British blues rock guitar ace Chris Buck was recently reunited with Bernie Marsden's $1 million 'The Beast' Les Paul, when he was given the opportunity to play it on stage for the second time.
The late Whitesnake guitar great, whose influence spans generations of blues and rock guitar players, bought the 1959 Les Paul Standard in 1979 for £600. He played it relentlessly and used it to record every one of his Whitesnake guitar parts, including the singing-into-your-hairbrush classic Here I Go Again, which he co-wrote with David Coverdale.
Marsden once put the guitar up for auction with a weighty $1.3 million asking price, but pulled it away from any potential bidders after a change of heart. It therefore remained in his possession until his passing in 2023.
A year later, Marsden's wife, Fran, entrusted Buck with the famed electric guitar, which he played during an all-star event in honor of the Whitesnake legend.
Now, the Les Paul is enjoying another foray as part of the Cardinal Black guitarist's live rig, as Buck – who was once namedropped by Slash as the GNR rocker's favorite upcoming British guitarist – revealed during a gear rundown on his YouTube channel.
His rig, he says, has changed “fairly significantly” since the group's recent US tour. The most significant change, naturally, was the fact The Beast was a special guest for the band’s show at Camden, London’s gorgeous Koko venue.
“The Marsdens – Liv, Charlotte, and Fran – very kindly offered for me to play the guitar this evening,” Buck says.
“My friendship with Bernie aside, it's such a beautiful guitar. It's particularly poignant to play it at such a big show,” he continues. “There's not much more to say that hasn't been written or said already; it's a stunningly beautiful guitar. Scarcity and value and everything else aside, it just sounds great.”
There were around 1,500 crammed into the venue for the band’s biggest London show to date. Reflecting on his second dance with the LP after the gig, he couldn’t help but think of the added personal poignancy it held.
“Bernie was a wonderful man, musician, and songwriter who, in a strange twist of fate, passed away on the same day as my father,” he wrote on Instagram. “Closing the show with Bernie’s iconic ‘Burst on Push/Pull – a song about my dad’s passing – and Tied Up in Blue was not only an honour but deeply moving.”
Shortly before Marsden's passing, Guitarist was granted an up-close-and-personal tour of the electric guitars he was willing to sell, including a 1950 Gibson ES-5 in remarkable condition and an early Les Paul Goldtop from 1952 saddled up with P-90 pickups.
Buck recently explained why Yamaha Revstars have usurped Fender Strats in his live rig, believing the Strat comes with plenty of “baggage”. He also recalled the time Slash came to his band's aid when they needed to sort visas for their US tour.
