London - The plush Harrods emporium in London threw open its doors to the down-and-dirty world of rock and roll on Thursday as it played host to Europe's largest guitar exhibition.
More than 150 guitars are on show, ranging from priceless vintage instruments through designer guitars to those played, loved, signed and smashed to pieces by rock legends.
The collection includes guitars played by the likes of Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Noel Gallagher, The Edge, Marc Bolan, Neil Young, Cream, the Beach Boys, Velvet Underground, Carlos Santana and Peter Frampton.
The centrepiece of the collection is the 1931 Rickenbacker Frying Pan, the world's first patented electric guitar, on show for the first time outside the United States.
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Part of the collection tells the story of the guitar through historically landmark instruments such as the Gibson Les Paul, Fender's Stratocasters and Telecasters, Dobros and lap steel guitars.
The show also includes the battered 1961 Fender Stratocaster that was Irish blues legend Rory Gallagher's main guitar, and has been scratched down to the bare wood beneath the surface through years of hammer on tour.
Fifty guitars have been custom-designed by a range of artists and designers, including actress Jennifer Lopez, ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, architect Lord Richard Rogers, designers Patrick Cox and Hedi Slimane and Sir Peter Blake, who designed the famous cover of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
The exhibition, which runs until March 3, takes up 3 800 square metres of the second floor of Harrods, the giant west London department store more known for its high-price luxury goods rather than rock and roll. - Sapa-AFP
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