Rare guitar 1960 Gibson left in cupboard for years worth £175k

A rare guitar which was left in cupboard for years before being taken to a shop in Cheltenham has been sold to a music star in America for a six-figure sum.

ATP Guitars in Tivoli has revealed the story behind the original early 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard, also know as the 'Burst'.

It was taken to the shop by a teacher from Prestbury to be valued.

She said the instrument belonged to her dad, who gave it to her to look after while he was moving from the Midlands to Cheltenham.

The woman had thought the guitar was worth around £5,000 but was astonished to find out that even despite its poor condition it could be worth as much as £175,000 when made playable.

Mike Long, the owner of the guitar shop, said: “There was total stunned silence when I told her this and after a while her face just dropped in disbelief.

“She said her dad bought it in 1967 for £50 after seeing Eric Clapton play one at the Marquee in London so it has been a pretty good investment.

"He played it three nights a week up until the 80s when he stopped playing, put it in a closet and forgot about it until now.”

Mike has now sold the guitar to the American artist Joe Bonamassa, who was playing two nights at the Royal Albert Hall.

"We took it to show him and he bought it on the spot," he said.

Mike declined to say how much he had paid the woman for the guitar but said he had sold it to Joe for between £150,000 and £200,000.

He added: “The guitar itself is at the moment unplayable and will need a fairly extensive refurbishment and a really good clean before it is playable.

“It will also require some minor repairs but nothing too drastic. The important things that make the guitar worth that much are still present such as the original finish and the lack of any structural repairs.

“There were few of these made, around 1,500, and to find an undiscovered one like this is unheard of - especially right on our front door in Cheltenham.”

Joe Bonamassa said he will take the guitar back to Nashville to get it restored.