Bill Wyman’s bass sells at auction for a record-breaking $384,000
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Bill Wyman’s bass sells at auction for a record-breaking $384,000

The 1969 Competition Orange Mustang, which was part of the Julien’s Auctions’ mammoth Property From Bill Wyman and His Rolling Stones Archive event, was Wyman’s weapon of choice with the Stones between 1969 and 1970.

 

Somehow, it’s now the most expensive bass guitar of all time, with buyer coughing up an eye-popping US $348,000 – over half a million in Australian dollars. 

 

The Mustang bass wasn’t the only item from the Bill Wyman and His Rolling Stones Archive to net huge figures, however: a Vox AC30 guitar amplifier the bassist used to audition for the Stones back in 1962 also sold for $106,250 (AUD $145,535), snagging a new record for the biggest price paid for a guitar amplifier at auction. 

 

 

The auction also saw the sale of one of the most revered relics from the Rolling Stones’ era of world domination: a 1968 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top owned by Brian Jones, who famously played the guitar in the band’s Rock and Roll Circus concert film. This one sold for $704,000 (AUD $964,553) – a considerable sum, but one that’s still a long-shot from some of the other crazy prices people have paid for guitars over the years.

 

Perhaps the juiciest sale of the bunch, however, was Wyman’s plush Rolling Stones toilet seat cover, which was dated back to the band’s tour of the US in 1975. Somehow, the dunny cover managed to fetch a ridiculous $1,152 (AUD $1,578), and while the jury is still out on this one, it’s assumed that this is the most anyone has ever paid for a toilet seat cover at auction. Incredible scenes. 

 

 

Find all the details from the Bill Wyman and His Rolling Stones Archive auction via Julien’s Auctions.