Guitar Icon Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler Sold For More Than 160 Billion In Auction

Mark Knopfler (Instagram @markknopfler)

JAKARTA - The guitar icon of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, sold for more than 8 million pounds (equivalent to Rp160 billion) in the auction. This value is much higher than expected.

More than 120 Knopfler's guitars and amps include Gibson Les Paul 1983 which was used to record 'Money For Nothing' and 'Brother In Arms', which was also played at the iconic Live Aid concert in 1985.

Launching NME, Friday, 25 percent of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to various charities, including the Red Cross, wildlife defender Tusk, and children's nonprofit organization Brave Hearts of the North East.

Meanwhile, according to the BBC, the auction, which took place in London at Christie's on Wednesday, January 31, was followed by bidders and buyers from 61 countries, with the final total including the buyer's premium, confirmed at 8.840.160.

This iconic musician was able to set a new auction record with his Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard 1959 which sold for 693,000, making it the highest selling for the guitar model.

"I'm very happy that this beloved instrument will find new players and new songs and raise money for a charity that means a lot to me," Knopfler said of the auction via the BBC.

“Sungguh menghangatkan hati menyaksikan betapa berartinya gitar ini bagi banyak orang dan saya juga senang bahwa gitar ini akan terus memberikan kegembiraan kepada banyak orang melalui lagu-lagu yang direkam selama bertahun-tahun bersama saya," dia melanjutkan.

Other works sold in the auction included Pensa-Suhr MK-1 1988 played by Knopfler at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday tribute concert at his Wembley Stadium and his Red Schekter Telecaster, which the musician bought in 1984 to record the hit song 'Walk Of Life'.

Meanwhile, the 1988 MK-1 Pensa-Suhr sells for 504,000 pounds and the Red Schecter Telecaster sells for 415,800 pounds, several hundred thousand more expensive than the estimated price of 8,000 and 6,000.