Guitars and amplifiers which belong to Mark Knopfler, the star of Dire Straits have been sold for over £8m at auction far greater than had been predicted.
Knopfler has sold over 120 of his amps and guitars with 25% of the profits contributed to charity.
What has led to the sale?
The 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard of Knopfler led the sale, selling for £693,000, positioning a new record of world auction for the model.
As per the musician, the auction was an impressive journey. He has stated that he is very happy that those much-adored instruments will be finding new players as well as the latest songs and will also be raising money from charities meaning a lot to him.
He has also said that it had been a very heart-touching process for witnessing how much these guitars will mean to numerous people and that he was glad as well that they will be continuing to contribute joy to many via the songs that have been recorded throughout the years with him
He further expressed his best wishes to fellow enthusiasts, collectors, and players. The London auction has witnessed some registered buyers and bidders from around 61 countries, with an ultimate whole that includes the premium of buyers at £8,840,160
A gallery worker has held a Gibson Les Paul Standard electric guitar, selling for £592,000, despite a prediction of £15,000.
The 1988 Pensa- Suhr MK-1 of Knopfler has played at the 70th birthday tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, selling for £504,000, despite carrying an estimate of nearly £8,000.
Somewhere else, the Red Schecter Telecaster which Knopfler bought in the year 1984, for recording the Walk of Life, blockbuster song, has gone below the mallet for an amount of £415,800, far above the estimate of £6,000.
Dire Straits turned out to be megastars in the middle of the 80s with their successful single Money for Nothing, a rock excess satire in the MTV age.
The collection of Knopfler that was auctioned at Christie’s on Wednesday in London, is spanning the whole of his career of 50 years.
In November, while talking with BBC News about the guitars, Knopfler said that he expects they all will be played. According to him, they do not do very well residing in a case throughout their lives.
Knopfler’s guitar which was played for recording and performing Solid Rock had an estimate of £6,000, selling for £277,000