U2乐队拍卖至爱吉他为慈善

The beloved Gibson Les Paul guitar of U2's The Edge fetched $240,000 and Bono's sunglasses pulled in $20,000 at an auction on Saturday to benefit musicians who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.

The auction at New York's Hard Rock Cafe by Julien's Auctions raised $2,436,900, including a 20 percent buyer's fee, for Music Rising, a charity set up by The Edge and other musicians after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricane. It marked the first time such a wide selection of U2 memorabilia was available to collectors, organizers said.

Among the more than 200 items sold were Jimi Hendrix's 1966 Red Fender Mustang guitar, which fetched $400,000, former President Bill Clinton's saxophone ($54,000) and a pair of John Lennon's round, blue-tinted sunglasses ($30,000).

"I have to say that it is a strange feeling to see some of your stuff up here," said The Edge.

In addition to the Les Paul, which was acquired by an anonymous buyer, The Edge donated his 1958 Gibson archtop guitar, which sold for $105,000 and an assortment of accessories worn on stage, including a pair of sneakers ($7,000) and one of his signature cotton knit caps ($11,000).

The autographed Irish Falcon Gretsch Guitar of U2 frontman Bono sold for $180,000, while U2 bassist Adam Clayton's Fender Active Jazz Deluxe went for $22,000 and the tom tom used in the U2's Vertigo tour by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. sold for $19,000.

The most emotional sale of the seven-hour auction involved The Edge's Les Paul guitar, which he had used on every U2 tour since 1985.

Dallas Schoo, the Irish rock band's longtime guitar technician, told reporters he regretted the sale of the guitar.

In concert, "whenever Bono yells that he wants to go into free form," Schoo said, "that has always been my go-to guitar" to hand off to The Edge.

"It looks like it's been through a war," said Ralph Trenke, an avid U2 fan who took home The Edge's 1958 Gibson archtop but came up short in bidding on the Les Paul

在上周六举行的“‘卡特里娜’飓风受灾音乐家”慈善拍卖义会上，U2乐队成员The Edge以24万美元拍出自己心爱的Gibson Les Paul吉他，而波诺则以2万美元卖出了自己的太阳镜。

这场由茱丽安拍卖行举办的拍卖会在纽约硬石餐厅举行，共筹款2,436,900美元，其中包括20%的购买费。此次拍卖收入将全部捐给Music Rising慈善团体，该团体是The Edge 和其他音乐家在2005年"卡特里娜飓风"之后创办的。据拍卖主办方介绍，此次活动是U2乐队首次面向收藏者举行的大规模拍卖。

在多达200多件的拍卖品中，有吉米·亨德里克斯1966年的红色Fender Mustang吉他（40万美元）、美国前总统比尔o克林顿的萨克斯管（54000美元）和约翰·列侬的一副蓝色圆框太阳镜（3万美元）。

The Edge说，“看到自己的东西放在那里拍卖，感觉很奇怪。”

除了那把被匿名买主买走的Les Paul吉他外，The Edge还以105000美元拍出了一把1958年的Gibson经典系列吉他和一些登台时用过的配件，包括一双运动鞋（7000美元）和一顶签名棉线帽（11000美元）。

一把带有U2乐队主唱波诺签名的爱尔兰Falcon Gretsch吉他拍得18万美元；贝斯手亚当·克莱顿的Fender Active Jazz Deluxe贝斯拍得22000美元；鼓手小拉里·马伦.在巴西进行"眩晕巡演"时用过的嗵嗵鼓则以19000美元被拍出。

在这场持续了7个小时的拍卖会上，最感人的拍卖品是The Edge的那把从1985年开始在乐队每场演出中都会用的Les Paul吉他。

这个爱尔兰摇滚乐队的长期吉他技师达拉斯·斯库在接受记者采访时说，他后悔卖掉了这把吉他。

他说，在乐队的演唱会上，“每当波诺大喊要进行自由表演时，The Edge用的都是这把吉他。”

U2的歌迷拉尔夫·特兰克说，“感觉像是打了一仗”。他拍下了The Edge的那把1958年的Gibson经典系列吉他，但由于出价不够，没能拍下Les Paul。