Jason Gardner comments

Jason Gardner

I was never very good at doing the rock memorabilia thing. Whilst the crowds around me at gigs would lurch, stomp and dive to retrieve drumsticks thrown into the audience I was content to try and simply survive in the mayhem of the mosh pit.

Many edge forward at the end of concerts to try and retrieve detritus from the stage; set lists with gammy pieces of gaffa tape still stuck to them, crushed water bottles still smeared with the lipstick of the front woman or front man, precious guitar picks still stuck to mic stands.

Even when I've crossed famous musos in the street I'm reluctant to hassle them for autographs or to get them to pose for mobile phone photos. I've wished Noel Gallagher a Happy Christmas and seen Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd's guitarist and vocalist for those of you under 30) posing for the press in Leicester Square but can't bring myself to hassle them for a souvenir my grandchildren may or may not one day cherish.

And pop stars too must now be wary of those who shadow them at public events. Are they a fan or are they just going to sell my autograph/ photo/ nasal hair on ebay?

Well one item that truly deserves the title rock legend will not be auctioned on the webs most popular market but instead is up for grabs at a gallery in London's East End this month. It's a guitar that belonged to 60's guitar supremo Jimi Hendrix - a beautiful Fender Stratocaster - just a shame that it's marred by fire damage. Not the result of a warehouse accident of course but the onstage antics of the flamboyant maestro, who, as well as playing his guitar behind his head and with his teeth would often set his unfortunate six string aflame.

But before you check your bank account do be aware that the guitar Hendrix played at Woodstock was snapped up by Microsoft co founder Paul Allen for an alleged £900,000. So those of you who haven't got the same kind of cash as Bill Gates might want to settle for one of the pop antiques also up for sale; perhaps Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's last drum kit, estimated to be going for £20,000 or Jim Morrison's last Parisian musings in a notebook, a snip at 80 to 100 thousand pounds.

Of course old stuff has always been valued according to who owned it as well as when. So a four poster bed owned by Louis the fourteenth goes for more than one purchased by a more obscure 18th century French aristocrat. But also important in the world of antiques was not just who owned but who made it as the worldwide fame of the Stradivari family attests.

I wonder though, in an age of mass production and an age where celebrities are now royalty whether the question of who owned it becomes all the more important. Stratocasters are great guitars but hardly rare, not even ones from the 1960's. So it matters that this was the guitar that Jimi set alight in a gig in the London Astoria in 1967, the gig where afterwards Jimi was rushed to hospital for minor burns to his hands.

It's become the stuff of legend. And we love legend. And we no longer sit around fires telling tales of battle or revolution so we're left with the exploits of the rich and famous. Because many people's view of life is one of an existence that is but fleeting we learn to exploit the moment, make the most of trivial incidents - just listen to the stories people tell on their mobile phones. So did Hendrix save anyone's life? Did he change the course of history? No but he played a mean guitar.

The tragedy of course is that Hendrix, Morrison or Bonham are not around still to tell their own stories. They may be heroes to us but tragic ones as they all died young from substance abuse. Hendrix would prefer to be here today to be still playing his strat and still setting it on fire. For no one looks forward to being remembered when they're gone but rather cherished whilst they're alive. Everyone would prefer to be living legends like Clapton or Gilmour.

But if anyone's interested I do also have an electric guitar up for sale, not that old but unmarred and I won't let a naked flame near it. £100,000 - or nearest offer.