Epiphone guitars Noel Gallagher used on the first two Oasis albums to go on display at the British Music Experience museum

Oasis Definitely Maybe album cover
(Image credit: Oasis)

Two of Noel Gallagher's key Epiphone guitars from early Oasis history will soon go on display as part of Epiphone's 150th Anniversary celebrations.

The Epiphone Frontier and Riviera are now part of a special section of the British Music Experience in Liverpool from 27 September to 14 January 2024 , celebrating the history of Epiphone guitars

The Epiphone Frontier FT110 acoustic guitar was used in the record of  (What's The Story) Morning Glory? and the Epiphone Riviera with Bigsby is the guitar Noel is holding on the Definitely Maybe album cover photo shown above. 

“I wanted to start playing Epiphones because of the Beatles," reflects Noel. "I didn’t know anything about guitars then. They looked good; they felt good, I could make them sound good. I’m a songwriter, not a guitar player. You know, that’s my thing.  I’m not one of those people who can sit in a guitar shop and play lots of things. I will literally play an E chord, and if it had sounded great and felt good, I would have just said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it'.”

The BME has more activities planned to support Epiphone's anniversary. These include the Epiphone takeover of the Gibson Brands Interactive Studio to enable visitors to play Epiphone guitars along with the Gibson App. The Star Café and Bar will feature Epiphone artist album takeovers each Sunday at midday and the anniversary will form part of the BME's Learning Programme and feature on school tours. The BME's merch store will feature Epiphone guitars available for purchase along with apparel and giftware.

“Epiphone has been at the heart of every significant musical movement for 150 years and what a fitting way to celebrate by being part of this exhibition in Liverpool” says Lee Bartram, Head of Commercial, Marketing and Cultural Influence EMEA. “The guitars on display can be heard and seen on some of the most important recordings and momentous performances from a UK artist in recent years and we would like to thank Noel Gallagher and The BME for their support in telling the story of Epiphone; we can’t wait to see what the next 150 years will bring.”

The British Music Experience is in The Cunard Building, found in the middle of the Three Graces on the Mersey in Liverpool. For more info visit britishmusicexperience.com

Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

I'm the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar in the UK. When I'm not rejigging pedalboards I'm usually thinking about rejigging pedalboards.