This catalogue saw the (re-)introduction of the late sixties Gibson Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Standard (see page 69) and the short-lived Hofner Club 70. Selmer were the exclusive United Kingdom distributors of Hofner and Gibson at the time, and this catalogue contains a total of 18 electric guitars, 7 bass guitars, 37 acoustics, and 2 Hawaiian guitars - all produced outside the UK and imported by Selmer, with UK prices included in guineas. Looking like a futuristic vision of a medieval lute with its pentagonal shape, the guitar is unique in both its design and its history.Scan of 1968/1969 Selmer guitar catalogue (printed July 1968), showing the entire range of electric and acoustic guitars distributed by the company: guitars by Hofner, Gibson, Selmer and Giannini. If I had any kind of aptitude, it’s the sort of guitar I’d want for myself! As I didn’t know my father, it’s quite special to gain this further insight and to discover that our tastes align.” It’s obviously super cool, regardless of its previous owner, and it sounds great, and even though I wouldn’t know what the hell to do with them, the geek in me loves all the built-in effects. From everything I’ve been told about my father, he was very obsessed with how things looked, and so to me the Phantom makes sense as it very much feels like Ian Curtis’s guitar. I grew up around and have worked with musicians, and although I’ve seen a lot of guitars, I’ve never seen anything like this. Since I’m a visual person, the Phantom is especially interesting to me, as the design is rather unusual. I’m not at all musical, yet it is fascinating to see my father’s guitar, I mean, it’s such a personal thing. “The guitar came to me at a time in my life when I was keen to learn more about my late father. Natalie Curtis, a brilliant photographer in her own right, offered the following statement on the sale: Sumner finally gave it to Curtis’s daughter Natalie, who after some thought, decided to put it up for auction with Bonhams. Following Curtis’s death, the iconic guitar ping-ponged between Bernard Sumner and his Electronic bandmate and Smiths co-founder Johnny Marr. The instrument also toured with Curtis during the band’s 1980 European tour and was also used on the recording of the song “Heart and Soul” from the band’s second studio album Closer. This past Tuesday, Ian Curtis’ signature Vox Phantom VI Special was auctioned off by Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Sale for an eye-popping £162,562 (or $211,513 in US Dollars).īought in September of 1979 by Joy Division’s manager, Rob Gretton, the guitar most famously appeared in Joy Division’s video for “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, where Ian Curtis is seen as taking over guitar duties, while Bernard Sumner played keys. An icon of Joy Division history has taken up a new residence.
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