Hendrix Burnt Special to be Auctioned

Only one guitar has the infamous claim of being the first guitar burnt onstage by legend Jimi Hendrix.  The 1965 Fender Stratocaster was doused with lighter fuel and set alight during a performance at London’s Finsbury Astoria in March 1967 – and Hendrix himself was rushed to hospital with minor burns to his hands.  It was seemingly lost until last year – all this time stashed away in a garage by Herdrix’s press officer.

The fabled guitar will now be auctioned off by rock film and memorabilia auctioneers The Fame Bureau, in London on September 4.  According to Ted Owen from Fame Bureau:

“When Hendrix set this guitar alight it marked a watershed in live performance – he raised the bar of what could be expected and paved the way for a series of imitations and pastiche that exist to this day.

“We can only find evidence of Hendrix definitively burning two guitars, and because this piece is a one-off original; I feel that this is the most important Hendrix guitar ever to be offered for sale – even eclipsing the Woodstock Stratocaster which eventually sold for $1.8 million.”

The Telegraph newspaper is estimating it to fetch £500,000 when it goes under the hammer.