Unique gift among rock legends: Brian May has a left-handed “Red Special” guitar made for Tony Iommi.
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has received an early Christmas present from colleague Brian May of Queen.
Brian May played Santa Claus, so to speak. Although he was far too early, this fact in no way diminished the joy of his long-time friend and colleague Tony Iommi. On the contrary, the element of surprise was even greater.
The object of desire was nothing less than a replica of the “Red Special” guitar that gave Queen’s sound and stage shows their unmistakable touch. The replica is specially adapted to the musician – he is left-handed.
He thanked him for the custom-made version on Instagram with pictures of him playing the guitar and the following caption: “Many thanks to my best friend @brianmayforreal and master builder Andrew Guyton @guyton_guitars for this incredible left-handed Red Special replica.” He also revealed that he received the unique piece personally from his best friend and that it took two years to make.
This is how the original was created
The original “Red Special” was rebuilt by May with his father Harold May in the early 1960s because he could not afford a major brand guitar. It was made from mahogany from an old mantel and an oak fingerboard with mother-of-pearl buttons.
Here’s what the luthier had to say about the replica: “It’s built just like Brian May’s original vintage-style Red Special, but shaped to fit Tony’s legendary Jaydee Old Boy neck. It features a built-in treble booster and authentic vintage-style pots and pickups to recreate the classic sound.”
The end of Black Sabbath in its core line-up
Iommi’s long-time bandmate and friend Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack in July 2025 at the age of 76 – just 17 days after the band gathered at Villa Park in Birmingham to play a farewell concert. Ozzy Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019 and struggled with health problems due to the disease until his death.