John Squire’s 1960s Fender Stratocaster (Shell Pink)

This 1960 Fender Stratocaster, finished in a color known as “Shell Pink,” was John Squire’s main guitar on The Stone Roses’ debut album. He used it to record many of the band’s breakthrough hits, including I Wanna Be Adored and This Is the One. According to Squire, the guitar didn’t initially belong to him—he had borrowed it specifically for the studio sessions—but after the recording was completed, he ended up buying it.

The Gretsch Country Gentleman pictured on the inside of The Stone Roses’ lemon album was a live favourite, but John Leckie vetoed its use for the album’s recording. ‘He said it was too woolly, and he was right. For a lot of the first album I hired in a pink ’60s Stratocaster which I ended up buying because it sounded so good.

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This is also confirmed by John Leckie, who produced the album. He stated that Squire primarily used either the Shell Pink Stratocaster or his Höfner T4S during the sessions, with the Strat being played for the rhythm parts through a Fender Twin Reverb with JBL speakers. Essentially, this Stratocaster is the rhythm sound on The Stone Roses album.

John Squire, meanwhile, played his pink Fender Stratocaster and custom-painted Hofner 335 copy in a far corner, opposite that occupied by the studio’s grand piano, with two screens supporting a horizontal one that served as a kind of roof, while a third served as a makeshift door. Inside this setup, Squire used a Fender Twin reverb with JBL speakers, rented from Dreamhire, and played lead parts on the Hofner and rhythm on the Strat, captured with either a Shure SM57 or SM58 together with a Neumann U67.

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For whatever reason, Squire rarely used this guitar live with The Stone Roses, favoring his Gretsch during gigs. However, to be fair, there isn’t much available in terms of photos and videos to verify his guitar choices. That said, he did use the Shell Pink Stratocaster at least occasionally—most notably during the Live in Blackpool concert in 1989, where he played it on She Bangs the Drums, Where Angels Play, Shoot You Down and I Am The Resurrection.