Gary Moore’s TV Yellow 1961 Gibson SG Junior is the latest 'pre-loved-by-a-rockstar' axe to head to the auction block, courtesy of Gardiner Houlgate.
The rare electric guitar – owned and played on stage by the late blues great – makes for one of the standout stars in the auctioneer’s September lot. The fact it’s a TV Yellow example makes it even rarer.
The oddball finish emerged in the ‘50s, supposedly in a bid to make instruments look better on that hot new invention, the television. Regardless of whether that’s truth or not, the finish – like a fine wine – so often looks better with age, and Moore’s beauty is no exception.
As a new decade rolled in, Gibson began to retire the finish, making this particular model one of only a few of its kind, and as auctioneer Luke Hobbs details, it would go on to see a lot of stage time when it eventually found its way to Moore.
“This guitar was used for some of the press photo sessions for the BBM Tour; Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Gary Moore,” Hobbs details.
“It was also used on some of the sessions for [Moore’s 1995 Peter Green tribute album] Blues For Greeny and it does appear on the VHS.
“And there is one track in particular that this features on, and you can see that up on YouTube, Showbiz Blues. There’s some fantastic playing there where Gary Moore is using a slide but it just sounds incredible.”
Moore, who was known for modding his guitars, has seemingly left his mark on the SG Junior. The original tuners – that are included in the lot – have been replaced by locking tuners, and the covering for its single P-90 has been replaced.
Interestingly, though Hobbs says the original pickup remains and it was just the cover that was swapped out, the same instrument seemingly went under the hammer in 2022. At that time, it was said a Seymour Duncan JBJ humbucker was used before the P-90 was installed.
It's likely the guitar originally came with a P-90, as is the case with these Junior models, and that particular pickup has since been reintegrated into the guitar, with the cover lost during its JBJ era.
Granted, there is no certainty if any of these mods were Moore-made or not, but putting your money on the former – at least, in the case of a reinstalled P-90 – wouldn’t be ludicrous.
The original case, meanwhile, has long been lost, with this instrument sneakily shipping in an Ibanez case instead.
It’s a quirk that, in truth, only adds more charm to this workhorse instrument – it was made to be played, and Moore clocked up plenty of mileage with it beneath his fingers.
Blues For Greeny, on which this TV Yellow corker featured, has been hailed as one of the greatest blues albums by a British artist. It sees Moore doffing his cap to one of his key inspirations, and close friend, Peter Green.
Speaking to Guitarist at the time of the record's release, he explained how he became the proud owner of his hero's infamous Greeny Les Paul, and got it for next to nothing. “I couldn't believe I had it in my hands,” he'd said.
Jump over to Gardiner Houlgate for more information.
