Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Queen's Brian May and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi teamed up this afternoon (February 22) to launch the Gibson Garage, Gibson guitars' new flagship store, in London.
The shop, located at 61-62 Eastcastle Street in central London, officially opens to the public on Saturday, February 24.
At the event, which featured a special 'In Conversation event with Jimmy Page, plus live music from singer/songwriter James Bay, Gibson's CEO/President Cesar Gueikian announced that the company has entered into a collaborative partnership with Jimmy Page.
“Jimmy Page deserves a very important chapter in the history of Gibson,” he explained. “We think of Jimmy as an ambassador emeritus of guitars and a music trailblazer in the birth and evolution of rock! In many ways, Jimmy is responsible for the success, continued innovation, and evolution of post-Golden-Era Gibson. We are grateful for Jimmy’s trust in the Gibson team, and we look forward to paying tribute to him by bringing this epic collaboration to life.”
“When I met with Cesar and he explained what the future of Gibson looked like, I knew I needed to be involved,” said Page. “There is a spirit in the place; after seeing the people working at the factories and getting a connection with them, I knew that picking up that Les Paul Custom and the Doubleneck all those years ago was certainly the right decision.”
Tony Iommi and Brian May expressed their admiration for the new Gibson store.
“It’s really great that Gibson have chosen London to create a new Gibson Garage," says Black Sabbath's riff lord. “It’s not your average guitar shop-it’s a place where musicians can go to get inspired. Whatever style of player you may be there’s such a wide variety of guitars to choose from.”
Brian May adds, “The new Gibson Garage London will be just what we all used to dream a guitar shop should be-a place where a young player can feel welcome and mix with the finest instruments, amps, and ancillary gear - and NOT be told to keep their hands to themselves! It's a new era in Rock - and the Twang is still the Thang!”
Watch the three English guitar legends at the Gibson Garage in Classic Rock's footage of the event.
