A SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, LES PAUL HISTORIC LP-57, CUSTOM SHOP STINGER SERIES

Mark Knopfler purchased this guitar from Rudolph Prankl of Guitar Relics of N.Y. Inc. in Bethpage, New York, in 2005. The Stinger Series was an exclusive performance-driven collection commissioned by Dave Carpenter of Washington retailer Music Machine and built by a select group of artisans at the Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division with the finest quality woods, hand selected to enhance the sound of each instrument. The guitars of the Stinger Series would each have a black stinger painted on the reverse of the headstock in tribute to an occasional Gibson tradition of painting such a black stinger on the headstocks of their more premier models to cover any imperfections in the wood.

When he joined Bob Dylan for the Bob Dylan With Mark Knopfler Tour of the UK and Europe from October to November 2011, as part of Dylan’s Never Ending Tour 2011, Knopfler used this guitar for performances of ‘Wye Aye Man’ and ‘Song For Sonny Liston’. Knopfler also played ‘Brothers In Arms’ on the LP-57 during early shows of the tour, including at Glasgow Braehead Arena on 9 October 2011, however he had reverted to his Gibson Les Paul by the Nottingham show two days later. Numerous photographs exist of Knopfler playing the guitar on tour, including those taken by Henning Kaiser in Oberhausen, Germany. Typically, Knopfler and his band would play the opening set, followed by Dylan and his band, with a regular crossover where Mark would accompany Dylan on guitar for a few songs - a rarity that reflected the great respect and long history of musical collaboration between the two legends, dating back to the recording of Dylan’s studio album Slow Train Coming in 1979.

Following the Dylan tour, the beautiful blue LP-57 was prominently featured in the promotional shoot for Knopfler’s 2012 solo studio album Privateering, photographed by Fabio Lovino. According to guitar tech Glenn Saggers, the pickups were switched to OX4s in 2017 during the recording sessions for Knopfler’s tenth solo studio album Down The Road Wherever. Mark used this guitar to record the song ‘Precious Voice From Heaven’ at British Grove Studios in 2017. A previously unreleased outtake from the Down The Road Wherever sessions, 'Precious Voice From Heaven' was released as a bonus track on the box set The Studio Albums 2009-2018 in 2022. The guitar’s original pickups have since been reinstated.