“I used an SG Junior and it would never stay in tune. Felix had this old beat-up Junior and said, ‘Try this thing,’ and I never gave it back’”: Leslie West on giving his Gibson Les Paul Junior to Pete Townshend after tracking three songs with The Who

Left-Leslie West of West, Bruce And Laing performing on stage at City Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom, 24 April 1973; Right-Pete Townshend of The Who performs on stage at a concert at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 27 1975
Left-Leslie West; Right-Pete Townshend (Image credit: Left-Ian Dickson/Redferns; Right-Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)

With the Gibson Les Paul Junior celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2024, it’s hard not to immediately think of Leslie West – arguably the most influential Junior player who ever lived. The legendary Mountain co-founder and guitarist wielded his instantly recognizable TV Yellow and Sunburst models throughout his career.

In an excerpt from a 1993 interview, which was published in the latest edition of Guitarist, West reflects on his love affair with the Les Paul Junior, and recalls how he ended up giving one to Pete Townshend.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Janelle Borg

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.

With contributions from