After being played by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Yungblud, it was time for Sum 41's Deryck Whibley to take Steve Jones' 1974 Les Paul Custom out for a spin on November 23 – in front of 42,500 fans at Paris' La Défense Arena, a performance which also marked the band's final European show.
The historic guitar, currently in the possession of Matthieu Lucas from the high-profile vintage guitar emporium Matt’s Guitar Shop, first caught Whibley’s attention when Armstrong played it a few months ago.
“Deryck messaged me on Instagram,” Lucas tells Guitar World. “I knew and respected Sum 41 and their legacy, but I didn’t realize at the time they were gearing up for the biggest headline show of their career here in Paris.
“In the weeks leading up to the show, Deryck and I talked about our mutual love for the Sex Pistols. That’s when we planned the special moment: Deryck would play the iconic 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom – the very guitar Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols used on Never Mind the Bollocks.”
In a video provided exclusively to Guitar World, Whibley acknowledges the guitar's punk legacy while addressing the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very excited right now to be holding this guitar [because it belonged to] Steve Jones, from the Sex Pistols, and was used to make a record that inspired all of us back when we were teenagers, and we have it here for you tonight to enjoy it,” he says, right before launching into Dopamine, a song the band released earlier this year.
Lucas describes the moment the pop-punk royalty took the stage with the guitar as “incredible.”
“As someone seeing Sum 41 live for the first time, it was one of the best performances I’ve ever witnessed,” he continues.
“For Deryck, it was a dream come true, and I think he’s one of the rare artists who truly did justice to that guitar’s history. He matched its energy in a way I’ve never seen before.”
In May, Steve Jones' storied Les Paul was sold at auction for $390,000, far surpassing its $100,000-$200,000 estimate.
