Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler sells his guitars at auction for over £8 million

The sale, held at Christie's Auction House London was led by Knopfler's 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard, which sold for £693,000, setting a new world auction record for the model.

The Dire Straits star sold over 120 of his guitars and amps, with 25% of the proceeds going to charity.

The charities of Knopfler's choosing were the British Red Cross, Tusk- an African conservation charity and Brave Hearts of the North East- a charity which supports family members of children with serious illnesses. While one hundred percent of the funds raised from the final lot, Knopfler's Gibson Les Paul "gold top" guitar, are to be donated to  Teenage Cancer Trust.

The auction house Christie's also pledged to donate a further £50,000 to each of the four charities.

Speaking on the surprise outcome of the auction, the guitarist said: "I am so pleased that these much-loved instruments will find new players and new songs as well as raising money for charities that mean a lot to me,"

He continued saying: "It has been heart-warming to witness how much these guitars mean to so many people and I am also pleased that they will continue to give joy to many through the songs recorded over the years with me".

Concluding, Knopfler said: "To you fellow players, enthusiasts and collectors, I wish you all good things."The London auction saw registered bidders and buyers from 61 countries, with a final total including buyer's premium, confirmed at a whopping £8,840,160 by Christie's.

The auction smashed estimates and well-exceeded evaluations. One such example was the 1983 Les Paul that Knopfler used to record Dire Straits tracks 'Money For Nothing' and 'Brothers In Arms', and which he played on stage at Live Aid in 1985. It had an estimated price of £10,000-£15,000 but sold for £592,000.

A surprise result included Knopfler's 1988 Pensa-Suhr MK-1, which he played at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, sold for £504,000 despite having an estimate of just £8,000.

The final lot, Knopfler's 2021 Gibson Les Paul "gold top" guitar - signed by 33 stars including the late Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, Brian May, Sting, Sir Ringo Starr and Bruce Springsteen went for £403,200, all of which went to Teenage Cancer Trust.