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The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy has opened up about a severe case of guitar seller’s remorse that saw him lose out on an estimated $150,000.
Duffy had used this particular vintage gem during the band’s Electric era in the late 1980s when The Cult were at the height of their powers. It fetched a high price, but sold it before its value, thanks to a well-known, top hat-wearing shredder, skyrocketed.
“I bought a refinished but otherwise all-original ‘59 Les Paul for about $10,000,” he reveals in the new issue of Guitarist. “You can see it on YouTube because I used it on a few TV shows around the Electric album. I would use it on stage occasionally, like at the live concert we did for the BBC in London, but I didn’t use it all the time, just for maybe encores, because I never really got along with it.”
Still, Duffy knew the guitar had value – anyone burning 10 grand on an electric guitar knows exactly what they’re buying. But the timing of the sale, more than anything, is what has left the guitarist with egg on his face.
“Remember,” he says, “this was before Slash blew up, so nobody really wanted Les Pauls. They all wanted fucking Charvels.
“I sold the guitar to [producer] Bob Rock like an idiot for $10,000,” he continues. “Then Slash blew up, and I immediately missed out on about $150,000 worth of profit right there. He still reminds me about it today!”
Hey, at least he got his money back. Just how close the sale was to the Les Paul’s reversal of fortune, though, is crazy.
As Guns N’ Roses producer Mike Clink says, Slash made the Les Paul cool again with the monumental success of their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. At the time, super shredder guitars were hugely in vogue as a generation of players looked to emulate King of the Guitar World, Eddie Van Halen.
The irony, of course, is that Slash’s Appetite Les Paul wasn’t actually a Gibson, but either way, he became a much-needed poster boy for a guitar considered old news for much of the decade.
For reference, The Cult released Electric in April 1987, just three months before Appetite gave a legion of guitar lovers an, err, appetite for Gibson’s flagship axe. And as the record blew up, Bob Rock probably laughed his way to the bank. You can’t win them all, Billy.
Duffy’s full interview can be found in the new issue of Guitarist, which celebrates a century of Gibson’s Flat-top acoustic guitars. Slash also features, discussing his surprise switch to Magnatone amps.
Head to Magazines Direct to pick up a print or digital copy.
