Although Mark is left-handed in all other ways, he plays guitar right-handed. It is released on 20 September. Lindes first comes to attention in U.K. new wave band Darling. On the other hand, they had a liberal bias for letting us follow our own path. This disc goes multi-platinum in the U.S., selling nine million copies. In addition to being lead vocalist, his guitar playing is the groups most distinctive characteristic. It was like the Wild West. The membership history of Man is long and complicated, with musicians leaving and returning again. After a while, though, the group just wasnt a good vehicle for the songs Id written, claims Mark Knopfler. This is how John Illsley remembers their first encounter: [I] walked into the lounge room, and saw this figure lying on the floorasleepwith a guitar over his legs, and hedfallen asleep on the floor while he was playingHis head was sort of cranked back, and there was an ashtray with cigarette butts and coffee on the floor. If that doesnt sound too promising, John Illsley also says of Mark Knopfler, We got along well from the start. 1, US no. Industrial Disease (US no. The show is headlined by new wave band Squeeze but, aside from Dire Straits, all the other acts on the bill are punk rock bands. I feel really blessed. 6), released on 27 October. Guy Fletcher first works with Mark Knopfler in 1983 on the soundtracks for Comfort And Joy and Cal. Love Over Gold furthers the formula from Making Movies, scaling down from seven tracks to a mere five (lengthy) pieces. While there, the 13 year old begins playing organ in workingmens clubs. It was an incredible thing to be a part of, and that people still listen to it. Mark is both singer and guitarist on this track and is backed by his Duolian Stringpickers partner Steve Phillips (guitar) and the Silverheels rhythm section, Dave Johnson (bass) and Paul Granger (drums). 8, US no. In the smaller amount of Dire Straits live footage interspersed in the video, Knopfler wears a headband to hold back his thinning thatch of hair. Dire Straits briefly reconvene to play the 1990 Knebworth Festival in England alongside U.K. rock stars Elton John and Eric Clapton. The recording sessions take place at the Power Station in New York from 20 June 1980 to 25 August 1980. When Dire Straits go on tour in 1983 to promote both Love Over Gold and the ExtendedancEPlay EP, they are joined by Tommy Mandel (keyboards) to help ease the burden on keyboardist Alan Clark. Knopfler and Phillips get along well and they perform together as The Duolian Stringpickers for the next few years. In April 1970 Mark Knopfler makes a demo recording of a song called Summers Coming My Way. It is said that the brothers had an explosive argument leading to Davids exit. Firstly, Hendrix and Clapton are products of the 1960s while Knopfler came to light in the more cynical 1970s when worshipping any guitarist was a less acceptable practice. WebThe 70-year-old grew up in Leicestershire but now lives in Hampshire with his second wife, Stephanie. Chuck Berry made a huge impression, adds Mark, referring to the 1950s rock performer who combined singing, twangy guitar parts and songwriting. Knopflers songwriting was always as important as his guitar playing, so his focus was not so strongly on his instrument. Neither Sid McGinnis nor Roy Bittan becomes an official member of Dire Straits; they just play on the recording sessions for Making Movies. Group leader Mark Knopflers voice owes something to the nasal inflections of folk rock icon Bob Dylan and Knopflers lyrics are also redolent of Dylans narratives. The angry boyfriend of a student John had slept with had inflicted the damage. 43); Knopfler produces Bap Kennedys The Sailors Revenge (2012); Privateering (2012) (UK no. Essays on rock stars complete with hand drawn portraits, Check out Guitar George / He knows all the chords Sultans Of Swing (Mark Knopfler). Knopflers lyrics also get in the barb You play the git-tar on the MTV. Ironically, the computer animated video for Money For Nothing is a huge MTV hit. By current technological standards, it looks very primitive but, at the time, the animation was state-of-the-art. The tour winds up with some more dates in the U.K. concluding on 18 November 1978 at the College of Education in Hitchin. Alan Clark is born on 3 March 1952 in Great Lumley, County Durham, England. It is there in 1978 that Jack Sonni first meets Mark Knopfler when the visiting British guitarist looks over the shops wares. John Illsley is a famous Bassist. 1, US no. 41); Get Lucky (2009) (UK no. When they sign to Phonogram at the end of 1977 Dire Straits also gain a manager, Ed Bicknell. Chris White begins playing gigs a couple of years later and tours with a national youth jazz orchestra. 17, US no. 9, UK no. He works as a session musician before joining Dire Straits as the drummer for their 1991-1992 world tour. Illsley fronted a Sky series called Guitar Heroes and appeared on Rick Steins Secret France, but like the rest of Dire Straits, he never courted celebrity. The promotion of Communique concludes with U.K. concerts, the last of which is on 21 December 1979 in London. Ive always worked since I was 14, says Mark Knopfler. 116, AUS no. Jack Sonni goes on to work for Line 6, a digital technology organisation for musicians. Former Dire Straits drummer Terry Williams rejoins his earlier group, Man, in 1996, replacing John Weathers. His wife, Pauline, is an Australian woman. In November 1983, Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler marries his second wife, Lourdes Salomone. When Dire Straits go on a concert tour in 1980 to promote Making Movies, the group expands to a five-piece outfit with two new official members: Alan Clark (keyboards) and Hal Lindes (guitar). He owns a pub called the East End Arms, he paints and releases his eighth solo album, VIII, in January. 27, AUS no. In September 1988 Mark Knopfler announces the dissolution of Dire Straits. Making Movies was closer to what I like to do, says Mark Knopfler. He has no hit singles and his solo career seems intentionally more low-key than his years with Dire Straits. 51, US no. Charlies music was kinder on the ears.. Drummer Terry Williams officially leaves Dire Straits in 1989 but the bands future seems questionable at the time. An additional live EP, Encores (UK no. 12, AUS no. Mark Knopfler also plays some gigs with a band called Silverheels. How did your childhood influence your attitude to money? His father, Ted Fletcher, is a designer of audio equipment. When Terry Williams joins Love Sculpture in 1970, the groups line-up comprises: Dave Edmunds (vocals, guitar), Mickey Gee (guitar), John David (bass) and Terry Williams (drums). Success yes, fame no thank you, he says. The debut album, Dire Straits (1978) (UK no. Andy Canavan fills in on drums for a few gigs but, by the time Dire Straits embark on a world tour, Terry Williams is back on board. One of those who hear the merit in Dire Straits is Johnny Stainze, a recent appointee to Phonogram Records. The recording sessions took place at Basing Street Studios in London from 13 February 1978 to 5 March 1978. It is rereleased in January 1979. However Withers is gone before Mark Knopfler gets involved with The Droop; Withers and Knopfler do not meet at this time. Secondly, Money For Nothing is written in character. 14). 14, US no. Former Dire Straits guitarist David Knopfler releases the following albums after leaving Dire Straits in 1980: Release (1983) (UK no. When he starts college, John Sunni begins being called Jack. He pauses and adds, There was never any calculation with Dire Straits. While at that school, the 13 year old takes up playing saxophone. 22). Clark moves on to Durham Technical College and is offered a place at Guildhall School of Music but declines because, by then, he is already a working musician. Guitarist Deke Leonard and bassist Martin Ace both work with Williams in The Smokeless Zone and Dream and will work with him again. John Illsley and Mark Knopfler, doing their thing. Although So Far Away is both pleasant and popular, it does little to prepare audiences for the albums second single, a song fated to become the most commercially successful single by Dire Straits. In 2011 keyboardist Alan Clark puts together The Straits, a group designed to play some shows featuring the music of Dire Straits. 46) reaches the singles chart. 62) is rereleased as a single from this album and manages a modest showing on the U.K. singles chart. Dire Straits keyboardist Alan Clark is one of the musicians on this recording. He did his bit there and then. Sting provides high harmonies and the opening wail of I want my MTV. This is a reference to the U.S. cable television network MTV (Music Television) that plays non-stop music videos. The first, and only, inside story of one of the greatest bands in rock historyDire Straitsas told by founding member and bassist John Illsley One of the most successful music acts of all time, Dire Straits filled stadiums around the world. The water metaphor is also present in the moody opening track Down To The Waterline. Emerging from a sonic fog like the light atop an incoming ship, Mark Knopflers guitar illuminates a couple on the wharf with No money in our jackets and our jeans are torn / Your hands are cold but your lips are warm. Supposedly, Down To The Waterline is inspired by Mark Knopflers younger days in the port city of Newcastle. John and a former girlfriend had opened a record store in Kentish Town three years before. Love Over Gold is recorded at the Power Station in New York from 8 March 1982 to 11 June 1982. For me, songwriting is really where its at, says Mark. This fuzz sound is said to be a happy accident that results from Mark Knopfler using a closely-miked Gibson Les Paul electric guitar rather than his more familiar instruments in an attempt to replicate the sound of U.S. boogie rock act ZZ Top. Porcaro is subsequently asked to tour with Dire Straits by declines due to his pre-existing commitments with the U.S. group Toto. Mark Knopfler plays on only three tracks on The Booze Brothers. Sensitive to the comments, the offending lines are sometimes edited out of later editions of the song. We all had day jobs until we got a whacking big advance from Polygram [sic David probably means Phonogram].. Dire Straits world tour winds up at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia on 26 April 1986. Brothers In Arms spends two hundred and thirty-eight weeks in the U.K. albums chart and tops the Australian albums chart for thirty-four weeks. It is known that, by 2011, Pick Withers is a widower. For On Every Street, Dire Straits Mark Knopfler (vocals, guitar), Alan Clark (keyboards), Guy Fletcher (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass) and Chris White (saxophone) is augmented by a variety of session musicians. In 1991, as Dire Straits prepare to tour and promote On Every Street, a decision is made to add two more official members to the groups line-up: Chris Whitten (drums) and Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar). After that we sat in the pub one night and decided to start our own band.. When Alan Clark joins Dire Straits in 1980 he becomes the groups first official keyboards player. Through this connection, Iovine obtains the services of pianist Roy Bittan from Bruce Springsteens backing group, The E-Street Band, to play on this album. Famed guitarist Eric Clapton fills in for Jack Sonni on this occasion. Sultans Of Swing (UK no. In an era of strong images and the quest for new sounds, Dire Straits defied the odds, dominated by its non-pop star leader Mark Knopfler and a low-key blues music clearly rooted in the past. Their accessible, traditional blues-based music made them perfect for the massive, mature, relatively wealthy strata of the public that likes its music tightly performed and relatively digestible., Song lyrics copyright Rondor Music (Australia) Pty Ltd. with the exception of Money For Nothing (Rondor Music / Virgin Music). The featured song is the purposefully silly Twisting By The Pool (UK no. (It may be recalled that, in the mid-1970s, original Dire Straits drummer Pick Withers was the house drummer at Edmunds Rockfield Studio.) She is not publicly identified. 75) is a humorous piece with a nod to Knopflers old band, Brewers Droop, as a doctor (played by Knopfler) remarks, Youve got smokers cough from smoking / Brewers droop from drinking beer. The opening track on the album, Telegraph Road (14:15), uses a sprawling musical epic to chronicle nothing less than the birth and growth of a city. Additionally, he owns a pub, The East End Arms, in East End (between Lymington and Beaulieu). The full line-up is: Pat Moran (vocals), Ray Martinez (guitar), Kips Brown (keyboards), Adrian Maloney (bass) and Pique Withers (drums). Private Investigations (2005) (UK no. Instead of fiery Fender fretworks or finger-pickin semi-acoustics, Money For Nothing has an uncharacteristic fat and fuzzy guitar tone. It could be as early as 1973 or as late as 1976. 4, US no. After Brewers Droop calls it a day, Mark Knopfler plays with local pub bands. Eventually, he settles in with a band called Caf Racers. But they would have preferred us to be architects or lawyers, It is probably around this time that Mark Knopfler meets Kathy White since she is described as his long-time girlfriend from school days.. The fifth song, Sacred Loving, is written by guitarist David Knopfler. Aside from Chris White, the only member of The Dire Straits Experience who has some history with the band to whom they are paying tribute is Chris Whitten who played drums on Dire Straits 1991-1992 tour. It is one of the first albums to forsake the traditional analogue recording tape in favour of Sony twenty-four track digital tape. We were what we were. 1) is the fourth Dire Straits album. The best of these is the closing track, the triumphal Going Home. Paul Franklin serves alongside Mark Knopfler in the 1990 Notting Hillbillies project before joining Dire Straits in 1991. Many years of medical treatments follow. 46, AUS no. Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler produces the album Knife (1984) (UK no. misfits, doing our own thing! They used local band Squeezes PA, and their flat as the dressing room. Chris Whitten also plays in The Dire Straits Experience from 2012. WebJohn Illsley was born on 24 June, 1949 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK, is an Actor, Music Department, Soundtrack. Pick Withers is born David Withers on 4 April 1948 in Leicester, England. Guy Fletcher takes on this role in 1984. Dire Straits are on the bill at Londons Wembley Stadium on 18 July 1988 for the 70th birthday celebration honouring South African political identity Nelson Mandela. John Illsley of Dire Straits & His Band with Steve Picken Sat 11th Nov 2017 Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 8:00pm (Showtimes Approx) Founder member & Bassman of Dire Straits 18 Adv / 20 Door Playing songs from acclaimed new album Long Shadows plus classic Dire Straits.