ALEX VAN HALEN's Stage-Played 1980 Drum Kit Expected To Fetch $200,000 - $300,000 At Auction

Julien's Auctions has announced the marquee lineup of "Music Icons", the world-record breaking auction house to the stars' annual music extravaganza on Friday, June 11; Saturday, June 12; and Sunday, June 13 2021 live at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills and online at juliensauctions.com.

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, 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 five 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. The drum has a conservative estimate of $200,000 - $300,000.

In the early 1970s, 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 And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Five Charvel EVH Art Series electric guitars designed, hand striped and played by Eddie Van Halen will join his brother Alex's drum kit on the auction stage, including the last of the late legendary rock guitarist's Charvel legendary EVH guitars he played on stage. The Stealth black body with a silver hand-striped design by Van Halen, possibly in tribute to his EVH Wolfgang guitar, is applied with four white "Van Halen / 2012" guitar picks attached to a strip of adhesive tape, and is signed and inscribed "Kansas City / MO / 5.22.12 / Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen / 2012," with an additional note "Last one!!" indicating that this was his last Charvel stage-played EVH guitar. The lot comes with a photograph of Eddie Van Halen playing the guitar live on stage with VAN HALEN at Kansas City Sprint Center, on May 22, 2012. Other Eddie Van Halen Charvel EVH Art Series electric guitars include: a red guitar with a unique black and white hand-striped design by Van Halen that pays homage to his legendary "Frankenstein" Mark II guitar — and is uniquely numbered "5150" — the name of EVH's recording studio (and also the date that he played this guitar),signed and inscribed by EVH in silver sharpie: "Baltimore, MD / 5.15.08 / Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen '08" that comes with a DVD featuring footage from the show of Van Halen playing this guitar live on stage at First Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Maryland on May 15, 2008, and a Van Halen 2007-08 tote bag; a black guitar with a unique, yellow hand-striped design by Van Halen in tribute to his "Bumblebee" guitar, signed and inscribed in silver sharpie: "8.7.04 / Las Vegas NV / Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen / 04" that comes with a black custom EVH tour flight case (not the standard hard case that typically accompanies these guitars,) a photograph of EVH playing the guitar live on stage with VAN HALEN at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada on August 7, 2004, a certificate of authenticity signed by Van Halen, two "VH" guitar picks, a ticket from the show, a corresponding backstage pass, and a Mandalay Bay hotel room key card; a yellow guitar with a unique, black hand-striped design by Van Halen in tribute to his "Bumblebee" guitar, signed and inscribed in black sharpie: "Des Moines IA. / 2.6.08 / Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen 2008" that comes with a black custom EVH hard case, a photograph of Eddie playing the guitar live on stage with VAN HALEN at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa on February 6, 2008, and a certificate of authenticity signed by Van Halen and a black body with a unique, yellow hand-striped design by Van Halen in tribute to his "Bumblebee" guitar with the words: "Las Vegas" partly visible under the bridge, signed and inscribed in silver sharpie: "Las Vegas NV. / 12.30.07 / Eddie Van Halen / Van Halen 2007," which comes with a black custom EVH hard case, a photograph of EVH playing the guitar live on stage with VAN HALEN at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas on December 30, 2007 (the last date of the first leg of VAN HALEN's 2007/08 tour),and a certificate of authenticity signed by Van Halen. Each of these guitars have a conservative estimate of $30,000 - $50,000.

Other drum kits from legendary rock bands will rock the stage with a singular and sensational drum kit heading this way from the legendary drummer Eric Singer of one of rock and roll's most notorious bands, KISS (estimate $50,000 - $70,000).

"KISS, keeping in line with Las Vegas: bright lights, big production, one-of-a-kind, i.e. Elvis, Rat Pack and Liberace style, I had this Pearl drum set custom made for the first-ever KISS Vegas residency," said Eric Singer. "These shows were recorded and featured on the 'Kiss Rocks Vegas' DVD. I also played this kit on the KISS and DEF LEPPARD tour as well as various other high-production KISS shows. The LED lights inside the drums ran in synchronization with the KISS light show, changing colors throughout the night controlled from the lighting board plus these drums sound amazing!"

Another fascinating and rare piece of art heading to the auction stage comes from another iconoclast and one of rock music's most signature artists of all time: Kurt Cobain. A self-portrait caricature drawing (estimate: $10,000 - $20,000) done in black felt pen on TNT Music Centre [sic] in Singapore stationery by the charismatic frontman of the group NIRVANA depicts himself playing the guitar and is signed "Kurdt Kobain Rock Star" and handwritten on the right, "I don't know how to play and I don't give a hoot!" Cobain gifted the drawing to Jacque Chong, a freelance photographer who worked with Cobain during NIRVANA's "Nevermind" album promotional tour in Singapore in 1992.

Julien's Auctions has broken world records with the sale of Kurt Cobain's memorabilia, including Cobain's cardigan worn on "MTV Unplugged" in New York, which sold for a record $334,000, his "In Utero" tour Fender Mustang guitar which sold for $340,000, his cardigan worn on his last photoshoot which sold for $75,000, a NIRVANA paper plate set list written in Cobain's handwriting which sold for a record $22,400 and the Guinness Book of World Record sale of Cobain's "MTV Unplugged" 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar, which sold for $6 million making it the world's most expensive guitar ever sold at auction.

"Each year, Julien's Auctions ups the ante for music fans and collectors in offering the most prized music memorabilia ever to come to auction," said Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions. "From the first auction appearances of Alex Van Halen's Rock And Hall Of Fame-displayed Ludwig drum kit and Kurt Cobain's self-portrait drawing to Bob Dylan's handwritten and annotated lyrics to his 1969 classic 'Lay Lady Lay', this collection of fine and rare music collectibles is no exception and is one of our most exciting sales that is sure to make history once again on the auction stage."

Julien's Auctions public exhibition and auction location

Julien's Auctions
257 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills,
CA 90210

Public exhibition

Exhibition: Monday, June 7 - Friday, June 11, 2021
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Free to the public

Julien's Auctions live and online auction

Music Icons
Friday, June 11, 2021
Session I (Lots 1-381): 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Music Icons
Saturday, June 12, 2021
Session II (Lots 382-775): 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Music Icons
Sunday, June 13, 2021
Session III (Lots 776-1086): 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time

Registration is required to bid in this online auction and can be done in person at the exhibition, or online before the sale at the JuliensAuctions.com. Registration page to bid by phone, proxy or in person, or online at JuliensLive.com to bid live online, or by calling (310) 836-1818. For inquiries, please email [email protected] or call 310-836-1818.