Noel Gallagher has called it the “world’s best” electric guitar, but maybe his 1997 Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul Florentine that he sold in the ‘90s is simply too good to hold onto, because it has just been sold again at auction, with the BBC reporting that it fetched £226,000.
The auction, hosted via Propstore, saw a cornucopia of Oasis-related ephemera go under the hammer. This was an occasion for those of deep pockets to bid for frontman Liam Gallagher’s tambourine, or for one of Noel’s old golf buggies, refinished with a hotrod paint job – just the thing for a trip down to Waitrose.
But it was Noel’s Les Paul Florentine that was the star of the show. It was expected to fetch between £200,000 and £400,000. The question is why this guitar keeps changing hands? It was auctioned as recently as 2022. Back then, Propstore had estimated its value between £300,000 to £500,000.
With the vintage market overheating, and with the fever for all things Oasis after the Gallagher brothers finally buried the hatchet and announced their reunion shows, it is counterintuitive that it should fall in value.
Its provenance is unimpeachable. Made by the Gibson Custom Shop in 1997, it was used on Oasis’ third studio album, Be Here Now, and with a Silver Sparkle finish it was always going to be a touring guitar. Gallagher took it everywhere.
He also couldn’t be more effusive about its capabilities, telling Spin that it was the best guitar in the world.
“That’s the best guitar in the world,” he said. “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.”
With Gallagher enjoying a number of collaborations with Gibson and Epiphone – the latter releasing a superlative version of his Riviera – perhaps we might see a replica of this as a future signature guitar.
It would make a neat project for the Custom Shop’s Murphy Lab team to get their teeth into. Although you could see a future in which a Silver Sparkle Les Paul Florentine with Gallagher’s name on the headstock could be a top-selling Epiphone guitar.
In either scenario, the Metalheadz sticker that Gallagher applied to the original, would surely be available inside the guitar case. And would any player be brave enough to stick it onto the front of their guitar?
Gallagher did that in the ‘90s. Things were different back then. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Oasis are back. Liam says even on a bad day Oasis still “wipe the floor” with most other bands out there today.
