PREVIEW

The guitar used to play the famous solo of Kate Bush's groundbreaking debut hit Wuthering Heights has sold for £21,500, including fees, at auction.
The 1974 Les Paul Custom, had an estimate of £10,000, but went under the hammer for £17,000 at Gardiner Houlgate auctioneers in Corsham, Wiltshire on Tuesday (11June2024).
The guitar was played by the late Ian Bairnson, who passed away last year at the age of 70.
He notably played the solo - a key part of Bush’s dreamy ode to Emily Brontë's 1847 novel - with a broken arm in a cast.
Luke Hobbs of Gardiner Houlgate said: “Ian Bairnson was the session musician on all of her first four albums, especially the debut album and this is the guitar he used for the solo on Wuthering Heights. So it really does have a really, really cool artist connection.”
Outside of his famous contribution to the Bush track, Bairnson was a distinguished musician, contributing to albums by renowned artists such as Joe Cocker, Mick Fleetwood, and Neil Diamond, and touring with legends like Sting and Eric Clapton.
He was also a member of the band Pilot, known for their hit song, January, which also reached number one in the UK charts.
The auction of Bairnson's guitar, along with other equipment, including 12 guitars, has been managed by his family. Gardiner Houlgate, which specialises in selling musical instruments, expressed the honor and privilege of bringing such a significant piece to market.