Jimi Hendrix's favourite guitar which he switched before setting cheaper version on fire sells for £250,000 | Daily Mail Online
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One of the most famous rock 'n' roll guitars - that was so good Jimi Hendrix couldn't bring himself to burn it - has sold for almost £250,000.
The musician tricked his fans into thinking he had set fire to his favourite electric guitar on stage at a famous concert.
Instead, he switched it for a lesser model seconds before dousing it in lighter fluid as a stunt to mark the end of  his set at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967.
Music memorabilia fans lined up to bid on the black Fender Stratocaster at the Playboy Club in Park Lane, London last night when the iconic lot went under the hammer.
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Jimi Hendrix sets his guitar on fire at the Monterey festival. He tricked fans into thinking he was burning his famous black Fender Stratocaster, but he had switched it for a lesser guitar
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Jimi Hendrix's black Fender Stratocaster sold for a staggering £250,000 at auction yesterday
The moment Jimi Hendrix knelt down and poured lighter fluid onto the instrument before taking a match to it has become one of the most iconic images in rock history.
The guitar was later given to his record company Anim Limited, where it fell into the hands of James ‘Tappy’ Wright, a manager at the firm.
Mr Wright, 69, from Newcastle, decided to sell it to help fund his retirement in Florida.
It had been given a pre-sale estimate of £120,000 but the sheer amount of interest in it led to the sale price to rocket.
It sold at auction for £205,000 pounds, but with all the fees added on the overall price paid for it was £237,000.
Ted Owen, of the Fame Bureau auctioneers which sold the guitar, said: 'I’m thrilled with the price.
'We thought it could go above the estimate of £120,000 but not by as much as it did.
'It is a hugely important guitar and we had four people seriously bidding for it, which pushed the price up.
'Tappy is getting on a bit now and this will be a nice amount for him to help fund his retirement in Florida.
'He is delighted with the price we achieved.'
Hendrix, whose best known songs include Hey Joe, All Along the Watchtower and Voodoo Child, had only been planning on smashing up a guitar at the end of his set at the 1967 concert in California.
But having seen Pete Townsend of The Who shove the neck of his guitar into an amplifier earlier on at the festival, he felt he had to go one better.
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Mr Wright, who was also a roadie for The Animals, said: 'The Who went on before Hendrix and Townshend smashed his guitar up and put the neck into the amp.
'Jimi was annoyed at this and asked for some lighter fuel. He just wanted to outdo Pete Townshend.
Jimi Hendrix performing at the Marquee Club, London in 1967
'He played the black guitar for most of the act and then right at the end he swapped it for a repaired one that he set fire to.
'At the time the black Fender was his favourite guitar and he didn’t want to ruin it.'
Mr Owen added: 'Hendrix only burnt two guitars in his career; the one at the Astoria and the one at Monterey.
'He used the black Fender for three quarters of the concert and he swapped it at the last minute.
'People who were there would have known of the swap and Hendrix fans may well be aware but it is not widely known.'
Hendrix died in London in 1970 at the age of 27 from drug-related asphyxia.
VIDEO: Watch Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar at the Monterey Festival