AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR, J-200 ANNIVERSARY, CELEBRITY

Of the limited run of ninety J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitars produced by Gibson in 1985, two were presented to Dire Straits: Mark Knopfler received number 40 of 90 and bassist John Illsley received number 42. Mark recalls that he played one of the first J-200 Celebrity models produced when he joined Chet Atkins in Nashville in September 1984 to play on Chet’s 1985 album Stay Tuned. 'I just picked up the phone one day,' Knopfler told Tom Redmond in 2014, 'and he said, "Hi Mark, this is Chet Atkins!" and after I'd recovered from that he just said he was making an album and wanted me on it. I was over awed… I just thought that it would be miles out of my league but anyway I went over there… I just hit it off with Chet immediately. It was one of those great things that turned into a friendship.' Speaking to Bob Hewitt, Knopfler reflected on the sessions for Guitarist magazine the following year: 'That’s guitar playing. That’s being fluent with the instrument to me, and it puts all that guitar hero rubbish into perspective I think…. He’s a hell of a guy and a hell of a guitar player.' As Chet had introduced Mark to the team at the Gibson factory on first arrival in Nashville, Knopfler recalls that 'Gibson sent one [J-200 Celebrity] over to Chet, and one for me.' Presumably that early edition was sent as a loaner for the Chet Atkins session, with Gibson later following through with the two edition numbers for Knopfler and Illsley at some point during the 1985 stretch of the band’s mammoth Brothers In Arms Tour. Knopfler’s new J-200 was taken on the Australia and New Zealand leg of the tour from 7 February to 26 April 1986, replacing his Ovation Adamas for performances of ’The Man’s Too Strong’, as seen in recently rediscovered footage of the concert at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland on 1 March 1986, filmed by cameraman Avital Davidzon.

Most notably, Knopfler chose the J-200 Celebrity for a series of memorable performances with Chet Atkins for The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball in aid of Amnesty International at The London Palladium, from 26 to 29 March 1987. The finger-picking duo appeared with their matching J-200s for an instrumental medley of the classic 1924 song ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’. Highlights from the four-night variety show, which also included performances by the likes of Duran Duran, Lou Reed and Peter Gabriel, were released on CD and VHS later the same year by Virgin Records. Knopfler told us: 'We did The Secret Policeman’s Ball with this guitar together, and Chet had his [J-200], and I remember going back into the dressing room afterwards, you know, and Chet says, “Well… fooled ‘em again!”' The pair enjoyed their collaboration so much that they would go on to record the Grammy Award winning country album Neck And Neck together in 1990. Interviewed by British Channel 4 television show Rock Steady to promote the album, Chet said of Mark: 'He’s a finger-picker but he’s self-taught, and I don’t think he’s ever really copied anyone. He kinda figured it out for himself, and that’s the guy that comes up with something different - usually it’s the fella that doesn’t know any better… wonderful player.'

Around the same time as The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball, Knopfler produced American singer songwriter Willy DeVille’s 1987 album Miracle, playing guitar on all ten tracks and even utilising Chet Atkins as a session guitarist. Knopfler co-wrote the song ‘Spanish Jack’ with DeVille and ­recorded the muted guitar part on this J-200 Celebrity. Interviewed by Richard Marcus in May 2016, DeVille explained how the collaboration came about: 'It was Mark's [ex-]wife Lourdes who came up with the idea. She said to him that "you don't sing like Willy and he doesn't play guitar like you but you really like his stuff so why don't you do an album together?" So I went over to London to do this album. It wasn't easy because we didn't want it to sound like a Dire Straits album, and his guitar playing is so unique that it was hard to do. But nothing good is going to be easy. I know that I spent the whole time really trying to impress Mark, I wanted it to be good.'

John Illsley’s J-200 Celebrity, number 42 of 90, was sold to David Gilmour in 1993, and subsequently sold at Christie's in New York as part of The David Gilmour Guitar Collection in June 2019.

THE GIBSON J-200
Next to the Martin D-28, the Gibson J-200 is undoubtedly the most iconic American acoustic guitar ever produced. From its inception in 1937 as the Super Jumbo 200 (SJ-200) it was first seen on stage and made famous by the country and western artist Ray Whitley. The J-200 quickly became the instrument of choice for performers looking for the tonal projection and deep bass resonance delivered by its huge curvaceous body. At just shy of 17 inches across, it was the widest flat-top guitar ever produced and drew the eyes and ears of the audience to any performer who strapped one on. First embraced by country and western stars of the 1930s and 40s such as Roy Rogers, the guitar quickly found its raison d'être in the world of rock and roll. The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Pete Townshend, George Harrison, Jimmy Page, and Bob Dylan are just a few of the artists whose signature sound is linked to the J-200.

The Gibson J-200 Celebrity was produced in a limited run of just 90 instruments to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Gibson Company in 1985. With rosewood back and sides, the Celebrity would deliver the more coloured overtones synonymous with rosewood. Rather than the large block and 'pineapple' pearl position markers found on most J-200s, the Celebrity boasted pearl inlay in a floral motif reminiscent of those found on L-7 and L-10 archtops of the 1930s.