Jimi Hendrix’s 1965 Fender Stratocaster (Astoria Strat)

This is the guitar Jimi allegedly set on fire during his performance at The Astoria in London, England, on March 31, 1967. The show marked the opening night of the Walker Brothers tour, which also featured Cat Stevens and Engelbert Humperdinck.

Unfortunately, not much is known about the guitar’s history. As discussed in the article about Jimi’s 1963 Fender Stratocaster (Sunburst), Jimi owned at least two sunburst Stratocasters in mid-March 1967. The first was the 1963 Strat, while the second seemed to serve as a backup or disposable guitar, which Jimi often used for stunts at the end of his sets.

Based on available photos (discussed further below), the alleged Astoria Strat appears to be neither of these guitars. To our knowledge, no one has successfully located a photograph of Jimi actually playing it. This lack of visual evidence is concerning, especially since the guitar was sold in 2008 and labeled as the Astoria Stratocaster—the first guitar Jimi ever set on fire.

Astoria Stratocaster on Auction

This guitar was auctioned in 2008 after being kept for over 40 years by the band’s press officer, Anthony (Tony) Garland [Scorched Jimi Hendrix Guitar Sold on Auction – Telegraph]. It sold for £280,000—roughly $575,000—to an American collector, Daniel Boucher.

The unclear part of the story is how exactly the guitar ended up in Tony’s possession. According to media accounts, the guitar was with Noel Redding for some time before being picked up by Tony. Unfortunately, the official auction details don’t appear to be available online. If you happen to have this information or know where to find it, we’d appreciate it if you could share it (just leave a comment at the bottom of this page).

Some elements of the Astoria Strat’s history can be pieced together from accounts by those who were present at the time. For example, Chas Chandler stated that the Strat ended up with Tito Burns, the band’s promoter, after the Astoria gig:

I can remember Tito Burns shaking his fist at me and saying, ‘You can’t get away with this. This wasn’t an accident. I’ll have you prosecuted.’ He took the charred guitar away with him as evidence.

Tito Burns – Independent

Hendrix himself confirmed parts of this story in his autobiography and collection of interviews:

The flaming guitar thing I did was all rigged.[…] I remember the promoter, who was in on the trick, kept screaming at me and shaking his first, shoutin’. [..] Meanwhile he was concealing the evidence for me under his coat – my burned up guitar that all the police and firemen were looking for.

Starting At Zero: His Own Story

Tony Garland, however, claimed he was present at the Astoria gig and was the one responsible for acquiring the lighter fluid:

They said they were going to burn it – so I nipped round the corner to buy some Ronson lighter fuel. It sounds ludicrous – but they were fairly ludicrous days.

Jimi Hendrix’s PR Reveals Truth About First Guitar Burning

Yet, according to Keith Altham, a journalist who sat with the band backstage that night, it was Gerry Stickells—Jimi’s roadie and guitar tech—who was sent to fetch the lighter fluid:

Chas and Jimi were asking me about what they could do to make the headlines at their gig […] Jimi mumbled “Maybe I could smash up an elephant” , to which I replied “It’s a pity you can’t set fire to your guitar”. There was silence for a moment then Chas said “Garry, go out and get some Lighter fluid”.

The History of the NME by Pat Long

Of course, memories from decades ago are far from reliable, but it’s worth noting that Tony Garland is the only person who specifically mentions his own involvement in acquiring the Astoria Strat.

Perhaps there’s more to the story that Tony explained to those directly involved in the auction, but the details remain shaky. On top of that, there’s another strong contender for the Astoria Strat—the guitar given to Frank Zappa in May 1968.

A Not-So-Well-Established History

To summarize, the guitar considered by the public to be the Astoria Strat was never seen in Jimi’s hands in March 1967. The entire story surrounding it rests on a statement by Tony Garland, the JHE’s PR manager and the same person who sold the guitar at auction in 2008. As previously mentioned, Jimi was seen using two sunburst Stratocasters in March of that year. Based on available photos, both were early ’60s models with spaghetti logos, whereas the alleged Astoria Strat is a mid-’60s model featuring a transition logo. For a photo comparison, see [Did Jimi Hendrix actually burn a guitar at the Miami Pop Festival?]

The photos of the two Stratocasters were taken at the Star Club in Hamburg in mid-March, while the Astoria gig took place on March 31. Unfortunately, the only photos from the Astoria gig are from before the concert, showing Jimi holding one of the two sunburst Strats [Jimi Hendrix backstage on the opening night of the Walker Brothers tour – Alamy]. This confirms that Jimi used one of the early ’60s sunburst Stratocasters during the show, but it doesn’t clarify whether that was the guitar he burned.

However, considering Jimi used both early ’60s sunburst Strats at the Star Club, it’s reasonable to theorize that the second Strat—the one with significant scratches on the body—was the guitar sacrificed at the Astoria Theater.

While this remains a theory, the available evidence suggests it’s far more likely that one of Jimi’s well-worn early ’60s Strats was burned at the Astoria, rather than a mid-’60s Strat that appears almost brand new and was never seen in Jimi’s hands. You’re welcome to investigate further, but based on the information we’ve gathered, the story of the alleged Astoria Strat relies entirely on Tony Garland’s statement. Without photographic evidence, it ultimately comes down to Tony’s claim versus what seems to make the most sense.