Stolen Fender Stratocaster Signed by Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Others Recovered after Gary Moore’s Son Spots Instrument on eBay

A Fender Stratocaster signed by Gary Moore, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and others, stolen more than a decade ago, was recovered by police after it appeared on eBay—all thanks to Jack Moore, son of legendary guitarist Gary Moore.

Jack Moore, who runs an online guitar shop, was looking for instruments to purchase when he was contacted by a concerned fan about a guitar that sounded too good to be true. The guitar was a 60th anniversary Fender Stratocaster that appeared to have been signed by more than a dozen rock stars, including Jack’s father, Gary. The fan said the guitar didn’t seem to have any provenance.

Jack believed the signature to indeed be that of his father’s, but his gut feeling was that something wasn’t right. So he asked a friend to take to social media and inquire about its history. Sure enough, police were alerted by someone who recognized the guitar as being one that had been stolen a decade earlier. 

The Strat had been autographed in order to raise funds for The Rainbows Children's Hospice, a facility for the care and respite of children with life limiting conditions based in Leicestershire, England. The guitar was owned by Dave Allen, a music promoter from Leicestershire who said it had gone missing when it was sent to Mark Knopfler. Said to be worth an estimated £20,000, Allen reported that this had been the first time the guitar was sent to a celebrity unaccompanied. He could not believe that the instrument had resurfaced after so many years.

The full list of artist signatures on the 60th Anniversary Strat is: Gary Moore, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Jimmy Page, Stephen Segal (in his role as a blues guitarist) Mark Knopfler.  Albert Lee, Alice Cooper, Wilko Johnson, Brian May, Don McLean and Andy Fairweather-Low.

Jack Moore says he is glad the guitar has been reunited with its owner and wishes Dave Allen luck in the auction.

The signed Fender Strat is set to be auctioned at Bonhams on December 11. Proceeds will be donated to The Rainbow Children's Hospice.For more information, head to Bonhams.com.