Model: Fender Telecaster
Color: Paisley Red AKA Pink Paisley
Year: late '80s - late '90s
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Used in...
- 2000-2006
- played live during the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants and the Brotherly Love tours
- featured in the live DVD Familiar to Millions
Details
The late '60s were defined by the rise of psychedelia.
In 1968, Fender jumped on the trend by adding a Paisley wallpaper (bought from a local paint shop) under a layer of clear coat on some of their guitars. And so, the famous (or infamous!) Pink Paisley Telecasters were born, produced only in 1968 and 1969.1
Fender has reissued the model several times since the mid-'80s, most of them made in Japan, with a few exclusive versions coming out of the USA Custom Shop over the years.
The guitar gained legendary status when James Burton, Elvis Presley's lead guitarist, began playing the Pink Paisley Tele that Fender had gifted him.2
Original '68–'69 Paisley Telecasters are extremely rare and command very high prices. Noel's, however, is a Japanese reissue made sometime between the late '80s and late '90s.
It first appeared in April 2000, during the USA leg of the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants tour: it replaced the Custom Telecaster that Noel had been playing in Go Let It Out, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger.
According to what Noel stated in a MSN Webchat in April 2000, it features Seymour Duncan Antiquities pickups;3 stock pickups & cheap electronics were indeed the weak spot of many Japanese Fenders.
The Pink Paisley Tele was used throughout the remaining dates of the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants tour, and then also for the Tour of Brotherly Love with The Black Crowes in 2001.
Sometimes it was replaced with the Mapleglo Rickenbaker in a few songs - mainly for Go Let It Out.
It became iconic in the Oasis fandom since it appeared in the Familiar to Millions live DVD, recorded at Wembley Stadium in July 2000.
In November 2000, Andy Bell used the Paisley Tele to record guitar parts for the Proud Mary album The Same Old Blues.4 The album was recorded at Wheeler End studios in just seven days and then released in June 2001.
Gem Archer also owns a Paisley Telecaster: it is a 1998 model with a cream pickguard instead of the usual transparent one.
Interestingly, he and Noel bought their Paisley Teles on the very same day:5
"I also use [...] a Paisley Telecaster, which I got back in 2001. It's funny – Noel and I got Paisley Teles on the same day, without knowing it, and then turned up at the gig with them! They're brilliant guitars and Mexican-made, so they only cost us 500 quid."
Actually, I believe that Gem might be wrong about the year: it definitely was 2000.
Here's another curious detail: as far as I know (and based on everything I've found in books and online), Paisley Teles were never made in Mexico - only in Japan and the USA.
While Noel's is definitely a Made-in-Japan Paisley, Gem's started life as a regular Telecaster that was later refinished. This would also explain the cream pickguard. According to a reliable source, it is actually a 1998 '50s reissue made in Mexico.6
Noel and Gem both played their Paisley Teles in 2006 - for example during a March 2006 live performance of Guess God Thinks I'm Abel (video below). Interestingly, Noel's Tele is shown with a cream pickguard as well - but it's definitely the same guitar, as the Paisley pattern confirms.
Allegedly, Noel gave the guitar away in the summer of 2006. It has since changed hands and now belongs to a private collector.
DISCLAIMER
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!
Visit the “Info & About” page for contact details and more.
Thanks!
- The Telecaster Guitar Book – Tony Bacon, 2012 ↩︎
- https://www.james-burton.net/the-pink-paisley-telecaster/ ↩︎
- http://oasisinterviews.blogspot.com/2000/04/?m=0 ↩︎
- Thanks to live4ever forum user mahsteve! ↩︎
- https://www.guitarworld.com/features/gem-archer-oasis-noel-gallagher-high-flying-birds ↩︎
- Thanks to GKA! ↩︎
The Chief's Guitars - Noel Gallagher's guitars: a complete guide - Oasis and NGHFB 