Pink Floyd Guitarist Auctions Off Guitars, Raises $21.5 Million For Climate Change Charity

By Eric Gasa

David Gilmore, credited for his guitar work on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon, has auctioned off his immense 126 guitar collection towards fighting climate change and hopefully preventing some dark times here on earth. In an eight-hour auction at Christie’s Auction House in New York, 2,000 bidders from 66 countries participated in owning a piece of rock history for the greater good of the planet.

The auction house says it raised $21.5 million on Thursday, including a whopping $3,975,000 for Gilmore’s famed 1969 Fender Stratocaster known as the ‘Black Strat’. The Fender classic sold to Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay and set a new world record for a guitar sold at auction.
Gilmore’s ‘Black Strat’ was used in the recording of Floyd’s most seminal work including The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall.

“Either we choose to go on as a civilization, or we don’t. The choice really is that simple,” said Gilmore on a video posted on his Twitter, later calling the global climate crisis “the greatest challenge humanity will ever face…”

Proceeds went to ClientEarth, a nonprofit organization fighting climate change through international laws and raising public awareness.

“This gift is a phenomenal boost to our work…It will allow us to play an even greater role in addressing the climate crisis and securing a healthy planet for future generations,” said ClientEarth CEO, James Thornton in an official statement.

97%-98% of climate scientists support the consensus that humans contribute to climate change and that carbon emissions are leading to the warming greenhouse effect. An official UN Climate Panel in 2014 stated that the affects of climate change will become irreversible within the next decades if proper steps are not taken.

“I hope that the sale of these guitars will help ClientEarth in their actions to use the law to bring about real change,” the famed guitarist said, “We need a civilized world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond, in which these guitars can be played, and songs can be sung.”