Hammer salutes the master of heavy metal memorabilia.
All of us at Metal Hammer were very saddened to learn of Don Bernstine’s passing this weekend at his home in Oviedo, Florida.  Among his many claims to fame was a legendary Hard Rock Café artist relations man. You may even recognise him from the current issue of Metal Hammer, in which he was featured as this month’s Defender Of The Faith, and in his brand new Holy Grail column.

Don was more than a contributor to Hammer, but a hilarious, fascinating, and incredibly generous spirit, the best company, and it was a delight to know him, and an honour to call him a friend.

Bernstine is survived by his mother, two brothers, a sister, and six nieces and nephews. His wife Paula died in 2005.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends he leaves behind, and in the words of one of his many, many friends, heaven will be a little more boisterous.

Alexander Milas, Metal Hammer editor.

Don Bernstine – The master of heavy metal memorabilia.

It may be the best job in the world. Until late last year, Don Bernstine was the official memorabilia consultant for Hard Rock Café, which means that he spent his days traversing the globe and trying to persuade globally renowned rock stars to hand over priceless musical instruments and other items of immense historical value, so that they could be displayed in any one of the famous chain’s restaurants around the world.

“Actually it was kind of dumb luck,” he tells Hammer. “I spent 10 or 12 years working for Deep Purple and I worked for radio stations and record labels. I got sick of the New York experience and decided to call it a day. So I moved to Florida and within a couple of months someone from Hard Rock called me up and said, “Hey, we’ve got this job where you hang out with rock stars and get memorabilia from them. Do you want it?’ And I was like, “Are you kidding?”

British-born but now resident in the US, Don is on friendly terms with most of the greatest rock stars of the modern age, but it’s clear that he still gets a huge thrill from coming into contact with some of the items he has picked up on behalf of his clients. Despite having procured many of the most legendary items in rock’n'roll history, his enthusiasm shows no signs of diminishing as he continues to search for his next amazing find.

“The greatest thing I ever got was Tony Iommi’s monkey guitar,” he states. “It’s the red Gibson SG with the little decal of a monkey on it. That was on the first three Sabbath records, and that guitar basically started metal! Those records changed my fuckin’ life, so just to hold this thing in my hand was incredible. When Tony showed it to me the first time he said, “This is the one that started it all!” I said, “Would you ever consider getting rid of it?” And he said no, but eventually we worked something out and now it’s hanging in the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, New York.”

Now working on the other side of the fence, helping the artists to find homes for their prized pieces of memorabilia, Don is a glowing advertisement for a lifelong love of heavy music.

“I’m still just this big giant fucking goober for rock and metal,” he laughs. “I love this shit. I prefer the older stuff because that’s what I grew up with, but I love watching the new bands. It’s fucking cool. It’s still as cool to me now as it was when I was 17.”