Watch Kirk Hammett join UFO for Doctor Doctor, Shoot Shoot
The Metallica guitarist pulled out his '59 Les Paul, Greeny, for the surprise performance
In addition to conquering stadiums with Metallica, playing metal and funk covers with the Wedding Band and driving through Canada while discussing $750,000 Dumbles, Kirk Hammett recently found time to grab an electric guitar and jump onstage with one of his idols, U.F.O.
The Metallica man joined the '70s hard-rockers at the Avalon in Hollywood at the pre-cruise party for Megadeth’s Megacruise, where he performed two songs, Doctor Doctor and Shoot Shoot.
And he didn’t come alone. As is evident in the fan-filmed video from alexvigil29, Hammett strapped on Greeny - the ’59 Les Paul with a reversed neck pickup that belonged to Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and, subsequently, Gary Moore - for the occasion.
“It’s a unique guitar in that the pickup is turned around,” Hammett explained a few years back. “It’s facing the opposite way, so when you play with both pickups on in the middle position, it creates an out-of-phase sound that sounds like a Fender Stratocaster.”
You can check out the full performance above.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
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
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
“You can only imagine the effect this had on the young Keith Richards and Eric Clapton”: 9 must-hear albums that fueled the British blues guitar boom
“We’ve made something really unique and special”: Thin Lizzy to release first new record in over 40 years – featuring brand new guitar parts from founding member Eric Bell and unheard Phil Lynott vocals