Horace Panter’s “Ghost Town” 1971 Fender Precision Heads to Auction
Once again, a piece of musical history is up for grabs. Horace Panter‘s 1971 Fender Precision, which he used to record the era-defining track “Ghost Town” with The Specials, is currently listed on Guitar Auctions at Gardiner Houlgate.
As a member of The Specials, Panter was a leading figure in the two-tone movement, a wave of British popular music from the late ’70s and early ’80s that fused punk rock and new wave with ska, rocksteady, and reggae. He originally purchased the bass in January 1981 from a music store in Kettering, and it quickly became his primary bass. The band recorded “Ghost Town” three months later, with the thick bass line underpinning the politically-charged lyrics.
“A haunting reflection of the social and political unrest of the era, the track remained at number one for three weeks and spent 11 weeks in the UK Top 40,” Gardiner Houlgate explains.
Aside from recording “Ghost Town,” Panter used the bass in the new wave supergroup General Public on tracks like “Tenderness” and “Never You Done That.” As such, the sound of this bass defined the identity of two major British acts during the ’80s.
Panter discussed its quirks on The Bass Nerds podcast, explaining that it already housed a DiMarzio pickup when he bought it — along with a refinished body in a metallic paint he described as “dreadful.”
“But the neck is really thin,” he explains. “The guy who had it before me shaved the neck really thin, which is what I liked about it.”
During his time with General Public, the bass was refinished again, this time to its current powder-blue look. Panter also added the brass pickguard and control knobs.
Bass Nerd Marc Najjar points out that the DiMarzio has a hot output that, when paired with a thin neck, makes for a fast-playing bass with ferocious tone.
Hear more about the bass and his entire career in the full episode:
More information on the bass is available on the Guitar Auctions at Gardiner Houlgate website. The bass is currently open to bidding with a sale date of March 10, 2026. It is expected to draw between £10,000 and £ 20,000 (approximately $13,500 to $27,000 USD).
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
