John Lennon guitar misses out on £400,000 reserve at auction

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John Lennon guitar misses out on £400,000 reserve at auction
Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville model hollow body guitar reached £380,000 in London
By Liam Murphy
Nov 24, 2014

A classic guitar used by John Lennon, during the recording for Paperback Writer, in 1966, failed to sell at auction when it did not reach its £400,000 reserve.

Bids for the Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville model hollow body guitar reached £380,000 at Le Méridien Hotel, in Piccadilly, London.

It is now hoped a private sale can be arranged, according to the managing director of TracksAuction.com Paul Wane, who said it had been mainly private collectors bidding for the guitar.

Mr Wane said: “It didn’t reach its reserve, which was £400,000.”

The guitar, which had been the star of the auction and had been predicted to sell for between £400,000 and £600,000, was given to John’s cousin, David Birch, when he visited the Lennons in their Weybridge home in late 1967.


John Lennons Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville model hollow body guitar which failed to reach its £400,000 reserve at auction

According to the auction description, David had asked his famous relative if he had a guitar that he no longer wanted as he was trying to get a group together with some mates at the time.

He said: “I was just cheeky enough to ask John for one of his spare guitars.

“I had my eye on a blue Fender Stratocaster that was lying in the studio but John suggested and gave me the Gretsch while we were talking.”


John Lennons Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville model hollow body guitar which failed to reach its £400,000 reserve at auction

The Gretsch 6120, serial number 53940, has been owned by David Birch ever since.

The auctioneers say that guitars owned and played by John Lennon from the Beatles period are extremely rare in themselves “but a Lennon-owned guitar which has the history of a close family connection, unquestionable legal title and clear-cut picture identification is rare beyond belief”.

David had previously loaned the Gretsch guitar to The Beatles Story in 2010, and later to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2012.

The guitar was used at the time the Beatles were recording Paperback Writer, which was the fourth track recorded at the Revolver sessions at EMI’s studios, in Abbey Road.

Mr Wane said the guitar could still be sold, and added: “There might be a private sale following the auction.”

However, Mr Wayne said other items had sold well, including an early edition of Merseybeat which said was sold for “an incredible” £9,000.