LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE
Over the years, some remarkable guitar collections have featured in the pages of this magazine. But, in terms of owning historic instruments with genuine rock ’n’ roll credentials and sheer spending power, nobody can top Jim Irsay. For the past quarter of a century, the billionaire owner and CEO of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts has spent big to obtain some of the most iconic instruments in rock history. Gilmour’s Black Strat? A cool $3.9m. Jerry Garcia’s Tiger? $957,500. The Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played at Newport Folk Festival in 1965? $965,000. The Gibson SG that George Harrison used on Revolver? $567,000. The list goes on and on.
Yet rather than accumulating expensive toys in some crass display of wealth, talking with Irsay reveals that he has a deep love and appreciation not only for the timeless music that these instruments were used to create but also for what they represent as cultural – and indeed countercultural – objects. It’s not just guitars either. Irsay’s collection includes Jack Kerouac’s original 36-metre typewritten manuscript for ($2.4m), Hunter S Thompson’s Red Shark convertible, Abraham Lincoln’s walking cane and an original Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs in 1980.
