Guitar used by Dave Grohl in 1997 video for Foo Fighters hit Monkey Wrench is set to fetch £30,000 at auction
- Gretsch White Falcon guitar was widely used in the band’s second studio album
- Featured in Monkey Wrench video – the first to include Taylor Hawkins on drums
- The electric guitar was bought by the band’s rhythm guitarist Pat Smear in 1996
- To be auctioned in September with photo of actress Drew Barrymore holding it
A guitar used by Dave Grohl in one of the Foo Fighters’ first hit videos is to go on sale, and is expected to fetch as much as £30,000.
The Gretsch White Falcon guitar was played by Grohl in the 1997 video for Monkey Wrench and was used widely for recording sessions on the band’s second studio album The Colour And The Shape, released that year.
The electric guitar was originally owned by the American rock band’s rhythm guitarist Pat Smear, who was a member of Foo Fighters between 1994 and 1997.
Smear, who was also the on-tour rhythm guitarist with Grohl’s previous band Nirvana, bought the guitar in 1996.
In a written provenance statement, he explained that he wanted to own a White Falcon having seen one of the instruments played by British new wave band Bow Wow Wow.
He said: ‘It instantly became one of my favourites, getting special treatment (note the ‘Stays on the bus’ sticker on the case) and was usually the one to pull out to play in hotel rooms and show off to visiting friends.’
An electric guitar played by Foo Fighters Dave Grohl and Pat Smear is expected to fetch as much as £30,000 when it goes up for auction in September
The Gretsch White Falcon guitar was played by Grohl in the 1997 video for Monkey Wrench (pictured)
The White Falcon, which is being sold by a private collector, is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £30,000 when auctioned at Wiltshire-based specialist music auctioneers Gardiner Houlgate on September 7.
The guitar is being sold with a Polaroid picture of Pat Smear holding it and three colour photographs of musician Tim Armstrong, from the punk rock band Rancid, actress Drew Barrymore and film director David Markey playing the guitar.
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs said: ‘This a very exciting guitar as it’s one of the few owned by Foo Fighters, arguably the biggest current rock band on Earth, ever to come to public auction.
‘Monkey Wrench was the band’s breakthrough single and also the first to feature drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died tragically this March.
The guitar comes with a colour photograph of American actress Drew Barrymore playing it
Auctioneer Luke Hobbs (pictured) says this is one of the first Foo Fighter guitars ever to come to public auction
‘I’m expecting interest from around the world. The fact that it features so prominently in the band’s iconic Monkey Wrench video makes it all the more attractive to collectors and fans.’
Monkey Wrench is the lead single from the Foo Fighters’ second album ‘The Colour and The Shape’, which peaked at number nine on the US Billboard mainstream rock chart and at number twelve in the UK singles chart.
It is widely regarded as one of the Foo Fighters’ best and most recognisable songs.
The iconic music video features Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Nate Mendel, and was the first music video from the band to feature Taylor Hawkins on drums.
Hawkins died after suffering a ‘cardiovascular collapse’ in his hotel room in Bogotá, Colombia in March at age 50.
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