When punk history is rewritten… Matt’s Guitar Shop, a Paris-based dealer and hunter of exceptional guitars specializing in instruments once owned by artists, has just welcomed into its private collection one of the most iconic guitars of the recent rock scene: Steve Jones’ Gibson Les Paul Custom from the Sex Pistols. After spending years hidden away in a storage facility, this guitar resurfaced in the United States, before Matt’s Guitar Shop managed to bring it back to France. With a philosophy centered on preserving and sharing the cultural heritage of these historic pieces, it is destined to be loaned, played, and appreciated by today’s artists and enthusiasts. Far from being kept as a coveted object behind glass, it is meant to once again inspire hundreds of passionate musicians.

It was important to Matt’s Guitar Shop to unveil the new gem of its collection in an appropriate and meaningful setting. So on June 18, 2024, on the stage of Paris’s Accor Arena, a new chapter began for this iconic guitar. The Green Day concert was the perfect scene to once again let the fury and rage of this one-of-a-kind Les Paul ring out. After an urgent restoration of one of its pickups in Germany, it returned to the spotlight in the hands of Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day’s frontman – a true heir to the punk legacy. Adding to the guitar’s punk pedigree, he played it on the politically charged hit Know Your Enemy (2009) as well as on several tracks from their latest album, Saviors (2024).