WATKINS ELECTRIC MUSIC, CHERTSEY, SURREY, UK, CIRCA 1965

Acquired as a pair to the previous lot, Mark Knopfler purchased this bass guitar from Sound Stage Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, in October 2004, and kept it for studio use. The Rapier Bass featured in the promotional shoot for Knopfler’s 2007 solo studio album Kill To Get Crimson. Photographed by Fabio Lovino, a detail of the pickups and pickguard of this guitar was used for the album’s liner notes, as a background to the song lyrics for 'We Can Get Wild' and 'Secondary Waltz'. The shoot was also captured in Tom Bird’s short documentary film that accompanied the CD/DVD album set.