Noel Gallagher once bought one of Peter Green’s Les Paul guitars, and intentionally removed the signature from it to get back at a rude employee.
The late rock icon and Fleetwood Mac founder was the owner of countless high-profile guitars, including the famous ‘Greeny’ – which was later passed to Gary Moore, who handed it on to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett.
However, that particular model was just one of a number of guitars that were sold after his death, and now The Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones has revealed the story behind one that was modified by Oasis legend Noel Gallagher.
Speaking with Guitar World, he recalled how he was given the Les Paul by Gallagher in 2006 when The Coral were recording an album in his studio, but was initially unaware of the rich history behind the model.
Recalling how the Britpop icon got his hands on the guitar, Ryder-Jones recalled how Gallagher erased the Peter Green signature from the body out of spite of a rude shop owner.
“He didn’t know who Noel was; he somehow had not heard of Oasis,” he explained. “But Noel saw one of the guitars at the top of the shelf, like behind the counter, and said, ‘Can I have a go with that Les Paul?’
“And the guy behind the counter goes, ‘Erm, you do know that was Peter Green’s, and it’s signed by Peter Green, right?’ He reluctantly got it down and gave it to Noel.”
From there, Gallagher, who was apparently irked by the shop owner’s attitude, decided to get back at him and “spat on his T-shirt and rubbed off the signature.”
“He purposefully rubbed off Peter Green’s signature to make a point to the guy in the guitar shop,” Ryder-Jones continued. “He thought he [the guitar shop employee] was being a bit rude, you know?
“But he said, ‘Yeah, I want that guitar,’ and the guy was like, ‘That belonged to Peter Green; he signed it,’ and Noel got it, rubbed it off, saying, ‘That’s alright; it’ll come off,’ and he took it.”
“I woulda loved for it to have Peter Green’s signature, as I probably would have sold it by now, and had a house,” he joked. “But I’m so very thankful I didn’t do that; it’s a cracking guitar.”
The anecdote about Peter Green’s Les Paul comes shortly after it was revealed that Noel Gallagher had joined forces with Gibson to create his own limited-edition run of Gibson ’78 Les Paul Customs.
20 signed Customs were sold as part of the launch – inspired by the axe originally given to him by Johnny Marr, which famously appeared in the video for the song ‘Whatever’. The proceeds were then donated to charity.
As well as releasing the models, Gallagher will also be performing at the Teenage Cancer Trust charity gigs at Royal Albert Hall later this week. This year’s edition also features headline appearances from The Chemical Brothers and Young Fathers, and the event will mark a full circle moment for the Britpop icon, as it comes after he played at the charity’s very first event back in 2000.
His latest album with High Flying Birds, ‘Council Skies’, arrived last year, and was given a glowing four-star review by NME.
“How far ‘Council Skies’ will travel in the wider pop culture world remains to be seen, but it doesn’t change that it’s the brightest, most listenable collection of songs he’s pieced together in some time,” it read. “Informed by his upbringing in Manchester – but recorded in his swanky new studio in London – ‘Council Skies’ is as satisfying a record as anyone could hope for from a Gallagher in 2023.”
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