Noel Gallagher guitar sells for £226,800 at Propstore auction

An autographed Takamine acoustic guitar played by Noel Gallagher during Oasis’s 1996 MTV Unplugged performance sold for £226,800 at auction, setting a world record for the highest price ever achieved for an Oasis acoustic instrument, according to reports. The sale took place on Thursday, October 1, during Propstore’s Music Live Auction in London. The auction featured a wide array of high-value rock memorabilia, led by a notebook of handwritten lyrics by Freddie Mercury that fetched £277,000. While the high-end London auction house established new benchmarks for Britpop and Queen memorabilia, a separate regional auction in Worcestershire handled by Littleton Auctions featured items from Huw Richards, a former front-of-house sound engineer for Oasis. The 1997 instrument is believed to be one of five identical guitars gifted to Gallagher by the manufacturer before being passed to Richards.

The Record-Breaking MTV Unplugged Takamine Instrument

The headline-grabbing Takamine FP460SC acoustic guitar was one of two identical instruments Gallagher used during the band’s legendary MTV Unplugged performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall on August 23, 1996, reported. Utilizing two identical guitars allowed Gallagher to switch quickly between alternate tunings and songs requiring a capo, such as Wonderwall. The performance stands as a defining moment of the Britpop era, occurring after Liam Gallagher withdrew due to a sore throat, leaving Noel to perform lead vocals while Liam heckled from the balcony.

Built in Japan in August 1995 with the serial number 95081181, the instrument features a solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides, a mahogany neck, and a black AccurAcoustic EQ preamp. Noted that the guitar was used extensively by Gallagher between 1995 and 1999 across the Morning Glory and Be Here Now tours. For the five years leading up to June 2026, the guitar was displayed at the Grammy Museum in Mississippi as part of the MTV Turns Forty exhibition. The body bears Gallagher’s signature in black ink alongside the inscription Peace, love + Bananas!! Much Love.

Contrasting Auction Results Across London and Worcestershire

The two distinct auction events demonstrated a massive financial divide between premier museum-grade stage instruments and peripheral touring memorabilia. Propstore’s London sale generated a total of £2.5 million on its opening day, driven by heavy-hitting lots like Michael Jackson’s military-style jacket, which matched the Gallagher guitar at £226,800, and John Lennon’s lost-weekend glasses, which fetched £126,000 according to AOL. Propstore music specialist Mark Hochman stated that setting a world record with the MTV Unplugged guitar is a fantastic result and shows the lasting connection fans have with Oasis. Meanwhile, the Littleton Auctions event in Worcestershire focused on the working artifacts of the band’s inner circle. A pair of leather shoes once belonging to Gallagher sold for £1,200, while early demo tapes and concert tickets brought in between £2,400 and £3,600. However, a baby grand piano featured in the artwork for the Supersonic single failed to meet its estimated £100,000 to £150,000 valuation.

Legal Disputes Halting Unheard Oasis Desk Tapes

The Worcestershire sale was heavily affected by legal intervention regarding a massive archive of unreleased audio material. Littleton Auctions agreed to postpone the sale of the recordings until the ongoing legal dispute is fully resolved. The contested archive contains recordings of 63 live shows, soundchecks, and more than 100 hours of rehearsals documenting the band’s rapid ascent during the 1990s. The postponement leaves the future of the tapes uncertain as legal proceedings between the owners and the band continue.