By James Simons-
The guitar once used by George Michael is up for auction this autumn, and could fetch up to £10,000. The battered-looking Gretsch became inseparable from one of the biggest reinventions in pop history — and now fans could pay six figures to own it But to millions of George Michael fans around the world, it is something far more valuable — the unmistakable instrument that helped define one of the most iconic images in British pop history.
The original Gretsch Synchromatic 160 guitar played by Michael in the music video for his 1987 smash hit Faith is going under the hammer, with auctioneers expecting it to fetch between £60,000 and £120,000. The instrument is the star attraction of an extraordinary collection of George Michael memorabilia being offered for sale this autumn, just weeks before the tenth anniversary of the singer’s death.
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And its significance goes far beyond its potential price.For those few seconds in the Faith video, Michael transformed himself from one half of Wham!’s hugely successful pop partnership into a swaggering solo superstar.Dressed in a black leather jacket, blue jeans and aviator sunglasses, he leaned against a jukebox and casually strummed the sunburst acoustic guitar.
The image became one of the defining moments of 1980s pop. The guitar now heading to auction is that very instrument. It comes with its original case, marked with the words “Rockabilly Rebel”, while its distinctive sunburst finish makes it immediately recognisable from the video. The auction, being organised by Sworders, is particularly poignant because the collection was assembled by Michael’s former personal assistant, Siobhan Bailey, who worked with him for more than two decades.
Bailey died in 2014, two years before Michael’s own death on Christmas Day 2016. Her widower is now putting the collection up for sale, giving fans an extraordinary opportunity to acquire objects that passed through the hands of one of Britain’s most successful recording artists. There are 31 additional lots alongside the Faith guitar.
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Among them are gold and silver discs, tour memorabilia, rare photographs, itineraries and other personal items connected to Michael’s career with Wham! and as a solo performer.Some of the objects offer a fascinating glimpse into the extraordinary scale of his career.
There are tour itineraries from Wham!’s famous 1985 trip to China, as well as material relating to Live Aid — the historic 1985 concert at Wembley Stadium where Michael performed with Wham! and later appeared with Elton John. There is even a metal lighthouse presented to Michael by Malaga city council in 1989, estimated at just £200 to £400.
Another unusual item is an invitation to a lunch with David and Victoria Beckham.Yet it is the Faith guitar that towers above the rest.And there is good reason.
Released in 1987, Faith was Michael’s first album after Wham! and represented a spectacular reinvention. The album went to No.1 and produced four US No.1 singles — “Faith”, “Father Figure”, “One More Try” and “Monkey”. The Recording Academy lists Faith as the winner of the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while Michael also won a Grammy for his collaboration with Aretha Franklin on “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”.
The album would go on to sell more than 25 million copies worldwide, according to Sony Music, establishing Michael not merely as a former pop idol but as a formidable singer, songwriter and producer in his ow His achievements stretched well beyond one extraordinary album.
Michael sold more than 120 million records worldwide, enjoyed a career spanning three decades and produced a string of enduring songs including “Freedom! ’90”, “Jesus to a Child”, “Praying for Time”, “Careless Whisper” and “Last Christ
He also became one of the most successful British artists in the history of the US charts, while in Britain he amassed 13 No.1 singles during his His artistic reputation has continued to grow since his death.
In 2023, Wham! and Michael were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with the organisation describing his evolution from the exuberant pop of Wham! into an accomplished singer-songwriter and producer whose music incorporated pop, R&B, soul and dance influences. hat evolution is important when considering why the Faith guitar has become such a prized piece of memorabilia.
Michael could have remained safely within the formula that made Wham! successful.Instead, he reinvented himself.Faith was confident, stripped-back and deliberately different. The music video reinforced that transformation, with the guitar becoming part of an image that would eventually become as recognisable as the song itself. Now, almost four decades later, that same instrument could change hands for a six-figure sum.
The sale comes at a moment when interest in Michael’s Faith era is once again building.A new concert film, George Michael: The Faith Tour, will be released on 6 November 2026, featuring previously unseen footage from Michael’s 1988 performances in Paris. The footage was filmed during his Faith Tour, which ultimately stretched across more than 100 shows in 16 countriy
The film was directed by Andy Morahan, the same director responsible for the original Faith music video, adding another remarkable link between the instrument being auctioned and Michael’s visual legacy. The guitar is therefore arriving at auction at almost the perfect moment.It is not simply an object once held by a famous singer.
It is a physical connection to the moment George Michael announced to the world that he was no longer merely a member of Wham!.He was George Michael — global superstar.
The wider collection is expected to raise more than £200,000, but the Faith guitar is expected to command the overwhelming attention of collectors and fans.
Sworders chairman Guy Schooling has described it as the “jewel in the crown” of the collection, arguing that the objects capture Michael’s creativity, ambition and artistry. And there is something fitting about the fact that the guitar is being sold now.
Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53, leaving behind a catalogue that has refused to disappear. His music continues to be streamed, played on radio stations and rediscovered by younger generations who were not even born when Faith first topped the charts.The auction offers a different kind of reminder of that legacy. Songs can be streamed endlessly. Videos can be watched with a click. But an object such as this guitar carries something a digital file never can: the physical history of the person who held it.
On 29 October, that history will go under the hammer at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, both online and in person, with the collection due to be exhibited beforehand.Someone will eventually take the Faith guitar home. They will own a Gretsch. They will also own a tiny piece of the moment when one of Britain’s greatest pop stars stepped out from behind Wham!, picked up a guitar and began the next extraordinary chapter of his career.
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