Gibson has partnered with Johnny Marr to produce a highly limited run of hand-signed Gibson Les Paul signature electric guitars, which are inspired by The Smith legend’s 1984 Les Paul Standard.
The partnership has been formalized to celebrate the first anniversary of Gibson Garage London, whose birthday will be commemorated by the Gibson Garage Fest.
News of the festival that arrived earlier this month promised it would include the release of high-profile six-strings designed in collaboration with some big-name artists, and now we have our first of the event.
As such, the Gibson Johnny Marr ’84 Les Paul Standard with Bigsby will be available exclusively from the Gibson Garage London starting next Friday (February 21). Only 20 will be made, and each will be hand-signed by The Smiths icon himself.
They will be up for sale at an as-yet-undisclosed price until they are sold out, following which they will be gone for good. All the profits from the LPs will be donated to Teenage Cancer Trust.
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As for the guitar itself, Gibson and Marr have clearly pulled no punches, opting to recreate one of Marr’s most important Les Pauls. Specifically, they’ve reissued the Les Paul that was first played during the recording of The Smiths’ Meat is Murder record, and that promptly became one of his go-to guitars.
It featured heavily both on stage and in the studio with The Smiths, and was one of Marr’s guitars of choice during his time with The The, The Pretenders and The Cribs, as well as during his work with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
Not only that, Marr once picked it as one of his favorite guitars, and revealed it to be the one he has used on more records than any other.
“I bought this guitar from A1 Repairs in Manchester for the second Smiths album, Meat Is Murder,” Marr once told The Guardian. “It may surprise some people to learn that this is the guitar I’ve used on more records than any other.
“When people think of me having a ringing sound, they usually assume it’s a Rickenbacker, Fender Telecaster or Fender Jaguar, but it’s often been this 1980s Les Paul. It’s the guitar I played on the last song the Smiths played together in concert.”
“These guitars are a faithful reproduction of my beloved 1984 Gibson Les Paul, bought in Manchester back in the day,” Marr explains in a new Gibson release. “It’s the guitar I’ve kept and used since that time on loads of different records, so I was beyond delighted to see it recreated in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.
“It’s an amazing organisation that I’ve had an association with for about ten years. It’s a privilege to be involved in this good cause and I’m very glad to be affiliated with it, especially when it involves making a fantastic Les Paul.”
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To ensure their authenticity, each guitar was created through Gibson’s Made-to-Measure program, which employs “the artisans of the Gibson Custom Shop locations in Nashville, Tennessee, and Bozeman, Montana, handcraft the world’s most desirable electric and acoustic guitars”.
It features a classic Les Paul spec sheet, and boasts the same small B50 Bigsby tailpiece that can be found on the original.
“It’s a great honour to continue our partnership with the Teenage Cancer Trust for another year, and for 2025 we have the legend that is Johnny Marr adding his support,” adds Lee Bartram, Head of Commercial, Marketing and Cultural Influence – EMEA.
“These guitars Johnny has signed take inspiration from his 1984 Gibson Les Paul Standard with Bigsby which has been featured on many British classic records over the years, and are a fitting tribute to the amazing work the TCT continue to do.”
It’s the latest addition to Marr’s stock of signatures, which now spans a number of different guitar manufacturers. Not only has Marr now been the recipient of both Fender and Gibson signature guitars, he also partnered with Martin last year for a seven-string acoustic model.
Visit Gibson to find out more.
Gibson Garage Fest will also see Jack Bruce’s iconic EB-1 bass – which starred during the Cream reunion in 2005 – be put up for a one-time-only public display.
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