04 September 2008
Newsdesk
The first guitar torched on stage by Jimi Hendrix is to go on sale at an auction of rock memorabilia in London reports the BBC.
Auctioneers suggest it could sell for as much as £500,000.
The sale also includes the Beatles' first management contract, signed in 1962 by all four members of the group and manager Brian Epstein.
The document, which includes the names and signatures of Paul McCartney and George Harrison's fathers, is tipped to fetch up to £250,000. Drummer Ringo Starr signed the four-page contract under his own name, Richard Starkey.
The items are being sold at The Fame Bureau's It's More Than Rock and Roll memorabilia auction.
Hendrix played and burned the Fender Stratocaster at a gig at the Rainbow Theatre Finsbury Park London in March 1967 - it was the first time he set alight a guitar.
The legendary guitarist and singer, who died in 1970 at the age of 27, later became famous for this incendiary gimmick.
The instrument, which apparently ended up with a business associate, was only recovered from a garage last year and still bears the scorch marks of Hendrix's performance.
Also up for sale are what are claimed to be the only remaining fingerprints of Elvis Presley, on a concealed gun permit.
The audio archive of legendary music producer Joe Meek - a set of almost 2,000 master tapes - is expected to fetch up to £300,000.
