Great article on the Beano Burst!

[mikeslub]

My friend and author, Tony Bacon, wrote a great piece on the Beano Burst. It has mythical status! Enjoy!

The strange case of the missing Beano: where is Eric Clapton’s stolen Les Paul?

Taken from a church hall practice room in '66, Slowhand’s legendary Beano ’Burst has not been seen since. Guitarist investigates...

www.guitarworld.com

 

[corpse]

Good find.

 

[MattD1960]

Great article, I firmly believe in my heart and soul, this guitar will never be "found" i am sure someone is sitting on the couch with it right now playing hideaway, but us normal folk will just never be let in on this guitar mystery. could JB know where it is sure, could some of the "senior" members on here with a long storied history in the burst game know where it is maybe. but it will most likely be a mystery for the world at large forever.

I think thats almost a better story, its sword in the stone esk. it was a magic guitar in the hands of a magic player at a magic time. and then POOOOF its gone forever and the magic is lost to the world. George RR Martin and Tolkin together couldnt write a better guitar story.

 

[goldtop0]

Thanks Mike , that's the most in depth article to date and Tony's the man for this one for sure.
I like Eric's description of it back in '66 after it was stolen 'a red gold colour with Grover machineheads'.

 

[El Gringo]

Thanks Mike !

 

[Mattyboy75]

Hi guys. Have a look at the thread I started a few weeks ago called claptons lost burst. It started with pics of possibly the same article but theres lots of good posts from lots of people on it as it’s a very interesting subject.

 

[agogetr]

Great article, I firmly believe in my heart and soul, this guitar will never be "found" i am sure someone is sitting on the couch with it right now playing hideaway, but us normal folk will just never be let in on this guitar mystery. could JB know where it is sure, could some of the "senior" members on here with a long storied history in the burst game know where it is maybe. but it will most likely be a mystery for the world at large forever.

I think thats almost a better story, its sword in the stone esk. it was a magic guitar in the hands of a magic player at a magic time. and then POOOOF its gone forever and the magic is lost to the world. George RR Martin and Tolkin together couldnt write a better guitar story.

i prefer the alternate ending where i buy it at an estate sale.
i have this odd premonition that the guitar will turn up. at some point

 

[Doc Sausage]

i prefer the alternate ending where i buy it at an estate sale.
i have this odd premonition that the guitar will turn up. at some point

I have this odd feeling too...it’s ‘found’ AFTER EC’s passing. ?

 

[Ed A]

Frampton‘s black beauty… Page’s black beauty… Clapton‘s Beano… Let’s complete the trilogy and get Beano back to Clapton!

 

[El Gringo]

I have a feeling that Beano is out there and the person that has her knows fully well that it is Beano . Think of it another way that this was the crime of the century in the guitar universe as no one knows the serial # or distinctive features in the figured maple top to fully be able to identify her except for Mr. Clapton .

 

[Garincha]

Think of it another way that this was the crime of the century in the guitar universe as no one knows the serial # or distinctive features in the figured maple top to fully be able to identify her except for Mr. Clapton .

Frankly, I highly doubt Eric would remember anything specific about that guitar other than the feel of the neck. I don't remember much of guitars I sold over the years myself, except when they had an accident or something that left specific marks in the wood. Other than that, certainly I would never be able to remember for example the exact look of the PRS I used to own 15 years ago.

But it is perfectly possible to positively identify the guitar going by it's grain pattern. All it takes is a high-quality print from the Wedgbury negative. Snap Galleries in London still sells them and they should be in a resolution far greater than the scans of a low-res print on a record cover which is all we've ever seen until today.

I would order such a print, but frankly, 2.500GBP is too much for me. I just wonder why nobody - guitar magazines included - who could swing that sum in a heartbeat hasn't done that already. Instead everybody is still agonizing over the same old pictures which are only scans of an absurdely low resolution print from the 60s.

Another thing comes to my mind: I'm pretty sure if Snap Galleries keeps track of their customers, a starting point for research about the whereabouts of that guitar would be exactely those files. I think I've read here in the LPF a couple of years ago, that the current "owner" knows what he has and also has a proof of it. To me that sounds like somebody had ordered a 32x32 print and compared the grain patterns.

 

[Mattyboy75]

When everyone talks about this subject it’s with hindsight, did the thief know what he had? With hindsight we think so but Eric wasn’t a megastar yet. It was almost certainly an opportunist thief who sold it on after a time. With the mists of time it could have changed hands on the second hand guitar scene any number of times, as Garincha has said, he wouldn’t recognise a guitar he owned 15 years ago. There was no internet then so the theft wouldn’t have been common knowledge outside of EC’s circle and perhaps a mention in the music press but after a little while if someone wanted to sell a second hand Gibson I doubt it would have attracted any attention. Perhaps with a good quality print it could now be traced as mentioned above if the current owner wants it to be traced.
Is it not also possible that someone bought it second hand from the thief, it got damaged (headstock break or similar) and was considered beyond economical repair and it has been binned?

 

[El Gringo]

Frankly, I highly doubt Eric would remember anything specific about that guitar other than the feel of the neck. I don't remember much of guitars I sold over the years myself, except when they had an accident or something that left specific marks in the wood. Other than that, certainly I would never be able to remember for example the exact look of the PRS I used to own 15 years ago.

But it is perfectly possible to positively identify the guitar going by it's grain pattern. All it takes is a high-quality print from the Wedgbury negative. Snap Galleries in London still sells them and they should be in a resolution far greater than the scans of a low-res print on a record cover which is all we've ever seen until today.

I would order such a print, but frankly, 2.500GBP is too much for me. I just wonder why nobody - guitar magazines included - who could swing that sum in a heartbeat hasn't done that already. Instead everybody is still agonizing over the same old pictures which are only scans of an absurdely low resolution print from the 60s.

Another thing comes to my mind: I'm pretty sure if Snap Galleries keeps track of their customers, a starting point for research about the whereabouts of that guitar would be exactely those files. I think I've read here in the LPF a couple of years ago, that the current "owner" knows what he has and also has a proof of it. To me that sounds like somebody had ordered a 32x32 print and compared the grain patterns.

That is a very good idea about Snap Galleries , yet that price tag of 2,500GBP is up there for sure . So I wonder if the person in possession of Mr. Clapton's Burst "Beano" even plays it ? or does he have it hanging on his wall ? or in glass ? I can't stomach to say the "current owner" as that is pure Bollocks to me . I also believe Mr. Clapton knows more than he is letting on to , but that is his right ! To me this instrument is the ultimate artifact of the British Invasion of Popular Music . Where's National Geographic , NBC Dateline, CBS 60 Minutes etc. To do a proper and thorough and in depth investigation and hopefully the recovery and return of Mr. Clapton's Beano guitar ?

 

[MattD1960]

That is a very good idea about Snap Galleries , yet that price tag of 2,500GBP is up there for sure . So I wonder if the person in possession of Mr. Clapton's Burst "Beano" even plays it ? or does he have it hanging on his wall ? or in glass ? I can't stomach to say the "current owner" as that is pure Bollocks to me . I also believe Mr. Clapton knows more than he is letting on to , but that is his right ! To me this instrument is the ultimate artifact of the British Invasion of Popular Music . Where's National Geographic , NBC Dateline, CBS 60 Minutes etc. To do a proper and thorough and in depth investigation and hopefully the recovery and return of Mr. Clapton's Beano guitar ?

id venture ur probably correct, that Eric knows more about the subject then hes letting on. it could be a Jeff Beck situation, they offered beck his JBG burst back and he passed on the guitar.

Id like anyone who has a chance to do a serious sit down interview with EC to actually directly ask the question. DO U KNOW WHERE IT IS, WOULD U WANT IT BACK, WHAT DO U STILL REMEMEBER ABOUT IT. i have never seen in print or on film anyone directly ask about the beano burst

 

[El Gringo]

id venture ur probably correct, that Eric knows more about the subject then hes letting on. it could be a Jeff Beck situation, they offered beck his JBG burst back and he passed on the guitar.

Id like anyone who has a chance to do a serious sit down interview with EC to actually directly ask the question. DO U KNOW WHERE IT IS, WOULD U WANT IT BACK, WHAT DO U STILL REMEMEBER ABOUT IT. i have never seen in print or on film anyone directly ask about the beano burst

Same here , who knows maybe Mr. Clapton forbids being asked this question ?

 

[MattD1960]

Same here , who knows maybe Mr. Clapton forbids being asked this question ?

I can imagine potentially its a sore subject. these threads over the years always turn into conjecture about ECs "feelings"

I wish some guitar publication, or maybe Mr.Bacon the author of the article in question here would just ring up eric and ask for the definitive Beano interview, and if eric is unwilling then just say so once and for all.

 

[randall]

Remember it was actually a small community of people into the blues in this area at this time, chances are with investigation you could find out who was going to these John Mayall gigs. This person was a musician or a guy trying to be and you could narrow it down. If someone knows what they have and don't want to say something in fear of losing it chances are it will be another 20 years until it comes to the surface. It would be cool to see it and the magical guitar appear like Excalibur, but it really was just a guitar and the magic we hear on the record is a number of factors right down to the mind and hands of the player. Clapton made this record at the age of 21, my good god, the boy had the talent. I could only imagine that after 20 years of hard drinking and drugs his mind would be sharp enough to remember anything like a guitar he played for a year. What about that amp what happened to it?

 

[jrgtr42]

Remember it was actually a small community of people into the blues in this area at this time, chances are with investigation you could find out who was going to these John Mayall gigs. This person was a musician or a guy trying to be and you could narrow it down. If someone knows what they have and don't want to say something in fear of losing it chances are it will be another 20 years until it comes to the surface. It would be cool to see it and the magical guitar appear like Excalibur, but it really was just a guitar and the magic we hear on the record is a number of factors right down to the mind and hands of the player. Clapton made this record at the age of 21, my good god, the boy had the talent. I could only imagine that after 20 years of hard drinking and drugs his mind would be sharp enough to remember anything like a guitar he played for a year. What about that amp what happened to it?

|That might be, but it also might be someone who snuck into the rehearsal room, saw a guitar lying there, and thought, hey, look, I could get some money for that. The theif may not have been a musician, or even known who's guitar it was.

 

[Mattyboy75]

|That might be, but it also might be someone who snuck into the rehearsal room, saw a guitar lying there, and thought, hey, look, I could get some money for that. The theif may not have been a musician, or even known who's guitar it was.

That’s my point. I doubt if the thief had the remotest idea who’s guitar he was stealing.

 

[NYCBURST]

If I had to guess, we have probably seen the Beano burst, There are no photos clear enough to show something that could identify it. It's probably one of the plaintops around England.... Then again, we don't know how much flame it actually had. It is however an intriguing guitar mystery.