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Lot Essay
The Fender Concert amplifier was part of the II Series line produced by Fender under Paul Rivera from 1982 to 1986, among the last amplifiers to be made at Fullerton. The amps were designed with both a clean and mid-boost gain channel to compete with the Mesa Boogie Mark Series amps that were popular at the time.
A stereo set up of the two Fender Concert amplifiers was first incorporated into David Gilmour’s session rig in mid-1984 and used during recording sessions at London’s AIR Studios for Paul McCartney’s 1984 soundtrack album Give My Regards to Broad Street. With his 1984 Candy Apple Red 57V Stratocaster (lot 56) fed into the two Fender Concert amps, Gilmour performed a memorable solo on the McCartney ballad No More Lonely Nights, requesting that his session fee be donated to a charity of McCartney’s choice.
The Concert amps made a notable appearance at the legendary Live Aid concert in London’s Wembley Stadium on 13th July 1985 when David Gilmour performed a set as part of Bryan Ferry’s band, which included the songs Sensation, Boys and Girls, Slave to Love and a cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. Numerous photographs and live film recordings exist of the performance, showing a total of four Fender Concert amplifiers stacked on top of four Fender speaker cabinets on the stage.
The concert amplifiers remained in Gilmour’s session and stage rig through 1985, used during recording of Pete Townshend’s 1985 solo album White City: A Novel and for live performances with Townshend’s short-lived supergroup Deep End in October and November 1985, including a live performance on cult British television show The Tube on 11th October and two nights at London’s Brixton Academy on 1 and 2nd November in aid of Townshend’s Double O charity.
A stereo set up of the two Fender Concert amplifiers was first incorporated into David Gilmour’s session rig in mid-1984 and used during recording sessions at London’s AIR Studios for Paul McCartney’s 1984 soundtrack album Give My Regards to Broad Street. With his 1984 Candy Apple Red 57V Stratocaster (lot 56) fed into the two Fender Concert amps, Gilmour performed a memorable solo on the McCartney ballad No More Lonely Nights, requesting that his session fee be donated to a charity of McCartney’s choice.
The Concert amps made a notable appearance at the legendary Live Aid concert in London’s Wembley Stadium on 13th July 1985 when David Gilmour performed a set as part of Bryan Ferry’s band, which included the songs Sensation, Boys and Girls, Slave to Love and a cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. Numerous photographs and live film recordings exist of the performance, showing a total of four Fender Concert amplifiers stacked on top of four Fender speaker cabinets on the stage.
The concert amplifiers remained in Gilmour’s session and stage rig through 1985, used during recording of Pete Townshend’s 1985 solo album White City: A Novel and for live performances with Townshend’s short-lived supergroup Deep End in October and November 1985, including a live performance on cult British television show The Tube on 11th October and two nights at London’s Brixton Academy on 1 and 2nd November in aid of Townshend’s Double O charity.