Noel Gallagher’s 1953 Gibson Les Paul (1960 Conversion)

Noel acquired this 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard from Johnny Marr sometime in early 1994, right as Oasis were about to start recording Definitely Maybe at Mollow Valley studio.

According to the story, Marr attended one of Oasis’s early gigs. After the show, Noel asked if Marr had any advice or suggestions. Marr’s only comment was that Noel needed to get another guitar, as he was spending too much time between songs tuning his guitar.

Noel, in his usual humor, responded that it was easy for Marr to say—after all, Marr was already successful by then and had plenty of guitars to choose from.

So, Johnny browsed though his guitars, thought what he could send Noel, and considering that he at that time played an Epiphone Les Paul, he sent him the real deal – a vintage 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

He used to spend ages tuning up. You could go to the bar, come back, and he’d still be at it,” Marr recalled. “I told him, ‘You need another guitar, just get one.’ And quite rightly, he said to me, ‘That’s easy for you to say—I’ve got like 12 quid, and you’ve got like 100 guitars.’

So, I said, ‘Alright, I’ll lend you one of mine.’ I started thinking about which guitar to give him. I couldn’t give him something too dodgy or cheap—I had to give him a decent one. I had a sunburst 1960 Gibson Les Paul worth a fortune.

Johnny Marr On Noel Gallagher

In fact, Marr sent out a bunch of guitars to Noel, as this was right around the time the band were about to book Mollow Valley studio in an attampt to record Definetely Maybe. Among the guitars was also Marr’s black Rickenbacker, famously used on This Charming Man.

All the other guitars were returned to Marr after the sessions, but this Les Paul Noel kept to himself.

I opened the other case, which contained the Les Paul. It was a moment not unlike Vincent Vega opening Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase in Pulp Fiction. Having never actually seen a real Les Paul before, I kinda stared at it for ages.

I remember making a cup of tea, taking it to my room upstairs and taking it out of the case. I literally wrote “Slide Away” in about twnty minutes. It was a pretty freakishly magic moment. One i”ll never forget.

Noel Gallager – quote from Marr’s Guitars book

Guitar’s History pre-Noel

This guitar has an impressive and storied history. Aside from being played by Johnny Marr on The Smiths’ debut album and iconic tracks like “Panic,” “London,” “Ask,” and “Half a Person,” as well as extensively during the band’s first live tour, it also boasts a lineage of renowned previous owners.

According to Marr, the 1960 Les Paul Standard originally belonged to Pete Townshend of The Who, who acquired it through Joe Walsh of The Eagles.

But the story doesn’t end there. In a 2023 interview with The Pedal Show, Noel Gallagher revealed that the guitar’s neck is not original. This detail suggests that, given Pete Townshend’s penchant for smashing guitars, it may have been damaged at some point and required significant repairs, including a neck replacement.

Alternatively, the neck replacement might have occurred earlier in the guitar’s life. According to Marr’s Guitars book, the guitar started out as a 1953 Les Paul Goldtop. At some point before Marr acquired it, it was converted into a burst—a more coveted version of the Les Paul from the late ’50s and early ’60s.

The latter explanation seems more plausible. It’s likely that the guitar, having been heavily damaged, ended up with a luthier who chose to fully restore it. In the process, they may have converted it into the more desirable burst model, elevating its value and appeal.

Guitar with Noel

This guitar became Noel’s main instrument almost immediately after he pulled it out of the case. He mentioned that he wrote “Slide Away” just minutes after picking it up for the first time. From that point on, he used it on nearly every track from Oasis’s debut album, Definitely Maybe, except for “Supersonic,” which was recorded and released as a single earlier.

After the album’s release, the band embarked on a tour, and this guitar stayed with Noel until August 1994.

On August 9, during a gig at Newcastle’s Riverside venue, a member of the audience climbed on stage while the band was performing “Bring It All Down” and apparently rushed at Noel. In self-defense, Noel used his guitar to fend off the person, damaging it so badly that it couldn’t be used for the remainder of the tour.

Unfortunately, no recording of this gig exists, but it was covered in a Radio 1 News Special. The broadcast offered a detailed, real-time account of the incident, making it a fascinating listen (link available in the quote below).

Basically, someone came up on stage, went for Noel—Noel retaliated. Liam followed, and it’s all gone horribly wrong.

Noel is backstage at the moment, and he looked like he was pretty cut up, physically and mentally. And Liam came on stage—and basically, I think the gig is off. It’s not gonna happen.

Radio 1 Evening Session – Oasis Newcastle Riverside Special (August 1994)

From then on, Noel turned to Johnny Marr again and asked if he could borrow another guitar. Marr sent him another Les Paul, this time a black Custom model, which Noel used for the remainder of the tour.

Les Paul Fixed

According to a 2023 interview with The Pedal Show, Noel took the guitar to a luthier in New York to have it repaired. Based on Oasis’s tour schedule, this likely occurred in late October 1994, shortly after the infamous gig at The Whiskey in Los Angeles. In case you haven’t heard that story – after that gig Noel temporarily quit the band and flew to San Francisco to meet a girl, an experience that inspired the song “Talk Tonight.”

During the repair, the luthier discovered that the neck was not original to the guitar but managed to fix the damage. While the extent of the damage is unclear, Noel’s description suggests it may have been at the neck-body joint, as he mentioned that the entire neck had to be removed.

I remember something got damaged on this guitar, and I took it to a guitar shop in New York, and they had to take the neck off. When I went back to picki up the guy said where did you get that guitar? He said – the neck doesn’t belong to the body.

And I was thinking, Townshend smashed it up probably, so it’s a Frankenstein of a guitar.

The Noel Gallagher Guitars & Gear Interview

Noel continued using the guitar occasionally through 1995. By that time, the band’s success had allowed Noel to expand his guitar collection and experiment with other models.