Mark does not sign instruments anymore - What do you think about that

[Klaus74]

Hello to everyone.
Yes you also can read it on MK-News site.
Mark does not sign instruments anymore. There was an "rip off" offer, i think from a canadian guy, who was selling an autographed FAKE-Fender-Guitar, and that was detected by MK-News people. So i think that Mark was very disapointed by that fact, that people make money with autographed FAKE-instruments. Mark stands for high-quality instruments, as we all know and it is clear, that he could get hurt in his honour.
I personally can understand Mark with his decision to avoid to sign various doubtful instruments. It is sad to see, that such negative greedy "rip-off" people endangered the loyal fan - artist relationship.
In 2019 Mark signed in Germany some guitars, one red MK-Fender-edition Guitar in Oberhausen and one look-a-like Fender, i think it was a Squier or something like that. The person has many other autographs on the guitar-body, but Mark´s signature was missing. That was in the afternoon on the backstage-entrance in Cologne. That was before the Canadian guy offered the autographed FAKE-Fender on ebay.
What do you think about Mark´s decision or his attitude to those people ??

[ds1984]

Old news from the last tour.

If you search in the forum you should retrieve it.

[Klaus74]

Yes i also know, that are not new news, but i want to know, how the other loyal fans think about it. That´s all.

[quizzaciously]

It depends. Personally, I don't care about any signatures and never approached MK to give me one, I just can't see the point to that (apart from making extra value for selling stuff lol). So for people who want or love signatures, it's a tragedy, for people like me nothing at all has changed. To me, the signature makes sense when MK knows you and wants to dedicate something to you, but when this is done for the sake of it, I don't get it. But I'm in a minority here I believe.

[rmarques821]

Couldn't care less about signatures.

[mschaap]

Fully agree with Pavel. Can’t see any point in getting an autograph from MK, or in fact from anyone. Well, just maybe, if I was to engage in business contract or something with him haha. But seriously, otherwise it would just be useless, pointless and actually quite silly and sad. Apart form that, it would just seem so immensely embarrassing to me to be asking someone’s autograph for the sake of it.

[Knopflerfan]

It depends. Personally, I don't care about any signatures and never approached MK to give me one, I just can't see the point to that (apart from making extra value for selling stuff lol). So for people who want or love signatures, it's a tragedy, for people like me nothing at all has changed. To me, the signature makes sense when MK knows you and wants to dedicate something to you, but when this is done for the sake of it, I don't get it. But I'm in a minority here I believe.

I agree - ish!!

Personally I will never ever forget meeting MK - that chat, the handshake and to cop it all three signatures of which I would never ever part with.....
Perhaps that's because I'm a huge fan and they are worth more than any monies in the world to me.....To me they form a reminder of that such occasion.....

[Knut]

I think it's Mark's decision, nobody forced him to do one thing or another. I don't like a "look at what you made the genius do!!!"-kind of attitude, like Mark's response is a fan's responsibility. He's a grown man and can choose a different approach if he wants to. Just like it's not some random person being careless with a video camera that's the one to blame for the video ban during shows, that was again Mark's decision (or his management, I don't know the details).

[dustyvalentino]

A real shame for genuine fans.

My MK Strat is signed and I will treasure it till the day I die.

[quizzaciously]

With all due respect to Mark, but I think he solved the problem that he created himself. He signed random Squiers, scratch plates, and whatnot, he signed guitars that his manager brought to him after collecting them from fans. He signed instruments purely at random, and after that, who would've thought, they ended up on eBay.

He tried to ask people at least to play something before signing, but that would only eliminate a small portion of Rüdigers. Nobody really knows if the person who asks you to sign a guitar is a genuine fan or a genuine fake guitars trader, so in all honesty, I think it's a pretty good decision. I think if you really, deeply want a guitar to be signed by Mark, you can try to approach it through managers or so, I think with a really good story or attitude it is still possible to get a signature. It's just he won't sign guitars at random like before.

[dmg]

Just remembered this story.  When a group of us were waiting for the band to emerge after the show in Glasgow way back in 2001 a roadie suddenly appeared and handed some of us, myself included, a setlist from one of the band members.  Glenn signed my setlist and programme but when Mark eventually emerged someone in front of me in the queue found out that Mark doesn't sign setlists. 

[quizzaciously]

Just remembered this story.  When a group of us were waiting for the band to emerge after the show in Glasgow way back in 2001 a roadie suddenly appeared and handed some of us, myself included, a setlist from one of the band members.  Glenn signed my setlist and programme but when Mark eventually emerged someone in front of me in the queue found out that Mark doesn't sign setlists. 

Mark also doesn't sign things with other signatures, I know it for a fact. A setlist is a strange thing to sign, to be honest, but, with all due respect (again), I saw on this very forum an iPhone signed by Mark. And then people complain he won't sign guitars. Go figure

[PensaGhost]

A real shame for genuine fans.

My MK Strat is signed and I will treasure it till the day I die.

yes

another very questionable decision by MK

[dmg]

Just remembered this story.  When a group of us were waiting for the band to emerge after the show in Glasgow way back in 2001 a roadie suddenly appeared and handed some of us, myself included, a setlist from one of the band members.  Glenn signed my setlist and programme but when Mark eventually emerged someone in front of me in the queue found out that Mark doesn't sign setlists. 

Mark also doesn't sign things with other signatures, I know it for a fact. A setlist is a strange thing to sign, to be honest, but, with all due respect (again), I saw on this very forum an iPhone signed by Mark. And then people complain he won't sign guitars. Go figure

Some people hadn't bought a programme to sign.  I suppose he wants his fans to shell out £10-20 a pop for a few pages of recycled photos before he'll give you his signature.

[quizzaciously]

Just remembered this story.  When a group of us were waiting for the band to emerge after the show in Glasgow way back in 2001 a roadie suddenly appeared and handed some of us, myself included, a setlist from one of the band members.  Glenn signed my setlist and programme but when Mark eventually emerged someone in front of me in the queue found out that Mark doesn't sign setlists. 

Mark also doesn't sign things with other signatures, I know it for a fact. A setlist is a strange thing to sign, to be honest, but, with all due respect (again), I saw on this very forum an iPhone signed by Mark. And then people complain he won't sign guitars. Go figure

Some people hadn't bought a programme to sign.  I suppose he wants his fans to shell out £10-20 a pop for a few pages of recycled photos before he'll give you his signature.

But try to put yourself in Mark's shoes. A setlist is usually a crappy piece of thin paper that usually by the end of the show is in pretty rough shape. More than that, Mark needs something solid underneath it to sign it properly, so a hard surface, whether it's a booklet, LP, scratchplate, the programme will work better.

I think it also depends on the mood of the maestro. In 2001, on the last show of the tour in Moscow, a bunch of Russian fans crowded underneath the hotel where Mark stayed, and shouted to him to get down to them. He obliged and signed everything, including shirts on people.