Eric Clapton to sell part of his guitar collection for Crossroads Centre

LONDON - English guitarist Eric Clapton is set to sell part of his extensive guitar collection in order to raise money for his substance abuse recovery centre Crossroads.

Clapton, 65, will include a guitar he played at the Cream reunion shows in 2005, and it is expected to fetch more than 13,000 dollars at the sale in New York next year.

Money from the sale, which will also feature a vast collection of amps and speakers, will go towards the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, which Clapton founded in 1998 to help treat drug and alcohol addiction.

A pair of Marshall speaker cabinets used during the 1970s when the star was performing with Derek And The Dominos is expected to fetch more than 5,000 pounds.

Guitars donated by Jeff Beck, JJ Cale and Joe Bonamassa will also go under the hammer.

“We are delighted to be offering such a fantastic collection of guitars and amps from such an iconic musician,” the BBC quoted Stephanie Connell, head of entertainment memorabilia at Bonhams, as saying.

She added she hoped the auction would “raise a lot of money for this worthwhile cause”.

Items will go on display at Bonhams in London from January 23 to 26 before the sale on February 9. (ANI)