KINGSTON, Jamaica (November 27, 2006) — Organizers of a film festival in Jamaica have shelved plans to auction a guitar shaped like a M-16 rifle that was once owned by reggae legend Peter Tosh after his sons protested the sale.
Bidding for the guitar, which Tosh, one of the founders of the Wailers, once said that he used to “scare all vampires,” was scheduled to start Sunday on the eBay.
Allison Young, a publicist for the Flashpoint Film Festival, confirmed that the weeklong auction was postponed. She said two of Tosh’s sons, who live in the United States, contacted the festival’s organizers.
“The family is trying to resolve who really owns the guitar, the estate or his girlfriend,” she said.
Tosh, who posthumously won a Grammy for best reggae recording for his album, “No Nuclear War,” was killed at the age of 42 by robbers who broke in to his home on Sept. 11, 1987.
Marlene Brown, Tosh’s former girlfriend, put the guitar up for auction in October. She told the Jamaica Gleaner that Tosh gave her the Fender Stratocaster as a gift. But the Rastafarian’s sons objected to the sale, saying it belonged to the Peter Tosh Foundation.
Brown’s family had the guitar for 19 years, stored in the United States. A call placed Sunday to Tosh’s aunt went unanswered. No telephone numbers were available for his sons.
It’s not clear when the matter will be resolved. Young said the proceeds from the guitar sale were to benefit a home for children suffering from HIV/AIDS. The festival is scheduled for Dec. 1-3.
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