A canon of over 1,000 music iconography featuring instruments, memorabilia, wardrobe and personal property owned and used by the greatest 20th and 21st century’s pop culture icons representing the genres of rock and roll, pop, soul, R&B and beyond will be offered. A marquee lineup of legends including Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, Kurt Cobain, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Elton John, Little Richard and others join the previously announced female music icons lineup of Cher, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Whitney Houston and more.
Bursting onto the auction stage this summer will be one of the most coveted drum kits played by the legendary drummer, Alex Van Halen. His custom designed Ludwig drum kit (photo above), stage played on over 100 shows of Van Halen’s 1980 Invasion tour, will make history once again as the first and only drum kit of the rock icon ever to come to the auction.
“This kit from the 1980 Van Halen Invasion World Tour spent 5 years on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland,” said Alex Van Halen. “It’s the only one like it in the world and I’m happy that 100% of the selling price will be going to charity via the Frangioni Foundation and Mr. Holland’s Opus.”
This spectacular and massive drum ensemble features a visually striking element: articulating kick drums, which began a long fascination Van Halen had with flexible hoses joining drums. In the early 70s, Van Halen and his younger brother, prodigy lead guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, founded their namesake group and soon after with bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth, conquered the world and entered into the pantheon of rock as of one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time. Van Halen dominated the music charts, MTV and sold out arenas around the world, thrilling audiences with their high flying, energetic live shows throughout the '80s and into the ‘90s with the drum legend’s fiery percussion and epic solos powering their classic hits, Runnin' with the Devil, Unchained, Hot for Teacher, Panama, Jump and more. Van Halen’s immense skill and intensity behind the drum unleashed the era-defining sound and fury of the ‘80s American hard rock music scene and the seismic shift that would propel other glam metal/hard rock bands such as Mötley Crüe, Metallica, and Guns N' Roses to follow. Van Halen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The drum has a conservative estimate of $200,000 - $300,000.