Eric Clapton's famed 'Blackie' guitar became the most expensive guitar to sell at auction, fetching a staggering STG527,000 ($AUS 1.38 million).

The Fender Stratocaster was used by Clapton onstage during the 1970s and 1980s. He first used it in 1973 and retired it in 1991 after a Royal Albert Hall show.

'Blackie' was just one guitar of many up for auction. Clapton raised over STG4 million ($Aus 10.47 million) for the Crossroads Centre addiction treatment clinic. Clapton set up Crossroads in 1998 and held a fundraising auction in 1999, bringing in over $US 5 million.

Blackie was bought by America's Guitar Centre.

Also:

2004 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Auction: the Auction, the Burst Brothers, and Lee Dickson

Eric Clapton Guitar Auction to Benefit Treatment Center

Slowhand blue guitar

The Eric Clapton FAQ - Guitars