Carl Barât reunited with prized Gibson Melody Maker as stolen guitars recovered

The Libertines guitarist Carl Barât has been reunited with two guitars that were stolen back in May before he rehearsed with his side group, Dirty Pretty Things.

The guitars, one of which is Barât’s “treasured” Gibson Melody Maker, were taken in the Homerton area of east London, and “hold an unfathomable amount of sentimental value”, the guitarist explained on social media at the time.

Barât noted that the police had been informed and asked fans to help spread the word. The post was subsequently shared on The Libertines’ Twitter page.

And fortunately, the guitarist has recovered the stolen electric guitars, as seen in a new photo shared to his personal Twitter account.

“Blissed out to hold these guys again. Thank you to all my beloved net detective friends,” he writes in the shot’s accompanying caption, implying that the guitars were found thanks to his fans.

The guitars were recovered just in time for the band’s performance at Glastonbury, apparently, as Barât could be seen playing his Gibson Melody Maker during the set.

And fans can expect to see Barât playing the Melody Maker during The Libertines’ Up the Bracket 20th anniversary shows in the UK this summer.

Pro gear is not cheap and remains a common target for thieves. Recent victims of gear theft include instrumental trio Russian Circles, psychedelic band The Brian Jonestown Massacre and punk rockers Mannequin Pussy, who have all had five-figure sums worth of equipment stolen in the last year.

And in a rather odd story from earlier this year, a man managed to make off with an $8,000 Custom Shop Gibson Les Paul from an Ontario music store by shoving it down his pants.