An unprecedented collection of U2 memorabilia – along with items from other major stars such as Kurt Cobain, Elvis and Jimi Hendrix – will be auctioned off in the name of charity at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, New York on May 31.
The event called ‘Icons of Music Sale II’ will be hosted live via webcam by The Edge who has organised the night, in association with Irish-American company Julien’s Auctions, as a fundraiser for the Music Rising campaign. This charity was co-founded by U2’s guitarist along with legendary producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, back in 2005 to aid musicians of the Gulf Coast Region in regaining their livelihood after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“Amongst the donations from The Edge is his early 1976 Gibson Explorer Guitar, which he used on stage. Edge has used this guitar in many stage performances since The Joshua Tree. The estimated value is $80,000 upwards,” explains Martin Nolan of Julien’s Actions, who is originally from Athlone, and is pictured with his business partner Darren Julien at a recent exhibition of The Edge memorabilia at Newbridge Silverwear in Kildare.
Other Edge items include his silver adjustable U2 block rings (which were featured on the cover of Achtung Baby - it is anticipated that these will fetch $4,000), a blue Gibson Les Paul electric guitar used by Edge in many studio recordings (estimated value is $20,000/40,000) and his personally worn custom designed Converse shoes (estimated at $1,200), along with an assortment of property donated by his fellow band members.
Additional highlights include a leather jacket worn by The Edge on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992 (est. $6,000/8,000), a Jimmy Page 2008 Gibson Custom Shop 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue in a “lemon burst” finish, personalised to the winning bidder (estimated at $4,000/6,000), Bono’s Bullet leather jacket worn on the Vertigo Tour 2005 (estimated at $6,000/8,000) and Pete Townshend’s 1967 Monterey Pop Festival concert-used Maestro fuzz pedal (estimated at $2,000/4,000), and festival concert-used Maestro fuzz pedal (estimated $2,000/4,000).
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Jason O'Toole 
