It started with an Eric Clapton guitar (a Fender Lead II, for the gearheads in the audience). The beginning of something that nobody even knew was beginning.
It was just a goof. A laugh. A joke among friends.
Back in the seventies, Clapton liked to eat at this quirky American diner in London called the Hard Rock Cafe. The place was this funky old building that used to be a Rolls Royce dealership, and it was run by a couple of young Americans who liked to keep it loose. The Hard Rock Cafe was an instant classic. You could be yourself at the Hard Rock. It was good food and a good time.
So Clapton got to be friends with the proprietors and asked them to save him a regular table, put up a brass plaque or something. And the young proprietors said, “Why don't we put up your guitar?” They all had a chuckle, and he handed over a guitar, and they slapped it on the wall.
No one thought much more about it. Until a week later, when another guitar arrived (a Gibson Les Paul, by the way). With it was a note from Pete Townshend of The Who which read: "Mine's as good as his. Love, Pete."
The young proprietors put it on the wall. After that, the guitars never stopped coming. Today there are more than 70,000 guitars, drums, pianos, harmonicas, microphones, shirts, pants, scarves, shoes, handwritten lyrics, cars, bikes, a bus and assorted rock memorabilia - by far, the largest, most valuable such collection in the world - on the walls of over 163 Hard Rock Cafes, Hotels and Casinos in 52 countries around the world.
Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona completes the local Catalan ambience whilst continuing the worldwide, well-known and well-loved tradition with inspired, creative fare and glorious rock 'n' roll memorabilia on display in interesting combinations. So after a long day's promenade on Las Ramblas, "Ramble On" over to the Hard Rock for a rockin' good time!
