A dual-band erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) with high power conversion efficiency is proposed and demonstrated. The EDFA covers both the C-band a-round 1.55 mum and the L-band around 1.58 mum. The same signal gain can be achieved with 42% less pump power and 47% shorter erbium-doped fibre length compared to alternative, conventional parallel type, dual-band EDFAs.