Money For Something: Dire Straits frontman to auction 120 guitars for charity

Dire Straits star Mark Knopfler will auction greater than 120 of his guitars and amps, saying it’s time for his “outdated buddies” to have “new adventures with new homeowners”.

The frontman of the British rock band will auction devices that span his 50-year profession, with 25% of the proceeds going to charity.

The gathering, to be offered at auction home Christie’s, contains guitars he used to write, report and carry out his compositions for Dire Straits, which embrace the hits Brothers In Arms, Romeo And Juliet and Money For Nothing, in addition to quite a few solo albums and soundtracks for movies similar to Native Hero.

Additionally included within the assortment are guitars made by Gibson, Fender and Martin alongside custom-built fashions by Rudy Pensa and John Suhr, and bespoke examples crafted by luthiers from throughout the globe.

Some 25% of the overall hammer value shall be divided equally and donated to The British Crimson Cross, Tusk and Courageous Hearts of the North East.

Knopfler, who was born in Glasgow however grew up in Blyth, in Northumberland, stated: “Wherever I am going I’m nonetheless crossing streets to take a look at guitars within the home windows of music retailers. I’ve achieved that since I used to be somewhat child.

“I’ve lived with this love affair for over 60 years. That has meant a ardour for every kind of guitars: the inconceivable desires and loads of the cheaper ones, too. As a profession in music made it attainable for me to realise a few of these desires, guitars of all styles and sizes started to seem.

“It’s time to take a few of these treasured six-string companions out of their instances and depart them within the care of Christie’s to enable them to have new adventures with new homeowners.

“You could be certain I’ll be unhappy to see them go however we’ve had great instances collectively and I can’t play all of them. To you fellow gamers, lovers and collectors, I want you a lot good instances with these outdated buddies of mine.”

Among the many assortment is a 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar which is estimated to fetch between £300,000 and £500,000.

The auction will happen at Christie’s in London on January 31 2024.