A custom-finished guitar previously owned by Noel Gallagher has fetched £12,000 during a memorabilia sale in Worcestershire. The instrument, a limited-run Epiphone manufactured in 1997, features a distinctive Manchester City blue finish. Auction organizers believe the piece was one of just five identical guitars presented to the songwriter by the maker before eventually coming into the possession of a former crew member.
The sale was organized by Littleton Auctions and featured various items put forward by the family of Huw Richards, who previously worked as a front-of-house sound engineer for the iconic rock group. Alongside the guitar, several other pieces of band history found buyers. A set of eleven framed platinum discs, given to the engineer by Creation Records to commemorate domestic sales exceeding 3.3 million copies of the band's second album, achieved a winning bid of £2,000. Additionally, a branded Kangol rain jacket issued to touring staff brought in another £2,000.
Other lots connected to the sound engineer included promotional items, tour itineraries, and a commemorative wristwatch tied to the band's third studio album. Beyond the Richards consignment, the auction offered various other pieces of rare group ephemera. A vintage ticket stub for a performance by The Rain, the precursor ensemble that eventually evolved into Oasis, realized £2,400, while a scarce early demo cassette sold for £3,600. A package of early photographs brought in £5,400, and a pair of leather shoes previously worn by Noel Gallagher went for £1,200.
Not all high-value items met with similar success, however. A baby grand piano that appeared in the promotional artwork for the group's debut single failed to find a buyer, despite carrying an estimated value reaching into six figures.
The auction had originally drawn widespread attention due to the anticipated inclusion of a massive archive of unreleased audio material. Known widely as The Desk Tapes, the collection encompassed over one hundred hours of rehearsal footage, soundcheck recordings, and live performances captured during the group's meteoric rise across the 1990s. That material had been expected to fetch between £1.2m and £1.6m.
The lot was abruptly withdrawn from the catalog shortly before the event after representatives for the band secured a legal injunction. Auction officials confirmed that the disputed sound archive has been pulled indefinitely while the legal teams work to resolve the matter.
Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC News. Read the original report at BBC News.
