Dire Straits

Formation

Guitarists Mark Knopfler (born in Scotland) and his brother David joined bassist John Illsley and drummer Pick Withers to form Dire Straits, named so because of their almost constant financial situation, in Deptford, England (UK) in 1977. The young band often performed in local pubs before moving to London for a better chance of a shot at the bigtime. They didn’t have to wait long before a friend of theirs, Charlie Gillet, DJ of a London radio station, plugged their first album for them, entitled ‘Dire Straits’. Record label Vertigo Records liked what they heard and signed the band, leading to the official release of their album in 1978. It was received with much enthusiasm in the UK and the States with ‘Sultans Of Swing’ going straight into the Top 10. With disco being the predominant music style at the time, the sale of over seven million copies of the album was impressive, as they offered a different sound: a mellow style of bluesy rock dotted with catchy and awesome fret work by lead guitarist and songwriter Mark.

Dire Straits and Potholes

The release of their next album ‘Communiqué’ the following year turned out to be a relative disappointment. The band itself was undergoing some changes too as David, feeling too pressured by his big brother’s insistence of regular practise, left for good. From this time on, Dire Straits would experience a number of musician changes, with leader Mark and bassist John being the only ‘regular’ members of the band.

Changing Musical Faces

The introduction of keyboard player Alan Clark into the band in 1980 encouraged a change in style to a harder rock feel, comparable to many of Chris Rea’s hits, which led to the release of two new albums: ‘Making Movies’ in 1980 and ‘Love Over Gold’ in ’82. 1983 saw the release of ‘Twisting By The Pool’, an album whose music was almost certainly geared more towards the emerging pop music culture. ‘Alchemy’, which was released in 1984, consisted of live performances of hits from their previous albums during their tours, which had now become popular enough to grace the ‘star’ stages of worldwide venues.

They Got Their MTV!

At one point, one in ten British households contained a copy of ‘Brothers In Arms’, released in 1985, which was undoubtedly Dire Straits’ best album. It cleverly marked the era of pop with references to such entities as MTV, heard in ‘Money For Nothing’ featuring Sting, and the newly created CD and video technological capabilities. It became a landmark, must-have album of a rapidly progressing musical scene. The massive success of the album prompted a huge world tour, with over two hundred dates booked, which further increased sales for the band to the tune of a staggering 15 million!

Beginning Of The End?

Holding the spotlight proved a little too much for the somewhat shy Mark Knopfler, who retreated into production of some solo works, soundtracks and reunions with some of his earlier musician friends, resulting in The Notting Hillbillies’ release of the stingily entitled album ‘Missing, Presumed Having A Good Time’ in 1990. ‘91s comeback album for Dire Straits ‘On Every Street’ and ‘On The Night’ (1993), a live compilation to follow ‘Alchemy’, demonstrated an obvious loss of compatibility between the band members. Although unsubstantiated, Mark’s release of solo album ‘Golden Heart’ in 1996 indicated the end of Dire Straits.

Dire Straits Albums

• Brothers In Arms
• Sultans Of Swing
• Dire Straits
• Private Investigations
• Making Movies
• Money For Nothing
• Love Over Gold
• Live At The BBC
• Twisting By The Pool
• Alchemy
• On The Night
• Communique
• On Every Street

Related Music Links

• Depeche Mode
• Elvis Costello
• Nirvana
• Pink Floyd
• Smashing Pumpkins
• The White Stripes