DIRE STRAITS

“There's so many different worlds

So many different suns

And we have just one world

But we live in different ones”

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"C"

Main Decade: 80's

Main Eras:

Hard Rock (1968-???)

 

Key Members:

Mark Knopfler – Lead Vocals and Guitar

John Illsley – Bass

David Knopfler – Rhythm Guitar

Pick Withers – Drums

 

Key Songs:

Sultans of Swing , Romeo & Juliet, Brothers In Arms, Private Investigations, Six Blade Knife, Tunnel of Love, Telegraph Road, Lady Writer, Water of Love, So Far Away, Money For Nothing, Walk of Life, Single Handed Sailor, Down to the Waterline, Hand in Hand, Solid Rock

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Is there any band more atypical than Dire Straits? I mean, these guys are the unsung heroes of rock! They seemed to be swimming against the current from the very beginning. They emerged as a band with a strong blues foundation precisely when punk seemed to be wiping that sound off the map. One might expect a band like this in the early 70s, but… at the end of the decade? They certainly have some Post-Punk influences, but they're much closer to J.J. Cale than to Talkin' Heads, and certainly not to Punk bands like the Sex Pistols, from whom they seem to be the complete opposite.

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Not only that, but they did it with a style that was incredibly unconventional for its time. It wasn't just a blues base; it was a minimalist, elegant, and very precise blues, with a kind of Mark Knopfler-esque virtuosity that was almost inconceivable back then. I mean, the dominant trends at that time were practically the opposite, so it seems illogical to me that Dire Straits not only became a hit, but that by the mid-80s they were one of the most powerful bands on the planet. I can't say "influential" because they didn't really leave a legacy; their style was inimitable. But without a doubt, by '85 these guys were monsters, headlining festivals and filling stadiums. And it still doesn't make sense to me, considering it was the era of Glam Metal (and Metal in general, the good kind, but the sonic machine-gun fire used back then still clashes with Knopfler's style) and the emptiest Pop, the kind they mock in "Money for Nothing." What on earth were Mark Knopfler and company doing with that sublime guitar and that seemingly aged voice? In fact, from their very beginning, the Straits seemed like a band that had been around for years, like one of those bands that had been struggling since the late 60s mixing blues and rockabilly, and had just found their peak... from the fact that their debut is incredible and unparalleled, to the impressive guitar technique, Mark's almost Dylan-Springsteen-esque lyrics and poetry, his voice that sounds mature, aged, emotional, but not overly energetic... and in general, the group's laid-back style, which, except for "Sultans of Swing," has two speeds: slow and slower. How did all these elements combine and yet Dire Straits still manage to be a huge success in a decade as empty and cynical as the 80s? I have no idea.

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Mark Knopfler was born on August 12, 1949, in Glasgow, Scotland, to an English mother and a Hungarian father. Three years later, his brother David was born. If we do the math, they weren't exactly kids when they released their debut album; they were already approaching 30, which is also somewhat atypical in rock. Mark started putting bands together in the 60s, though more as a hobby. Apparently, his real passion was journalism, and he graduated with honors from the University of Leeds in 1973. After graduating, Knopfler moved to London. During his studies, he had already recorded some demos with a band called The Silverheels. After settling in London, he quickly found a place in another small band called Brewers Droop, with whom he recorded the album *The Booze Brothers*, and where he met drummer Pick Withers. Around that time, Mark would say there was a pivotal night that would mark him forever. As he recalls, he was at a friend's house, and the only guitar there was half-broken at the neck, so they had put extra-thin strings on it. Although it was relatively repaired, every time he played a chord it sounded like the headstock was going to explode, so the only way to play it was with fingerpicking. He spent the whole night playing the guitar like that, leaving his friends speechless… and himself. “That's how I found my voice with the guitar.” Mark Knopfler would become a master of the technique, and it's part of that minimalist blues that defines him.

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In the mid-1970s, he was sending letters to various newspapers and working as a teacher, but he couldn't commit to making a living from music, which he considered a hobby. After recording the album *Booze Brothers*, the band Brewer's Droop broke up. Pick Withers became a session musician, and Mark went to live with his brother David, who had also moved to London and was working as a social worker in the south of the city. David also played guitar, and the two of them started playing in pubs and bars around the city, performing their own songs and some covers as background music. In 1977, at a party, Mark met bassist John Illsley. They were impressed by each other and decided to form a band: Mark, his brother David, John, and the former drummer from Brewer's Droop, Pick Withers. The band was called Cafe Racers because they continued the pub gigging practice the Knopfler brothers had started a few months earlier: Mark would ask pub owners to let them play, and their music would be the background music. These kinds of bands were called pub bands, and they generally had a basic, minimalist sound, as it needed to allow people to talk without raising their voices. This would be crucial to the band's distinctive sound. One day, Pick Withers suggested changing the name to Dire Straits, which means something like "Big Trouble" in South London slang, due to the financial situation they were experiencing at the time (not just them, but almost all of London). Around that time, the punk movement and violent youth protests exploded in England, whose spirit seemed to contrast sharply with the calm essence of Dire Straits.

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In the summer of '77, the group recorded a four-song demo in a studio in North London, after painstakingly scraping together the £120 the recording cost. The songs were “Wild West End,” “Water of Love,” “Sacred Loving,” and an archaic version of “Sultans of Swing.” They took the demo to DJ Charlie Gillet, who hosted the BBC radio show “Hony Tonk.” The band only wanted him to listen and give them advice, but Gillet was so impressed with the music that he played the demo on his show, and “Sultans of Swing,” in particular, began to receive increasing requests. John Stainze, from the record label Phonogram, heard them on the radio and was blown away. He didn't rest until he signed the group. In late 1977, manager Ed Bicknell, an acquaintance of Stainze's, arranged for them to be the opening act for Talking Heads on their UK tour, where they played 16 concerts. The tour received good reviews and allowed them to refine the songs live, songs that would form the basis of their first album. It also led to a US contract extension with Warner Bros., an incredible feat considering their album debut was not even in the recording process.

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But they didn't take long. The band recorded their tremendous self-titled album between February and March of 1978, and it was released in the UK on June 8th of the same year. It received relatively good reviews from music critics, who praised a sound distinct from the dominant one, but it was lukewarm from the British public. Only the subsequent release of the album in Europe, the United States, and Australia (where it quickly reached number one in sales) and the success of their tours propelled the record to become a worldwide smash hit, establishing "Sultans of Swing" as THE song of the late 70s.

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At the end of '78, the group recorded their second album, Communiqué, in the Bahamas. Many criticized it for not representing any progress or change from their debut, but rather being almost a carbon copy, lacking any real risk. The album was released in May 1979, and with it, they embarked on a massive world tour that left them exhausted and with the first signs of internal strife, following heated arguments between the Knopfler brothers. The 1980s greeted them with two Grammy nominations for "Sultans of Swing." In July, they began recording their third album, Making Movies. David ended up leaving the group and launching his solo career. He wouldn't be credited on the album and was replaced by Sid McGinnis. Furthermore, Mark, who had already taken complete control of the band, brought in Roy Bittan, a keyboardist who came from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, giving their sound a new direction. After the recording sessions, Hal Lindes on guitar and Alan Clark on keyboards remained as the core members for the tour, marking the beginning of a significant turnover of musicians. Making Movies received good reviews for its slightly more innovative and daring sound, with more complex arrangements and more personal themes, such as "Romeo & Juliet," which is one of my favorites for, well, personal reasons.

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Their fourth album, Love Over Gold, was released in 1982. It only has five tracks, but they are all long, atmospheric, and beautiful gems, featuring great keyboard work by Alan Clark. After recording, Pick Withers left the band and was replaced by drummer Terry Williams. With this change, they shifted from that more complex, keyboard-driven sound (with a certain new wave and more dated feel) to a more basic one, returning to their roots, since Williams' previous band was also a pub band. They released an EP called Extended Dance, featuring the tracks "Twisting By The Pool" and "Two Young Lovers."

They then released their first live album, Alchemy, in 1984, featuring the band's best songs. Around this time, Mark began working on film soundtracks on his own, such as Comfort & Joy and Cal, where he met keyboardist Guy Fletcher. Following the release of Alchemy, there were numerous lineup changes, including the addition of a second keyboardist. In 1985, they released the legendary Brothers in Arms, which brought them another commercial success, although for many fans it's their weakest work, at least from their early period. Sting contributed to the recording of "Money for Nothing," which became a massive hit. The album sold over 30 million copies worldwide (it was, in fact, the first CD to reach number one and sell a million copies), establishing Dire Straits as one of the leading bands of the moment, even headlining Live Aid on July 13, 1985, with Sting as a guest. The tour for the album began on April 25, 1985, and ended exactly one year later at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia, where Dire Straits still holds the record for consecutive appearances with 21 nights. During that period, Dire Straits played 247 concerts in over 100 different cities. By the end of the tour, the band was in disarray.

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Without an official breakup, Mark Knopfler dedicated all of 1987 to personal projects. In 1988, they briefly reunited for a concert at Wembley Stadium, with Eric Clapton as a guest, to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Shortly after, in September, and following the departure of other members, Mark announced the formal dissolution of the group. It would have been a glorious end for the band. However, in 1991, Knopfler and Illsey reunited the band to record their final album, On Every Street. Despite being a highly anticipated album, it disappointed both critics and fans. The tour also failed to meet expectations. Initially planned for 300 concerts until mid-1993, it was cut short due to relatively low demand. Dire Straits' last concert was at the Romareda Stadium in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 9, 1992. Again without an official end, the band remained active only on paper, as they didn't perform live, but they did release the live albums On The Night (from the 1991-92 tour) and Live at the BBC, fulfilling their contract with Vertigo Records. In 1995, Mark Knopfler was finally able to announce the definitive end of Dire Straits.

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How did all this happen? I still don't know. Don't get me wrong, I have Dire Straits at La Caverna for a reason! They're a band I love. Their debut album and Love Over Gold seem like enormous gems to me, somewhat underrated, even though they did quite well. They have a great handful of good, moving songs, with incredible guitar work, and a solo that's definitely in my top 10 all-time favorites. In fact, I even played "Sultans of Swing" with one of my bands, and it's one of the bass lines I've most enjoyed playing. My point is that I think they're a band ahead of their time, and I still can't explain how they reached those levels of popularity in the middle of the '80s.

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Well, maybe it's not a complete mystery. It's quality music. It's music that went against the clichés of the era, that was based on the blues, with intelligent lyrics, with an emotive voice. Intelligent music, then. That's why it surprises me that they were a hit in the '80s, but ultimately it's music that doesn't belong to a specific era; it's timeless, immortal, and has deservedly placed them as a cult band, with Mark's iconic pose, headband on, leaning slightly back while holding his ever-present Stratocaster—an image that has become a symbol of rock...

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Ladies and gentlemen, with you, the Sultans of Swing: Dire Straits!

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By Corvan  

Jul/16/2013

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