John Squire’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard

In 1990–91, The Stone Roses signed with Geffen Records and received a large advance to fund their next album. With the band’s management and Geffen’s backing, John Squire was able to purchase a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard—reportedly using part of that advance.

Looking for a fatter sound on Second Coming Squire’s main guitar was a Sunburst ’59 Les Paul Standard which was previously owned by Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielson. ‘The neck looked unplayable at first,’ recalls John. ‘It was so chipped – like a map of the Swedish coast. But it sounded really nice. I don’t know too much about guitars so I could easily be sold a fake – but I know when one sounds special.’

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According to one account, the guitar had previously belonged to Cosmo Verrico (of the Heavy Metal Kids). It was bought from a shop in Glasgow, then passed to Squire through the Roses’ management.^[1] For Squire, it represented a huge upgrade, especially considering he had used a Höfner on the band’s first album. He also idolized Jimmy Page and other classic rock players who used ’59 Les Pauls, and now he finally had one of his own.

Modifications

Being a valuable vintage piece, the Les Paul remained mostly original. It still had the stock PAF pickups, although there was a minor pre-Squire repair (a dowel in the back from a strap button fix).​^[1] Squire himself did not significantly change the electronics or appearance.

However, years later in 2014, when he considered buying the guitar back, Squire admitted he suspected the pickups might have been swapped out at some point, saying “I don’t know a lot about them, but my guitar tech said there was a suspicion that the pickups had been swapped. It certainly didn’t sound as good to me as it did when I had it in the Roses.” ^[2]

Notable Usage

Once Squire acquired the ’59 Les Paul, he “didn’t put [it] down between albums one and two,”^[1]​ and it would define the sound of 1994’s Second Coming. He wanted a “tougher” tone than the jangly first album, and he found it in this guitar.

Virtually every track on Second Coming features its thick tone: from the bluesy riffs of “Love Spreads” to the Zeppelin-esque solos on “Breaking Into Heaven,” the leads on “Ten Storey Love Song,” and the slide work on “Driving South.” He used the ’59 both in the studio and on stage during the mid-’90s—including The Stone Roses’ 1995 tour and their appearance at the Reading Festival, where this sunburst Les Paul was his primary axe.

After Stone Roses

When The Stone Roses disbanded in 1996, the band’s management sold the guitar (since it had been purchased with label funds). Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi became its new caretaker and often cited it as one of his favorites. Squire later considered buying it back, but ultimately did not. Sambora sold the guitar again in 2014, and it is now in the hands of a private collector.

Instead of rebuying his old guitar, Squire ended up purchasing a 1958 Les Paul with a Bigsby tremolo, explaining:

I chose a ’58 with a Bigsby over it. Those two Les Pauls turned up and we both agreed the ’58 sounded better – and it hadn’t been messed with. So that one is on You’re Not The Only One and I’m So Bored.

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