Guitar from Kurt Cobain’s Last Tour Fetches over $1.5 Mn

The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)
The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)
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Guitar from Kurt Cobain’s Last Tour Fetches over $1.5 Mn

The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)
The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)

The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday.

The American grunge icon played the sky-blue, left-handed Fender Mustang during the band's In Utero tour, Julien's Auctions said in a statement.

"Nirvana played their final show on March 1, 1994 in Munich, Germany and all available concert footage confirms that Cobain played this guitar that night," the auction house said.

Cobain died by suicide in April 1994, aged 27 and at the height of his fame.

Julien's listed the final sale price as $1,587,500.

The Mustang guitar was still intact, unlike many that Cobain destroyed on stage.

In May, a smashed-up black Fender Stratocaster of his fetched $595,000 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.

On Thursday, Julien's also sold a guitar belonging to Eric Clapton for $1.27 million.

Nicknamed "The Fool", the Gibson SG is associated with the English musician's time with the band Cream, where he produced one of rock's most distinctive sounds.

Its personalized decoration, in a psychedelic style, makes the instrument one of the most easily recognizable in rock and a symbol of the "Summer of Love", the counterculture movement of 1967 which marked a generation.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the two guitars will go to a mental health charity.



‘Doctor Who’ Season Finale Surprises Fans with an Exit and a Familiar Face

Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Doctor Who’ Season Finale Surprises Fans with an Exit and a Familiar Face

Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Ncuti Gatwa poses on the red carpet during the Oscars arrivals at the 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)

A familiar face to “Doctor Who” fans is rejoining the long-running British sci-fi series as Ncuti Gatwa exits the lead role after two seasons.

In Saturday’s season finale, Gatwa’s Time Lord regenerated and fans got a glimpse of Billie Piper, who played the character Rose Tyler for 35 episodes between 2005 and 2013. Tyler was a companion to versions of the doctor played by Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

Producers are keeping Piper's new role secret for now.

“Just how and why she is back remains to be seen,” the BBC said in a statement after the finale aired.

“It’s an honor and a hoot to welcome her back to the TARDIS, but quite how and why and who is a story yet to be told,” showrunner Russell T Davies said in a statement.

Piper said “Doctor Who” has provided some of her best memories and she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come back.

“It’s no secret how much I love this show, and I have always said I would love to return ... but who, how, why and when, you’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.

If Piper does indeed become the Doctor, she would be the third woman to fill the famous shoes.

The Rwanda-born, Scotland-raised Gatwa, 29, was the first Black actor to helm the show, but he wasn’t the first Black Doctor — Jo Martin played “Fugitive Doctor” in several episodes. Gatwa took over the role from Jodie Whittaker in 2023.

Whittaker was the 13th Doctor and the first woman to play the central galaxy-hopping, extraterrestrial Time Lord who regenerates into new bodies, taking over from Peter Capaldi in 2017. Martin was the second woman.

“Doctor Who” first aired from 1963 to 1989 and returned in 2005. In the US, new episodes air on Disney+.