Noel Gallagher's 1967 Gibson Firebird III Non-Reverse
The wood may be the only original feature, but the history lives forever: a guitar that Noel played throughout Definitely Maybe and What's The Story?
Look back (without anger) at the early years of Oasis and this guitar pops up everywhere: with the song that broke Oasis big time into the US in the video for Live Forever, with an outing on Top Of The Pops for Rock & Roll Star, in the line-up for the video for Whatever, on the cover of single Don't Look Back In Anger, pictured in any of the many biographies of the band in those early years, and more.
Appearances are one thing. But this guitar is also the one Noel played on the recordings of "Some Might Say" and "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?". It may be the Sheratons, the Union Jack, the 355s or, today, the Jaguars that come to mind when you picture Noel, but go back to where it all began, and this is the real deal. If you want to know What's The Story, read on . . .
See & Hear It In Action
Noel on set for the video shoot of Whatever, with Firebird in the line-up. Not played in the video, just adored.
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Noel Gallagher with The Firebird: If ever you want to find out what specific guitar a Guitar God has played, go to Equipboard. An incredibly comprehensive and verified sourcebook. Here, a classic picture of Noel with the Firebird.
And, as a video history of this guitar's appearances - including a pre-Oasis sighting:
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Hung Up, Paul Weller (1994): In the hands of one of Noel's god-like heroes, soon to become the best of mates, here's Paul Weller with this very Firebird in March 1994. He must have loved this guitar - it features heavily in the video! And it looks pretty much like the original spec, with the three P90s and "short" Gibson Vibrola unit still in place - both of which Noel was going to replace over the course of just a few months.
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Rock & Roll Star on Top Of The Pops (1994): To be precise, 8 September 1994. Oasis' first ever appearance on Top Of The Pops, in the same week that Definitely Maybe topped the UK album charts. Noel pulls out all the stops for the celebrations with the Firebird and its earlier set-up of three P90 pick-ups - though he's already replaced that Vibrola unit with a standard stop bar.
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Cigarettes & Alcohol Official Video (1994): Something worth living for. The single was released on 10 October 1994, the video recorded a few weeks before. Why is that important? Read on . . .
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Whatever Official Video (1994): One of their finest anthems, filmed on 15 December 1994, for Christmas release. And, as far as I can find so far, the first outing for the Firebird in its current two pick-up configuration. Which narrows down the change from three to two pick-ups to a three-month window after the recording of the Cigarettes and Alcohol video. Good will to all men.
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Live Forever US Video Release (1995): The US video release. That song, this guitar.
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The Story
Only Noel and his guitar tech at the time, Jason Rhodes, could tell us exactly when and where he bought this Firebird. But putting the pieces together, it must have been some time between going into the studio to record Definitely Maybe in December 1993 and its first TV appearance on Top Of The Pops in August 1994.
It may be narrower than that. In March 1994, Paul Weller released "Hung Up", his third single off the "Wild Wood" album. This guitar features heavily throughout the video, with its original spec of 3 P90s and "short" Gibson Vibrola unit (both features that were to be replaced by Noel during the course of 1994). Check out the video above. I'll bet Noel could tell you the story direct, but my guess is that he begged, borrowed or bought the guitar from Paul in Spring or Summer 1994. Not the only guitar previously played by one of his heroes that made it into those early years - Johnny Marr was a regular benefactor. To be fair though, with the Firebird, it was Noel that made it famous ;-).
And it's hardly out of the spotlight for the next 12 months - on TV, video, and in the studio, not to mention countless pictures of Noel with the Firebird. Check out the video history above - which also narrows down the timing of the modification from three P90 pick-ups to the two Pearly Gates humbuckers that are still on it today.
With the success of Definitely Maybe, Noel had the keys to the Aladdin's Cave of classic guitars that we all dream of. And he went for it, big time. So, it's rarer to see him with the Firebird into 1995 and beyond. But it remained a go-to guitar for Noel. And he played it during the recording of "Some Might Say" and title track "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" on 1995 follow-up to Definitely Maybe - an album which went on to become the biggest selling album of the 1990s.
And, who knows, probably not even Noel, it may well have taken a place in the multi-guitar layering that went into shamefully underrated third album Be Here Now. It was definitely there in the studio with Noel. Just one of the fifteen or more guitar tracks behind "D'You Know What I Mean?"
After that, there's not much to say about further appearances while still in Noel's possession. But by 1999, he was ready for one of the rare clear-outs of his guitar cave. So, this one and a number of other guitars famously owned by Noel, first came onto the market in August 1999, with provenance from Noel and Jason Rhodes, at the New King's Road Vintage Guitar Emporium. Dave Brewis snapped up six of those guitars just 10 days later on 20 August 1999, listing it among the other gems at Rock Stars Guitars. By today's standards, it was not quick to sell. So, they also listed it on eBay, which was where I was lucky enough to find it in March 2002. Sometimes, the slow and unsophisticated early days of the internet are a hidden blessing.
Two final things. The first is speculation, but makes sense. The second is straight from Noel himself, so how could it possibly be wrong . . . (er, apart from the date of the guitar)?
The speculation. When I first plugged this guitar, cranked up the volume, and kicked in the overdrive, the sound from this guitar was the absolute match for (It's Good) To Be Free. A massive song released as one of the B-side tracks to Whatever, and then later on The Masterplan. (It's Good) To Be Free was recorded on 7 October 1994, at The Congress House Studio, Austin, Texas - during a two-week break from Oasis' first multi-city tour of the States. That would narrow the date down for the change from P90s to these Pearly Gates to late-September/early-October. And, if I'd just had these pick-ups installed, I couldn't think of a better way to unleash their power than on the overdriven feedback of (It's Good) To Be Free.
The gospel. Answering the important question that precisely no-one has ever asked: "But what happened to the P90s that Noel removed from the Firebird?" A good question. And one finally answered in the treasure trove that is Marr's Guitars in late-2023. It's well-known that Johnny Marr lent Noel some wonderful guitars during the early years of Oasis. One of them was the black 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom, lent (then donated) by Johnny to Noel when the 1953 Gibson Les Paul Standard 58 -60 conversion that Johnny had also given to Noel was damaged in a stage brawl at a gig in Newcastle in August 1994. Not just any Les Paul Custom. It's "THE The Queen Is Dead guitar!" - and the same one that stands next to the Firebird on the video for Whatever. Which is important from a timing perspective, since the P90s on the Firebird had been replaced by the Pearly Gates humbuckers just before the filming of Whatever. Over to Noel: "Now something happened to that guitar [the black Les Paul Custom] a few years after he gave it to me that caused me to swap the pickups out for a set of P90s from a 1968 Firebird (the one I used on the Oasis song "Morning Glory") . . . Johnny used it on Oasis sessions for Heathen Chemistry. I do remember him asking though, "Are these the same pickups?".
Noel may have made the Firebird a year younger, but there was only one Firebird he played on "Morning Glory", and it's this very one. Not only a legend in its own right, but an organ donor for another legendary guitar, Johnny Marr's 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom! Surely worth at least that one exclamation mark . . . .
Specification
Make
Gibson
Model
Firebird III Non-Reverse
Colour
Dark Sunburst
Year
1967
Serial Number
N/A
Number of Frets
22
Fretboard
Rosewood
Neck
Mahogany
Body
Mahogany
Tuners
Schaller-Style
Pick-ups
Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates
Bridge
Gibson Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece
Gibson Stop-Bar
Scale Length
24.75"
Full Length
43.50"
Further Information:
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Provenance aside - or more because of the provenance - the only original feature on this guitar is the wood...
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Everything else is a modification, even down to the nut and strap buttons. The body itself had been home-resprayed at some point in distant time before Noel got his hands on the guitar - which, with the wear it has since had, gives it a uniqueness that, even without the provenance, would make it stand out head and shoulders in an identity parade. Which is helpful, given the serial number has also been erased during its long life.
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Despite its incredibly lightweight body, it's a massive-sounding guitar. You've got to hand that to the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pick-ups. As we know, they replaced the three P90s that were in place when Noel first bought the guitar. You can still see the routing in the body for those three pick-ups. From three to two may sound like a loss. Until you plug in and play. And, OMG, these Pearly Gates are immense. In Seymour Duncan's own words: "Our country fried Pearly Gates Set transforms any Les Paul style guitar into a classic rock outlaw." So, it's not a Les Paul, but with this pair, the Firebird knocks stripes off any off-the-shelf Les Paul Standard.
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To play, it's a dream - an unlikely combination of super-thin neck and fat frets, with a lovely low action. And a roar and drive from those pick-ups that will give you your very own Marty McFly shaped hole in your wall.
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A guitar that will, like the song, live forever.
Sources & Links
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The Firebird Story from Vintage Guitar And Bass: More information about the Firebird variants, the basis for this highly modified guitar, from the incredibly thorough and well-researched Vintage Guitar And Bass people.
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And more of the history from Music Radar: For even more detail, thanks to the tireless research of the people at Music Radar.
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Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Pick-ups: Based on Billy Gibbons' '59 Les Paul pick-ups, some of the hottest pick-ups you'll ever play.
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Rock Stars Guitars: And on the subject of Rock & Roll Stars, it was probably this guitar that planted the long-incubated seed for God's Own Guitars when bought back in 2002. Recommendations and big thanks to the gentleman that is Dave Brewis at Rock Stars Guitars, seasoned ambassador for the gods' guitars and their equipment.