Elvis Presley wears the ivory macrame belt with accented reflective stones that sold in auction.

Prince played the blindingly blue guitar with the artist's "love" symbol on its neck beginning on the 1984 Purple Rain Tour, as well as on the classic albums Lovesexy and Sign O' The Times. He used it into the early 1990s.

Archivists going through Prince's possessions at his Paisley Park home and musical headquarters in Minnesota recently found the guitar that was thought to be lost during the four years since his death from an overdose at 57.

Also Friday, a macrame belt that Elvis Presley wore about 30 times on stage brought in nearly 10 times its expected price, with a final bid of $US298,000, and an ivory gown worn by Madonna in her 1990 Vogue video sold for $US179,200.

AP, Bloomberg

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Australian makes Kurt Cobain guitar the world's most expensive, with $9m purchase - Sydney Morning Herald
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