Looks Like Hard Rock Will Lose the Guitars
This could be the end of the road for the iconic black and brick-red twin guitars outside the Hard Rock Cafe. There may be no more strumming for the larger-than-life six-strings that have been mute spectators to the ‘rise and fall’ of the landmark cafe at Dubai’s Media City.
Management at the cafe’s Middle East office confirmed that there was no guarantee if the guitars, which are as old
as the 11-year-old cafe, will be a part of a new Hard Rock Cafe expected to open soon in the emirate.
Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday that the cafe had closed its doors to ‘hard rockers’ last Saturday after operating out of the emirate for over a decade.
Even as Hard Rock scouts for a new place to relocate in Dubai, the two concrete guitars — unique to the emirate, may disappear from the entrance of cafe forever.
“There is no guarantee they will be part of the new cafe. They are made of concrete and we are not sure if they can be moved. If they are not (part of the new cafe), there will be something else more spectacular,” Jihad Allabban, director of the cafe’s Middle East operations, told KT.
The guitars were designed and erected especially for Dubai just ‘to keep with the theme of the place’ “Each Hard Rock Cafe has its own theme and we do not replicate it anywhere else. At present, we do not know what we are doing with them. We will have to check with our engineers,” he added.
According to the cafe’s website, blues and rock guitarist Eric Clapton set the trend when he gave away his guitar to the American cafe in the 1970s after dining at the first Hard Rock in Hyde Park in London. British guitarist and singer Pete Townshend followed suit, after which guitars, drums, pianos, harmonicas, microphones, shirts, pants, scarves, shoes, handwritten lyrics, cars, bikes, a bus and assorted rock memorabilia from celebrities have found their way into over 138 Hard Rock Cafes, hotels and casinos in 42 countries…
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