Dire Straits

This article is about the band. For their eponymous album, see Dire Straits (album).

Dire Straits

Dire Straits were an English rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass), and Pick Withers (drums), and subsequently managed by Ed Bicknell. Although the band was formed in an era when punk rock reigned, Dire Straits worked within the conventions of classic rock, albeit with a stripped-down sound that appealed to modern audiences weary of the overproduced stadium rock of the 1970s. In their early days, Mark and David requested that pub owners turn down the amps so that patrons could converse while the band played — indicative of their unassuming demeanor. Despite this oddly self-effacing approach to rock and roll, Dire Straits soon became hugely successful, with their first album going multi-platinum globally.

The band's best-known songs include "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet," " Tunnel of Love," "Money for Nothing," "Walk of Life" and "Brothers in Arms."

Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler have sold in excess of 118 million albums to date.

History

Early years

In 1978, Dire Straits recorded their first album, Dire Straits (so called due to the financial condition the members were living in at the time), at Basing Street studios (now known as 'Sarm West') near Portobello Road in West London for £12,500.. During the initial U.K. release on Vertigo Records, a division of Phonogram, the album had little promotion and was not well received. However, the U.K. album came to the attention of Karin Berg, an assistant in the artists and repertoire (A&R) department of Warner Bros. Records in New York City. She felt it was the kind of music that audiences were hungry for, but only one person in her department agreed at first. "Other people didn't hear it. The act was doing poorly in the U.K., and the record wasn't getting air play." After the album was released in the United States by Warner Brothers, it caught on quickly and sold over 1 million copies. Later, when re-released as a single, "Sultans of Swing" became a surprise U.K. chart hit, making the top 10, and then went on to become a very popular live song throughout the band's career. The first album eventually went top 10 in every European country.

The group's second album, Communiqué followed in 1979. Communiqué showed as number one in the German album charts with Dire Straits simultaneously at number three. Both albums are characterised by a stripped-down sound. However, this would change, along with the band's line-up, over the years. Mark Knopfler and John Illsley played together until the dissolution of Dire Straits, the only two founding members to do so.

Increased complexity

In 1980, Dire Straits released its third album, Making Movies. This marked a move towards more-complex arrangements and production which would continue for the remainder of the band's career. The most successful chart single from the album was "Romeo and Juliet", while the album's opening track "Tunnel Of Love" (with its intro "The Carousel Waltz" written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II), went on to become another live favorite. Making Movies saw the departure of David Knopfler while the recording of the album was still in progress; Sid McGinnis filled in on rhythm guitar as the sessions continued. Although Mark played on one track on brother David's first solo album, they did not reconcile over the years. The album also featured keyboardist Roy Bittan from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and was produced by Knopfler and Jimmy Iovine.

Keyboardist Alan Clark and California guitarist Hal Lindes joined the lineup for the fourth studio album, Love Over Gold, which was well received on its release in 1982 and reached #1 in the United Kingdom. The title was inspired by graffiti seen from the window of Knopfler's old council flat in Deptford, SE London. It was also the first Dire Straits album produced by Mark Knopfler. Its main chart hit, "Private Investigations", gave Dire Straits their first U.K. top 5 hit single, reaching the number two position despite its almost seven-minute length, and became another of the band's most popular live songs. In other territories, the single "Industrial Disease" was the album's calling card, particularly in Canada where it was a top 10 hit.

Shortly after the release of Love Over Gold, drummer Pick Withers left the band for a jazz career. His replacement was Terry Williams, formerly of Rockpile.

In 1983, a four-song EP titled ExtendedancEPlay was released, featuring the hit single "Twisting By the Pool." This was followed in 1984 by the double live album, Alchemy. During this time Mark Knopfler also wrote the music score for the films Local Hero and Cal.

The Brothers in Arms era

At the end of 1984 Dire Straits started recording tracks at Air Studios chiki-chiki, Montserrat for their fifth studio album, Brothers in Arms, released in 1985. There were further personnel changes, with the addition of a second keyboardist, Guy Fletcher. Guitarist Hal Lindes left the band suddenly during the recording sessions. His place was taken by Jack Sonni although Sonni was not credited as an official band member for the new album release. Terry Williams was also joined on drums by Omar Hakim: both are credited as band members for this release.

Brothers In Arms went on to become the biggest-selling album of 1985 in the United Kingdom, and was a huge hit internationally. It spawned several chart singles: "Money for Nothing" (which reached number one in the United States and number four in the United Kingdom), "So Far Away", "Brothers In Arms", "Walk of Life", and "Your Latest Trick". The song "Money for Nothing" was the first video ever to be played on MTV in Britain, and featured guest vocals by Sting from The Police. It also won a Grammy for the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with a Vocal in 1985 at the 28th annual Grammy Awards.

The album's title track is reported to be the world's first CD single. It was issued in the United Kingdom in two separate singles as a promotional item, one distinguished with a logo for the tour, Live in '85, and a second to commemorate the Australian leg of the tour marked Live in '86. Containing just four tracks, it had a very limited print run. Meanwhile, "Walk of Life" was the band's most commercially successful single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number two. "Money for Nothing," "Walk of Life" and "Brothers In Arms" all went on to become regular live favorites.

The commercial success of Brothers in Arms was greatly aided by the fact that the album was one of the first fully digitally recorded and produced albums available in the then new Compact Disc format, leading early adopters of the new technology to consider it a "must buy" album in a limited landscape of available music in CD format. The Brothers in Arms CD was one of the first CD albums to contain material not found on the LP equivalent; it featured the full 12" version of the "Money for Nothing" cut, rather than the version that appears on the LP. In fact, the CD includes extended versions of all tracks featured on side one of the original LP, with the exception of "Walk of Life". The new compact disc offered an excellent showcase for Knopfler's meticulous production values on the group's previous albums, leading many existing fans to repurchase the group's entire back catalogue.

The 1985–86 world tour which followed the album's release was phenomenally successful. While playing a 13-night residency at Wembley Arena, the band moved down the road to Wembley Stadium on the afternoon of July 13, 1985 to appear in Live Aid. Their set included "Money For Nothing" with Sting as guest vocalist. The tour ended at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia, where Dire Straits still holds the record for consecutive appearances (21 nights). The last show of this extended stay in Sydney was recorded and broadcast on Australian and New Zealand television, and is well known for the one-off calypso rendition of "So Far Away" and the band's impromptu attempt at the famous Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda". In a two-year span, Dire Straits played 247 shows in over 100 different cities.

Brothers in Arms was similarly successful in the United States, where it peaked at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Pop Albums Chart for nine weeks, going multi-platinum, and finishing at No. 5 for 1986.

Brothers in Arms was certified nine times platinum in August 1996. In 2005 it was re-released in Super Audio CD format and DualDisc format, to mark the 20th anniversary since the album's original release. The 20th anniversary edition won a Grammy for Best Surround Sound Album. A recent poll conducted in the United Kingdom revealed that Brothers in Arms is the third best-selling album there of all time.

Later years

The hugely successful Brothers in Arms tour ended in 1986, and during 1987 Mark Knopfler concentrated on solo projects and film soundtracks. Dire Straits regrouped for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert in 1988, where they were the headline act. Joining them for their set was Eric Clapton (who performed his hit "Wonderful Tonight" with the group).

Dire Straits then went on a lengthy hiatus. A greatest hits album, Money for Nothing, was released in October 1988 and reached #1 in the United Kingdom.

During 1990 Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher worked and toured with The Notting Hillbillies (who had a minor hit single Your Own Sweet Way from their sole album Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time). In January 1991 Dire Straits reformed again, but without drummer Terry Williams who'd left the group in 1989.

Dire Straits now comprised four key members: Knopfler, John Illsley, and keyboardists Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher. For the recording sessions Williams' place was taken by the highly respected American drummer Jeff Porcaro from Toto (who after recording was offered a full-time role in the band, but declined due to recording commitments to Toto). Accompanied by other part-time musicians including Paul Franklin, Danny Cummings, Chris White, and Phil Palmer, the group began recording tracks for a new album. The result was the band's final original studio album, On Every Street, released in 1991, six years after the release of Brothers in Arms.

On Every Street was a widely anticipated release, but met with mixed reviews and moderate success. It was regarded by some reviewers as an underwhelming follow up and produced only minor hit singles, including "The Bug", (which contains backing vocals by Vince Gill who also turned down an invitation to join the band full time). Although the new album did not sell as well as its predecessor, it still hit #1 in the United Kingdom.

The 1991–1992 world tour that followed On Every Street was not as successful as the previous 1985–1986 tour. The last concert in this tour (and the final concert of the group on tour) took place on October 9, 1992 in Zaragoza, Spain. A live album, On the Night, released in 1993, documented that tour, in which Chris Whitten played drums. As with On Every Street, the On The Night release met with mixed reviews, and was regarded by some reviewers as an inferior successor to the group's other live album, Alchemy.

Dire Straits released one last album in 1995 before disbanding. Live at the BBC, a collection of live recordings from their early years was released as a contractual album for Vertigo Records.

Dissolution

Having expressed the desire to give up touring on a big scale, Mark Knopfler quietly dissolved Dire Straits in 1995. The band's popularity had peaked with Brothers In Arms - the On Every Street album and the gruelling world tour that accompanied it had not been the success that they thought it should have been. The group's final tour had also taken its toll on the band.

Following Dire Straits' dissolution, Knopfler immediately launched his solo career, of which Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost every single piece of work to date. The percussionist Danny Cummings has also appeared frequently. Knopfler also started writing movie scores once again.

During 1996 the entire Dire Straits catalogue was remastered by Bob Ludwig, and re-released on CD in most of the world outside the United States. The remasters were released in September 2000 in the United States. Three 'Best of' albums have been released: Money for Nothing (1988) was followed ten years later by Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits.

In 2002 former Dire Straits members John Illsley, Chris White, Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher joined with Mark Knopfler for four charity concerts. Brendan Croker joined Mark during the first half and they playing mainly material from The Notting Hill Billies, then Brendan left at half time and John Illsley replaceed him, for a Dire Straits Session, towards the end of which, at the Sheperd's Bush concert, at least, Jimmy Nail came on towards the end to provide backing vocals for Why Aye Man.

The most recent compilation is The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations, released in November 2005. It's comprised of material from the majority of Dire Straits' studio albums, as well as Mark Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material. It was made available in two editions: a single CD (with a grey cover) and also as double CD (with the cover in blue). The only previously unreleased track on the album is All The Roadrunning, a duet with with country music singer Emmylou Harris. The album was, surprisingly, an underground hit and did exceptionally well, considering Dire Straits had broken up over 10 years prior to its release.

2005 also saw the limited edition release of the 20th anniversary edition of the Brothers in Arms album, which was also a success, winning a Grammy award for Best Surround Sound Album.

Notable Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler fans include the late Douglas Adams, the late Princess Diana, Lancaster University politics guru Robert Patterson, eminent historian Sophie Dover, Quentin Tarantino, and the band The Killers, who performed a cover of Romeo and Juliet for the Live from Abbey Road series on Channel 4. Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar is another Dire Straits fan. The band System of a Down sometimes plays a part from Sultans Of Swing on their live concerts, as an intro for their song called Aerials, and even Metallica played Brothers In Arms live on a the 21st Annual Bridge School Benefit.

Band members

Main article: Dire Straits band members

Discography

Main albums

Year	Album	Charts		Certifications
		UK	US	BPI	RIAA
1978	Dire Straits	5	2	2× Multi-Platinum	2× Multi-Platinum
1979	Communiqué	5	11	Platinum	Gold
1980	Making Movies	4	19	2× Multi-Platinum	Platinum
1982	Love Over Gold	1	19	2× Multi-Platinum	Gold
1985	Brothers in Arms	1	1	13× Multi-Platinum	9× Multi-Platinum
1991	On Every Street	1	12	2× Multi-Platinum	Platinum

EPs

Year	Album	US 200
1983	ExtendedancEPlay	53
1993	Encores	59

Live albums

Year	Album	Charts		Certifications
		UK	US	BPI	RIAA
1984	Alchemy	3	46	Platinum	Gold
1993	On the Night	4	116	—	—
1995	Live at the BBC	—	—	—	—

Compilations

Year	Album	Charts		Certifications
		UK	US	BPI	RIAA
1988	Money for Nothing	1	62	4× Multi-Platinum	Platinum
1998	Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits	—	—	—	—
2005	The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations	—	—	—	—

Singles

Year	Song	Chart Positions				Album
		US Hot 100	US Main Rock	UK Singles	CAN
1979	"Sultans Of Swing"	2	-	8	6	Dire Straits
	"Lady Writer"	45	-	51	51	Communiqué
1981	"Romeo and Juliet"	-	-	8	-	Making Movies
	"Skateaway"	58	31	37	-
	"Tunnel of Love"	-	-	54	-
1982	"Private Investigations"	-	-	2	2	Love Over Gold
1983	"Industrial Disease"	75	9	-	18
	"Twisting By The Pool"	-	12	14	18	ExtendedancEPlay
1984	"Love Over Gold (Live)"	-	-	50	-	Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
1985	"So Far Away"	19	29	20	24	Brothers In Arms
	"Money For Nothing"	1	1	4	1
	"Brothers In Arms"	-	-	16	-
1986	"Walk Of Life"	7	4	2	5
	"Your Latest Trick"	-	-	26	-
1988	"Sultans Of Swing (Re-Issue)"	-	-	62	-	Dire Straits
1991	"Calling Elvis"	-	3	21	4	On Every Street
	"Heavy Fuel"	-	1	55	17
1992	"On Every Street"	-	-	42	-
	"The Bug"	-	8	67	21
1993	"Encores (EP)"	-	-	31	-	Encores (EP)
	"Your Latest Trick (Live)"	-	-	-	91	On the Night

Awards

• BRIT Awards 1983 - Best British Group
• Grammy Awards 1985 - Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for 'Money For Nothing'')
• Grammy Awards 1986 - Best Music Video, Short Form (for 'Brothers In Arms')
• BRIT Awards 1986 - Best British Group
• BRIT Awards 1987 - Best British Album (for "Brothers In Arms")

External links

• Mark Knopfler's official website
• David Knopfler's official website
• Hal Lindes' official website
• Guy Fletcher's official website
• Mark Knopfler's authorized biography, retracing much of the band's life
• Interview with John Illsley
• Dire Straits interviews, lyrics, photos and guitar tabs
• Template:Last.fm