Dave Edmunds & Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) - Stage used 1...

Estimate

£3,000 - £5,000

Dave Edmunds & Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) - Stage used 1970s Japanese 335 style semi-hollow body electric guitar, with natural finished maple body, mahogany neck, Indian rosewood fingerboard with dot position markers, DiMarzio USA humbucker pickups, Grover tuners and 'Rick Nielsen' truss rod cover, with a Bobby Lee chequerboard strap, within a 1960s Selmer hard case

*Formerly owned by Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick who gifted the guitar to Dave Edmonds, circa 1980. Purchased by the vendor at Chandler's, Kew, circa 1984.

A YouTube video of Dave Edmunds' Rockpile, playing a rendition of 'Singing the Blues' shows guitarist Nick Lowe playing this guitar, complete with the chequerboard strap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu0o1hwnU-k

The vendor, a former creative at a well-known advertising agency, became friendly with Rick Fenn (10cc) whilst arranging some music for a commercial that he had written. The vendor mentioned to Fenn that he was interested in learning to play guitar and was taken to Chandler's Guitars in Kew. The vendor ended up buying this guitar, when it was mentioned by the salesman at the store that Dave Edmonds had recently traded it in with another guitar. The vendor never found time to play it and the guitar ended up on the wall, simply for display purposes.

The vendor was always puzzled about the name 'Rick Nielsen' on the truss rod cover and almost forty years later, he was watching the TV series 'American Pickers'. In that particular episode, they were visiting the Rick Nielsen Guitar Museum. The vendor then realised that Rick Nielsen was the lead guitarist for the band Cheap Trick. He subsequently contacted the museum to find out if this guitar was originally Rick's and, to his surprise, received an email from Rick himself confirming this to be his guitar. A copy of this email is included in the sale. 

Various press releases and photographs from the period show Rick Nielsen on stage and 'hanging out' with Dave Edmonds.

The guitar is fitted with an old Bobby Lee chequerboard strap that was attached to the guitar at the time of the vendor's purchase. Chequerboard pattern straps are synonymous with Rick Nielsen's style.