The Edge and his guitar The beloved Gibson Les Paul guitar of U2's The Edge fetched $240,000 and Bono's sunglasses pulled in $20,000 at an auction on Saturday to benefit musicians who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. The auction at New York's Hard Rock Cafe by Julien's Auctions raised $2,436,900, including a 20 percent buyer's fee, for Music Rising, a charity set up by The Edge and other musicians after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricane. It marked the first time such a wide selection of U2 memorabilia was available to collectors, organizers said. Among the more than 200 items sold were Jimi Hendrix's 1966 Red Fender Mustang guitar, which fetched $400,000, former President Bill Clinton's saxophone ($54,000) and a pair of John Lennon's round, blue-tinted sunglasses ($30,000). "I have to say that it is a strange feeling to see some of your stuff up here," said The Edge. In addition to the Les Paul, which was acquired by an anonymous buyer, The Edge donated his 1958 Gibson archtop guitar, which sold for $105,000 and an assortment of accessories worn on stage, including a pair of sneakers ($7,000) and one of his signature cotton knit caps ($11,000). The autographed Irish Falcon Gretsch Guitar of U2 frontman Bono sold for $180,000, while U2 bassist Adam Clayton's Fender Active Jazz Deluxe went for $22,000 and the tom tom used in the U2's Vertigo tour by drummer Larry Mullen Jr. sold for $19,000. The most emotional sale of the seven-hour auction involved The Edge's Les Paul guitar, which he had used on every U2 tour since 1985. Dallas Schoo, the Irish rock band's longtime guitar technician, told reporters he regretted the sale of the guitar. In concert, "whenever Bono yells that he wants to go into free form," Schoo said, "that has always been my go-to guitar" to hand off to The Edge. "It looks like it's been through a war," said Ralph Trenke, an avid U2 fan who took home The Edge's 1958 Gibson archtop but came up short in bidding on the Les Paul. (Reuters)

在上周六舉行的“‘卡特里娜’颶風受災音樂家”慈善拍賣義會上，U2樂隊成員The Edge以24萬美元拍出自己心愛的Gibson Les Paul吉他，而波諾則以2萬美元賣出了自己的太陽鏡。 這場由茱麗安拍賣行舉辦的拍賣會在紐約硬石餐廳舉行，共籌款2,436,900美元，其中包括20%的購買費。此次拍賣收入將全部捐給Music Rising慈善團體，該團體是The Edge 和其他音樂家在2005年"卡特里娜颶風"之后創辦的。據拍賣主辦方介紹，此次活動是U2樂隊首次面向收藏者舉行的大規模拍賣。 在多達200多件的拍賣品中，有吉米·亨德里克斯1966年的紅色Fender Mustang吉他（40萬美元）、美國前總統比爾o克林頓的薩克斯管（54000美元）和約翰·列儂的一副藍色圓框太陽鏡（3萬美元）。 The Edge說，“看到自己的東西放在那里拍賣，感覺很奇怪。” 除了那把被匿名買主買走的Les Paul吉他外，The Edge還以105000美元拍出了一把1958年的Gibson經典系列吉他和一些登臺時用過的配件，包括一雙運動鞋（7000美元）和一頂簽名棉線帽（11000美元）。 一把帶有U2樂隊主唱波諾簽名的愛爾蘭Falcon Gretsch吉他拍得18萬美元；貝斯手亞當·克萊頓的Fender Active Jazz Deluxe貝斯拍得22000美元；鼓手小拉里·馬倫.在巴西進行"眩暈巡演"時用過的嗵嗵鼓則以19000美元被拍出。 在這場持續了7個小時的拍賣會上，最感人的拍賣品是The Edge的那把從1985年開始在樂隊每場演出中都會用的Les Paul吉他。 這個愛爾蘭搖滾樂隊的長期吉他技師達拉斯·斯庫在接受記者采訪時說，他后悔賣掉了這把吉他。 他說，在樂隊的演唱會上，“每當波諾大喊要進行自由表演時，The Edge用的都是這把吉他。” U2的歌迷拉爾夫·特蘭克說，“感覺像是打了一仗”。他拍下了The Edge的那把1958年的Gibson經典系列吉他，但由于出價不夠，沒能拍下Les Paul。 （英語點津姍姍編輯）