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About the
Collection

What started as a personal passion of a young music fan is today one of the most important private collections of rock art, celebrity art, photographs, album art and memorabilia worldwide. The collection currently includes more than 4,000 exhibits – most of them are unique items and testimonies from the rock and movie history.

History

It’s always difficult to determine when a passion becomes a passion. During a trip to the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1980s, rock fan Andy Ibach, then 21, fell in love with the painting “Stones in Sepia” by Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood in a gallery on Maui. After his father advanced the amount he needed, a happy Andy was able to purchase his first collector’s item.

It was on this trip that he came into contact for the first time with the impressive exhibits that are on display in the Hard Rock Cafés. By chance, Andy met an “art insider” a little later, who is also a middleman and art supplier for collectors such as Charlie Watts (drummer for the Rolling Stones). This contact enabled him to get hold of rare works of art and collectibles.

L'Unique House of Rock & Foundation

At the beginning of the new millennium, the private collection had already reached an imposing size. Loosely based on concept of Hard Rock Café, Andy Ibach fulfilled a dream in 2008 and opened the L’Unique House of Rock in Basel. The L’Unique HOR is a bar, restaurant, mini-museum and small concert venue all under one roof. The concept of cool drinks and good food in a unique ambience, surrounded by works of art by rock stars and legends, was a great success.

The L’Unique Foundation was founded in 2018 and is managing the extensive collection ever since. Many of the exhibits are now on display in museums, exhibitions and galleries across Europe.

In 2020 the L’Unique Rock Gallery was opened in the House of Rock in Basel. This allows the foundation to show parts of the collection to the public.

Over the years an initial passion has grown into one of the most extensive private collections of rock and celebrity art. By integrating the collection into the L’Unique Foundation, it was possible to ensure that the unique collectibles can be made accessible to a broader public. In addition, the foundation is now also a dealer in rock and celebrity art and thus fulfills the purpose of enabling charity projects in the areas of development aid (the foundation runs a support project in Nepal) and supporting the local music scene with the proceeds.