The six-string Noel Gallagher once anointed "the best guitar in the world" is back up for sale, with auction house Propstore slapping a reserve of £150,000 and an eye-watering estimate of £300,000 to £500,000 on the one-off Custom Shop Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul Florentine in question. And it seems Gallagher paid a grand total of zero pounds for it originally.
It goes to 11
Noel Gallagher
"That's the best guitar in the world," said quote machine Noel Gallagher, in a 1997 interview with spin.com. "It's not one of the best guitars, it's the best guitar."
"The thing about that guitar is it's got that extra... you know what I mean? When you've got everything turned all the way up, this one gives you more. It goes to 11."
The guitar is all over Oasis's blockbuster third album, Be Here Now and Noel played it extensively on the subsequent, mammoth 85-date tour. And like all the best auction pieces, there's a convoluted trail of owners and provenance to follow - including how Noel was apparently gifted the guitar by Gibson - which you can unpick in the video below, and Guitar World's fascinating interview with previous custodian Richie Moores.
The Florentine itself is a one-off hollow-body specifically made to save weight, serial number 7 9007, and was part of a batch of instruments that Gallagher sold circa 2001. The Les Paul Florentine comprises an ebony fingerboard, a distinctive silver glitter finish on the body, and nickel-plated hardware.
The guitar comes in its original case, with a white "Oasis" stencil and remnants of a "Metalheadz" sticker on the exterior. Metalheadz was a UK drum and bass record label founded by Goldie and Kemistry & Storm, so it's believed the sticker was added during the recording of Temper Temper, the Goldie track Gallagher featured on in 1998, though the Florentine is absent from the promo video (below).
Find out more, and see many other lots up for grabs on 3 November, including a Blur ice cream van (est £20 to £30k), plus more Gallagher gear and David Bowie's Ashes to Ashes spacesuit (£60k-£80k) at propstore.
