ESP Mirage 1983 Ex Motörhead Girlschool Tour & Record Artist Owned Guitar - New York Custom Shop Upgrades - MIJ Japan Super Strat HH FR Floyd Rose Pro Vintage 80s Guitar

1983 ESP Mirage Deluxe 600 series. One of the first ESP guitars ever built and originally owned by ESP's first endorsed artist and also first female endorsed artist, Kim McAuliffe of Girlschool. Toured extensively around the world with Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Saxon and more! Album recorded under supervision of Lemmy and legendary engineer/producer Vic Maile (Motörhead, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, etc) at Jackson Studios in London. In preparation of recording duties with them on a later Girlschool album, the guitar was upgraded at ESP's New York City Custom Shop in 1985 with the first top-mounted Floyd Rose double locking tremolo system (check out the old school font!) as well as Jeff Beck humbuckers. Girlschool was the first and longest running all-female metal band (Still playing!) and was a major part of the British New Wave Of Heavy Metal scene in the late 70s and 80s. On becoming ESP's first endorsed artist, Kim McAuliffe told Guitar World magazine in a 2021 interview that "When I went to Japan - when we were big in Japan - they (ESP) literally said 'Choose whatever you want.'" She kept the black guitar they gave her and gave this one to incoming lead guitarist Cris Bonacci, who toured and recorded with the guitar from 1984 to 2020 before selling it to me.

In Cris' letter to me, she wrote:

"I got the guitar in New York while on tour in about 1985. We did an album and I had the Floyd Rose fitted and new pick ups. I think they're EMG Jeff Beck ones - they sound great. I used to be in a band named Girlschool (1984-1991). I used this guitar on lots of recordings at this time. I also used it with Marc Almond on his 12 Years of Tears live at the Royal Albert Hall recording and video. It originally belonged to the singer from Girlschool (Kim McAuliffe) a small mirror wall tile from her flat happened to fall and break a small chip on the fretboard which is in the photos. I bought in from her for £200 in 1985."

Aside from Girlschool, Bonacci had the guitar while in a band with Toyah Willcox, was Marc Almond's touring guitarist and was the house guitarist for the Jonathan Ross TV show backing international artists like Suzanne Vega and K.D. Lang. She also wrote and produced for All Saints and Samantha Fox.

The guitar has had an incredible life and is without question a museum piece. It will be of tremendous value to ESP collectors being one of the first guitars ever built and belonging to the company's first endorsed artist, bringing the company into the metal genre long before Metallica or George Lynch ever got their hands on an ESP. ESP was a guitar parts company that focused on recreations of 50s and 60s Fender guitars, but it was Kim McAuliffe and Girlschool that actually transformed ESP into a metal guitar company.

The guitar will also be of great value to fans of Lemmy and Motörhead. This guitar has been on the road and in the studio with Lemmy and his famous band. Girlschool is a huge part of Motörhead lore, where Lemmy hand picked the band to be the support act for his 1979 Overkiil tour and signed them to his label. Whenever and wherever you saw Motörhead, you saw Girlschool. They toured together for years and would perform all together on the same stage during their tours for songs like "Please Don't Touch."

The guitar will again be exceptionally valuable to all fans of rock and metal and who champion female pioneers in the genre, of which there is no greater than Girlschool. Before there was Baby Metal, before there was Kittie, you had Girlschool.

The guitar comes with a COA and correspondence from Girlschool lead guitarist Cris Bonacci. While limited footage has survived the 80s, you can see the guitar being played on YouTube to the national British audience on the Channel 4 TV broadcast of the show Extra Celestial Transmission 1985. You can also see it in a Girlschool metal guitar solo compilation video and live at Royal Albert Hall doing some killer slide licks with Marc Almond. I've added the link to the 1985 video here.

It is incredibly rare to find a guitar this interesting available to the public for the price of a new mid range Rolex watch. I am the largest ESP guitar collector in Europe and now selling my collection, which is why it is available now.

Worldwide shipping to any country with UPS or FedEx. Will be professionally packed. Make sure to follow me here and keep an eye out on upcoming listings. Many other ESPs, artist owned and rare guitars available.