Gibson Flying V (1980)

Photo: Sotheby’s
Model: Gibson Flying V
Color: Ebony/Black
Year: 1980 (serial: 82590004)

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Used in...

- 1994

- owned by Johnny Marr

- used during the Definitely Maybe recording sessions

- used to record Slide Away and Cigarettes & Alcohol
Details

This Flying V was built in mid-September 1980 at the historic Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It features an Ebony finish and, compared to the '60s or reissue models, it has a slightly shorter and rounder headstock equipped with Gibson-branded, Schaller-made "flower" keystone tuners.

The neck pickup appears to be the original Gibson pickup, albeit with its cover removed. In contrast, the bridge pickup, which sports cream bobbins, looks like a DiMarzio - most likely a Super Distortion model.

Johnny Marr acquired this guitar somewhere in the USA during the summer of 1989, as indicated by an original USA/UK import note.1 He used it for studio recordings with Electronic and other collaborations in the early '90s, but it was never played live.
In early January 1994, Oasis entered Monnow Valley studios to record their debut album, Definitely Maybe.
Johnny Marr loaned Noel a few guitars, specifically the famous Gibson Les Paul "conversion", the legendary Rickenbacker 330 from The Smiths and this very Flying V.

According to engineer Dave Scott, as mentioned in a 1994 Melody Maker interview, the Flying V was played on Slide Away.2
In 2019, Johnny Marr wrote in a note that Noel also used it to record "Cigarettes & Alcohol & possibly more".

The V appears in several pics taken by Micheal Spencer Jones, documenting the sessions.
Interestingly, most of the Monnow Valley recordings were scrapped, with only Slide Away - allegedly featuring the Flying V - making it onto the final version of the album. The scrapped Monnow Valley versions were eventually released in 2024 as part of the 30th-anniversary reissue of Definitely Maybe.

In late February, the band relocated to Sawmills Studios to re-record the album, but by that time the Flying V had been returned to Johnny. The Les Paul, however, famously stayed with Noel...
The 1980 Flying V was once featured in the long-gone "Guitarchestra" section of Johnny Marr's website, though no additional details were provided.

In March 2019, Johnny put the guitar up for sale through a Stockport-based guitar dealer. Ironically, Johnny seemed to have forgotten its connection to Oasis, as the dealer was unaware of the guitar's background.

When I saw the listing, I immediately recognized the Flying V as the one from the Monnow Valley sessions. I reached out to the dealer, who later confirmed the guitar's history with Johnny - in spite of not believing me when I initially wrote him.
You're welcome!3
The Flying V eventually found its way into the collection of Rock Solid Investments / Pop Icons, along with the previously mentioned handwritten note by Johnny Marr and a set of the Monnow Valley photos taken by Micheal Spencer Jones.4

On 29 August 2024 - coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Definitely Maybe - the guitar was auctioned by Sotheby's, with an estimated value of £20k-£30k.5
In the end, it was sold for £36k.6
On the same date, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard and the Epiphone EA-250 were also auctioned.

The wonderfully detailed photos below come from the auction page - thanks to Sotheby's for the quality pics!

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This is a fansite. It is not affiliated with Noel Gallagher, his management or his record label.
For informational and non-commercial use only. Please do NOT publish this content elsewhere.
If you share or use this information, please provide proper credit and link to the website.
I appreciate your respect for the years of dedicated, freely available research!
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  1. The import note is mentioned in the Sotheby’s auction linked below. ↩︎
  2. https://forum.live4ever.uk.com/post/1283248 ↩︎
  3. A more detailed recounting is available in this blog post. ↩︎
  4. https://www.rocksolidinvestments.ie/private-stash/noel-gallagher-gibson-flying-v ↩︎
  5. https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/popular-culture-l24511/noel-gallagher-oasis-johnny-marr ↩︎
  6. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4y4wn4v7po ↩︎

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