Dire Straits' history
 

Glasgow born Mark Knopfler was raised on Tyneside.
He began his musical career, like many great guitarists
before him, on the pub and club circuit, in his case in Leeds
where he worked as a newspaper reporter. Mark moved to London,
and formed a new band with his brother David, guitar,
John Illsley, bass, and Pick Withers, drums. They called themselves
DIRE STRAITS, after their financial status. The year was 1977.

The band honed their style and were befriended by London radio DJ
Charlie Gillet who played a demo of their song "Sultans of Swing" on the air.
This led to them signing a deal with Phonogram, and in 1978 they released their
first album, "Dire Straits". Despite the then current trends
of punk and disco, the album sold well in both England, and America.
The album boasted well written songs, and Mark's clean
fingerstyle guitar work, earning him the title of best British guitarist
since Eric Clapton. One of the highlights of this album was
"Sultans of Swing", a top ten hit that told the story of a London jazz band.
The song featured Mark's now trademark laid back vocal style,
and one of the best guitar solos in rock history.

The follow-up album in 1979, "Communique" was not as commercially popular,
and saw the departure of Mark's brother. The band's sound and style
broadened, with the addition of keyboard player Alan Clark, who played
on the 1982 release "Love Over Gold". Before "Love Over Gold" there was
album "Making Movies" which was released 1980.  The new direction saw
longer, atmospheric songs like "Private Investigations" and
"Telegraph Road" on the "Love Over Gold", and "Tunnel of Love"
on the "Making Movies". After "Love Over Gold" LP Knopfler developed
an allergy for big studio productions, and their time consuming
search forperfect drum sound and the rest. The result was
"ExtendeDancEPlay" EP,which took a day to record.
Next record was the 1984 live release "Alchemy". It included abovementioned
songs, plus the excellent live-version of "Sultans of Swing".

In 1985 they released the "Brothers in Arms" album, a global smash that sold
over fifteen million copies, with an estimated one in ten British households
owning a copy of the album. The band took advantage of new techonology, with
immaculate production that was ideal for the newly introduced CD format.
They also led the pop video revolution, with the release of the massive
selling single "Money for Nothing". The video incorporated hi-tech
computer graphics, with the re-drawn footage of the band. The album
also included the radio friendly "Walk of Life", and the haunting
title track, with an excellent animated video, "Brothers in Arms".
The band embarked on a two hundred date world tour.

After the massive tour, the band took a break, with Mark embarking
on other projects. He had already written the music for the 1983 film
"Local Hero", and also received production credits for Randy Newman
and Aztec Camera. In 1990 Mark recorded "Neck and Neck", a collaboration
with his hero Chet Atkins. He also formed The Notting Hillbillies, a country
flavoured project, with members of Dire Straits, and friends from his pub days.

In 1991, Dire Straits released On Every Street, which included the single
"Calling Elvis". This was followed by a live album entitled "On the Night".

More recently Mark released "Golden Heart", a solo album drawing more his
country / celtic influences. The entire catalogue of Dire Straits albums
have been re-mastered for CD, plus the release of a new album
"Sultans of Swing - The Very Best of Dire Straits"