The Legendary Journey of Pink Floyd's Black Strat: From Theft to Record-Breaking Auction
Pink Floyd embarked on their third American tour in 1970, starting with a show at the Fillmore East club in New York. During their time in the city, guitarist David Gilmour bought a 1969 Fender Stratocaster from Manny’s Music. The band later recorded a PBS TV special in San Francisco without an audience. In May, while in New Orleans for performances at The Warehouse club, their truck containing instruments was stolen, leading to the cancellation of upcoming shows in other cities.
The stolen equipment included guitars, an electric organ, a sound system, speaker cabinets, echo units, microphones, drum kits, and cables, totaling an estimated $40,000 in losses. The band had to stay in New Orleans as the local police investigated the theft. With little progress made, a hotel employee connected them with her father, who worked for the FBI. The FBI's involvement led to the recovery of most of the stolen gear within hours, with only four guitars missing.
After the incident, Pink Floyd made a donation to the local police force's benevolent fund as a gesture of gratitude. With some time before their rescheduled shows in Chicago, the band returned to New York, where Gilmour replaced his stolen guitars at Manny's Music. He acquired the Black Strat, which became his main guitar and featured prominently on the band's albums from 1970 to 1983.
In 2022, Gilmour auctioned off the Black Strat and other guitars at Christie’s in New York. The Black Strat was initially valued at $100,000 to $150,000 but sold for $3,975,000 to Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts. In a subsequent auction of Irsay's guitar collection, the Black Strat fetched $14.5 million, setting a record as the most expensive guitar ever sold.