“We felt it was the right time to let someone else get creative enjoyment out of his perfectly kept studio guitars”: Gear from the late Iggy Pop and David Bowie guitarist Ricky Gardiner’s collection goes to auction

Ricky Gardiner Auction.

Guitars from the collection of the late Ricky Gardiner are headed to the auction block. Gardiner, who died in May 2022, enjoyed a storied career, founding the Scottish prog rock band Beggars Opera in 1969, before collaborating with David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Tony Visconti described him as a “guitar genius”.

These instruments – which also include bass guitars and a Harley Benton banjo of all things – have never been gigged, are all in excellent condition, but are veterans of the studio, appearing on Gardiner’s solo albums and on later releases from Beggars Opera. In a statement, Gardiner’s family said that it was time they found a new home.