“When the Strat wasn't working right during a show, Rory would pick this up”: Rory Gallagher’s back-up ‘Frankenstein’ Strat – gifted to its current owner by U2 – sells at auction for over $50K

Eddie Van Halen is the guitarist most people think of when the word ‘Frankenstein’ is uttered in guitar circles, but Rory Gallagher had one of his own, and it’s just sold at auction for $50K.

A Dave Edwards custom-made Strat, it served as Rory Gallagher's number two guitar in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when his main squeeze, his timeless and time-worn 1961 Strat, started playing up, or simply needed a rest – and now it’s made quite the journey to the auction block.

As per the Irish bluesman's website, the guitar was his personal Frankie because it became the testing ground for new pickups and wiring setups, ensuring his beloved was saved from the scalpel until completely necessary.

“Around 1979 Rory’s main Strat was playing up,” the website reads. “He put a new neck on the guitar for a few years to let the original one dry out. So when the Strat was not working right during a show Rory would pick up this Dave Edwards Strat or his Fender Musicmaster.”

Featuring a natural finish double-cut ash body, maple neck, and Indian rosewood fingerboard, it has the serial number 015 on its neck plate and comes loaded with two DiMarzio pickups and Kluson Deluxe tuners.

At one point, however, it left Rory's ownership, and another Irish music heavyweight, U2, took it under their wing. In 2019, the guitar was later gifted to long-time crew member Sam O'Sullivan for his 60th birthday, in recognition of his hard work on the road.

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Its history likely played a role in it selling for more than 10 times the typical price of a high-end Strat. According to Bonhams, who oversaw the guitar's sale, it bears signs of heavy usage with the back of the body and the frets most obviously affected.

It was sold as it was presented to Sullivan by U2 and also includes a letter from Rory's nephew, Daniel Gallagher explaining how and when Rory used the guitar on stage.

Sullivan reportedly worked with U2 for 40 years, embarking on his first tour in light of the release of their debut album, Boy. Alongside fellow Cork-based colleague Joe O'Herlihy, who was Gallagher's sound tech in the '70s, the crew earned the nickname ‘The Cork Mafia’.

For more information on the guitar, head to Bonhams.