A SOLID-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, JOHN PAGE CLASSIC

Howard Swimmer, founder of John Page Classic, presented Mark Knopfler with this guitar on 13 October 2015 at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the 2015 Tracker Tour. A second guitar was presented to guitarist Richard Bennett, who recorded the event in his 2015 online tour diary: 'Just before sound check both Mark and I were introduced to a new guitar line designed by John Page who worked for Fender for many years and started their custom shop back in the 1980s. After John left Fender, he began building beautiful custom instruments and has recently partnered with Howard Swimmer to design and manufacture John Page Classics… a custom-production guitar. Howard brought two guitars that Mark and I played and we took to them straight away. The look, quality, feel and sound are all immediately evident.' Often presented with guitars on tour, Knopfler told us: 'I always try to see them, always try to play ‘em, and always gave them a fair shake because, you know, you realise what a thing you’ve taken on if you want to build something - and build something well.' On receipt, every guitar would spend time in Mark’s hands so he could get an idea of the sound and where a particular guitar might fit in a particular song. This guitar was used by folk musician Mike McGoldrick for performances of the song ‘Silvertown Blues’ on Knopfler’s 2019 Down The Road Wherever Tour.