“To surprise me, they put my name on the headstock in gold lettering – but they spelled it wrong”: The Cars’ Elliot Easton on the Flying V that Tim Shaw built him – a “gorgeous” guitar (even if Gibson slipped up on his name)

Elliot Easton wears round sunglasses with a pale blue tiny and holds his hands out as he addresses the crowd. He has a Butterscotch Blonde Telecaster.

We have had all kinds of electric guitars on the cover of Guitar World, but are there any cooler than a Custom Shop korina Flying V?

Elliot Easton of the Cars thought so when he grabbed his most photogenic six-string for the cover of our September 1984 issue. We caught up with the icon of rock and pop to get the story behind it – and hear about his regrets that he no longer owns it.