Peter Frampton's beloved guitar he thought he'd lost forever following a plane crash in the Caribbean 30 years ago has been returned to the rocker.
His prized Gibson Les Paul Custom, which he played on his landmark Frampton Comes Alive album was onboard a cargo plane that crashed en route to Panama in 1980, and the guitar great felt sure he'd never see the axe again.
But following an exhaustive search, two fans stumbled across the instrument on the Dutch island of Curacao, confirmed its authenticity and teamed up with local tourism bosses to get the guitar back to Frampton.
The rocker received the lost axe last month (Dec11) in Nashville, Tennessee and admits he's stunned to have it back.
He says: "I am still in a state of shock, first off, that the guitar even exists, let alone that it has been returned to me.
"I know I have my guitar back, but I will never forget the lives that were lost in this crash. I am so thankful for the efforts of those who made this possible.
"Now that it is back I am going insure it for $2 million (GBP1.25 million) and it's never going out of my sight again! It was always my number one guitar and it will be reinstated there as soon as possible. Some minor repairs are needed."
Guitar experts at Gibson have confirmed the instrument is the 1954 Les Paul Frampton feared he'd lost forever.
His prized Gibson Les Paul Custom, which he played on his landmark Frampton Comes Alive album was onboard a cargo plane that crashed en route to Panama in 1980, and the guitar great felt sure he'd never see the axe again.
But following an exhaustive search, two fans stumbled across the instrument on the Dutch island of Curacao, confirmed its authenticity and teamed up with local tourism bosses to get the guitar back to Frampton.
The rocker received the lost axe last month (Dec11) in Nashville, Tennessee and admits he's stunned to have it back.
He says: "I am still in a state of shock, first off, that the guitar even exists, let alone that it has been returned to me.
"I know I have my guitar back, but I will never forget the lives that were lost in this crash. I am so thankful for the efforts of those who made this possible.
"Now that it is back I am going insure it for $2 million (GBP1.25 million) and it's never going out of my sight again! It was always my number one guitar and it will be reinstated there as soon as possible. Some minor repairs are needed."
Guitar experts at Gibson have confirmed the instrument is the 1954 Les Paul Frampton feared he'd lost forever.
