Bernard Butler

In this interview, Bernard explains how he acquired his 1961 335. "I bought this at Guitar Center in Los Angeles for $4,500, the most I have spent on a guitar. The inspiration of getting a red ES-355 was Johnny Marr, but also Chuck Berry and Roy Orbison. My dad loved Roy Orbison, so big red semis are a childhood memory. From an early age, I thought: that’s an electric guitar.

“But Johnny playing one was one reason. I remember seeing The Smiths on The Tube, 1983, with Johnny playing a red ES-355. It’s odd, as he only played a 355 for about six months, but that was enough for me.

“I’ve just been touring with Ben Watt, and he says he was out shopping with Johnny when he bought his own red 355 that day in the 80s. It was at (Fat Rick’s) Vintage Guitar Emporium. I know Rick, too, and he’s joked, ‘if Johnny ever comes in we can close the doors, that’s business done for the day!’

“This is on a lot of my recordings, from late Suede to McAlmont & Butler, my solo albums, to my producing and playing. On Ben Watt’s album [due spring 2014], it’s all this 355 straight into my Lazy J 20 amp

"This is the guitar I played it ("Animal Nitrate") on. 1980 heritage Les Paul. I really love it," Bernard Butler says, at 1:34 in this video.

"This is my strat. This is a '62 strat with my own custom finish," Bernard Butler says at 0:05 in this video.

Butler has used a arctic white telecaster with a bigsby on numerous projects post 1995. He can be seen in this promo video for the Mcalmont and Butler single 'Bring It Back' from about 0:27 onwards.

In this photo Bernard can be seen with the Vox guitar

In this user-uploaded photo, Bernard Butler is pictured with a Fender Electric XII 12-String Guitar, highlighting his use of this extended-range instrument.

In January 2024, at The Old Woollen in Leeds, Bernard Butler was observed playing a Gibson ES-295, confirming his use of this specific guitar model. Following the performance, Butler disclosed that this instrument is an original model from the 1950s, as documented in a photograph available as evidence.