The first guitar owned by Mark Knopfler, the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Dire Straits, is to be sold at auction next week.

The guitar, a twin-pickup Hofner Super Solid, is expected to raise £3000 when it is sold at Christie's in London.

The instrument was a 14th birthday present from the father of Knopfler, a Jewish architect from Hungary who moved to Scotland, where his son was born in 1949.

Mark Knopfler, who later moved to Newcastle, but grew up in Glasgow, had wanted a flamingo-pink Fender Stratocaster like the one used by his musical hero, Hank Marvin of The Shadows.

That proved too expensive, so his father bought him the Hofner Super Solid now up for sale and it cost £50, a sizeable sum in 1963.

The future rock star, whose album Brothers in Arms is one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, made his first public appearance with his newly acquired Hofner at the Gosforth, Newcastle, junior drama league pantomime in January 1964.

At the concert, aged 14, Knopfler and his friends performed their version of the number one record at that time: Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five.

Later when the musician acquired other guitars, he gave the Hofner to his brother, David; and a letter from David confirming the authenticity of the guitar will be sold with the instrument at the auction next Thursday.

Dire Straits, one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, produced a string of hits including Sultans Of Swing, Romeo and Juliet, Money For Nothing and Walk Of Life. Knopfler also has a successful career in film music, including the soundtrack to Local Hero.

Now 57, Knopfler is one of the richest Glaswegians, worth an estimated £65m.

He was also ranked 27th in Rolling Stone magazine's One Hundred Greatest Guitarists Of All Time.