Langford music store owners reunite Randy Bachman with his long-lost glow-in-the-dark guitar

A glow-in-the-dark guitar with a mysterious past led two Langford music store owners straight into the orbit of a Canadian rock legend—and gave them the chance to reunite Randy Bachman with an instrument that vanished from his studio more than two decades ago.

Geoff Round and Laurie Zarr, who own Alloy Music, purchased the electric guitar from a man in his 80s who was downsizing. The instrument's unusual appearance—covered in glow-in-the-dark stickers around its body and headstock—immediately caught their attention and sent Zarr down an online research rabbit hole using image searches and keywords.

"It had all these glow-in-the-dark stickers around the body of the guitar and up on the headstock, so it was very distinct looking," Round said. The search paid off, turning up a photo and grainy 1980s video that revealed the original owner: Randy Bachman, guitarist, singer, and songwriter of The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive.

Through an acquaintance, Round and Zarr were able to confirm with Bachman that the guitar did indeed belong to him. They learned it had gone missing from his studio on Salt Spring Island, and that he had no idea where it had gone.

"You don't count every single guitar in your studio every single day when you have 300 of them around," Round said. "So it took a while for him to finally figure out that this guitar was not there anymore."

Bachman told the couple the guitar held sentimental value. He had received it as a gift from Eddie Van Halen in 1986, shortly before Bachman–Turner Overdrive joined Van Halen's 5150 tour as the opening act. The glow-in-the-dark stickers were Bachman's playful answer to the challenge of standing out on stage alongside a rock icon.

"He put all the stickers on the guitar because he knew he couldn't outshine Eddie as a player," Round said. "But when the lights would go down his guitar would be glowing in the dark – so that was his sort of way of shining on the stage."

Bachman invited Round and Zarr to join him backstage at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre on Aug. 25, where he was performing with The Guess Who. When they handed the guitar back, "He had a big smile on his face," Zarr recalled. Bachman was amused to see that all the original stickers were still intact, including one on the back made with a label maker that read "Calianne"—the name of his daughter.

For Round, the moment held deep personal meaning. He counts Bachman among his childhood musical heroes alongside The Beatles, and credits them both with inspiring him to pursue a career in music from age 12. More than two decades ago, Round had the chance to watch Bachman perform in Kelowna, where he showcased signature techniques, playing his instrument with a drumstick and using rhythmic harmonic methods.

"As a young musician, I've never seen that before, so obviously it was very cool and inspiring to see," Round said.

That lifelong passion for music eventually became a career. Round worked at Alloy Music for 16 years before he and his wife took over ownership of the nearly 40-year-old Langford store.