Eric Clapton's music items fetch $2.2 million at auction

The Eric Clapton mystique galvanized bidders at a Bonhams auction of the musician's guitars, amplifiers and other items today, bringing the sale's total to $2.2 million, or almost four times the expected total.

The sale, benefiting Clapton's Crossroads Center Antigua for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, had a presale total of $400,000 to $600,000, according to Bloomberg.

Among the 138 lots consisting mainly of Clapton's guitars, is a three-piece Versace "Stage Suit" and a miniature battery-operated Pignose amplifier - the type used on many classic rock recordings of the 1970s.

"This sale is much more for the fans," said Carey Wallace of London-based firm Wallace & Hodgson, who put together the auction. "There are affordable guitars, affordable amps," Telegraph.co.uk reports.