Mark Knopfler is selling off his guitar collection for good causes.
The Dire Straits legend has announced the sale of 120 of his guitars, with estimates ranging from £300 to £500,000, with a quarter of the funds raised going to multiple charities.
The sale will take place at Christie’s in London on January 31, and the non-profits that will benefit from the sales include the British Red Cross, Tusk and Brave Hearts Of The North East.
Mark, 74, said: “I’ll be sad to see them go, but we’ve had wonderful times together and I can’t play them all.”
The axe expected to fetch the most, a whopping £300,000-500,000, is the 1959 vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard which Knopfler used on tours in 2001 and 2008.
The ‘Money For Nothing’ hitmaker told the auction house in a video: “It’s exciting having those guitars that figured so big on that record be in the sale. Each one brings back loads of memories. If you would have asked me 20 years ago I’d have thought, No way! But I’m happy now that they’re going to different homes.”
The guitar sale news comes days after it was revealed that the iconic group won’t reunite – despite being offered “huge amounts of money” to get the band back together.
Bassist John Illsley, 74, revealed the ‘Sultans of Swing’ hitmakers’ manager, Paul Crockford, is always telling him about the large sums of money people are willing to pay to see the Grammy-winning rock band back on stage.
In an interview with The Telegraph, he said: “Every time we have lunch, [he] says to me, ‘I wish people would stop offering me huge amounts of money to put [Dire Straits] back together.’”
The ‘Brothers in Arms’ band – which was also comprised of Mark’s brother and guitarist David Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers – split for good in 1995, after six studio albums.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers – who formed in 1977 – had briefly parted ways in 1988, before reuniting in 1990.
However, John insists the group ended at the right time because it was getting in the way of their personal lives.
He added: “Most of our marriages were falling apart, we weren’t seeing our children very much – it was all wrong. It’s the usual things that can happen to people in bands.”