Brother Mark and David Knopfler formed Dire Straits with friends John Illsley and Pick Withers in 1977. Despite early success, and Grammy nominations, feuding between the two siblings would ultimately lead to a departure, but greater success.
The group recorded a five-song demo tape which included their future hit single, Sultans Of Swing, as well as Water Of Love, and Down To The Waterline. However, when it was presented to MCA, the label passed on them.
Though they would go to DJ Charlie Gillett, presenter of Honky Tonk on BBC Radio London seeking advice, the host liked the music so much that he played Sultans of Swing on his show. Shortly thereafter, the Vertigo division of Phonogram Inc. would sign them.
Their self titled debut was released in 1978, and led by Sultan's Of Swing, got the attention of Karin Berg of Warner Bros. Records. She felt the music was perfect for a US audience. While many weren't in agreement with her, a tour that same year with Talking Heads, and the re-release of singles which went to number one in the UK convinced them otherwise. By 1978, Dire Straits had released their debut album worldwide.
The band released their 1979 follow up, Communiqué to great success. It went to number one in Germany, and number three in the UK. They would not only be nominated for a Grammy in for best new artist in 1980, but begin work on their third album, Making Movies. It would be during these sessions that tensions would mount between the brothers, and David would leave the band.
Despite the absence of David, the trio would press on with session musicians releasing the album in October 1980 to critical praise. Making Movies would stay in the UK charts for five years, peaking at number four.
So let's stop here, and fire it up!
Tunnel Of Love sets a nice tone with its organ style intro, which blasts into some of the finest guitar work from Knopfler. It elevates further with Rome And Juliet, and my personal favorite, Expresso Love. However, in between those, while it doesn't necessarily offer a poor experience, the remaining tracks just don't reach the heights of the aforementioned ones.
I actually had to take a break from typing for a while, because while I wanted to say more than the above about my listening experience, I honestly couldn't come up with anything.
While I may not have anything further to say, Dire Straits did. They went on to release 1982's Lover Over Gold, and then their biggest album to date, 1985's Brothers In Arms. The latter was heavily supported through music videos which were featured on MTV quite frequently. Ironic, as Knopfler was against the whole idea of videos. In fact, it would take MTV reaching out to Warner Bros. pleading with them to convince the artist to create a concept video for them to play.
Knopfler would take a break in 1987, but in 1988 would announce the group had disbanded. He would state in a later article, "A lot of press reports were saying we were the biggest band in the world. There's not an accent then on the music, there's an accent on popularity. I needed a rest."
Dire Straits would reunite in 1990, and release one final album, 1991's On Every Street. Perhaps it was because times had changed, or that their departure from the spotlight gave people time to forget, but the album received only moderate success, and mixed reviews. After a contractually obligated live album in 1995, Knopfler quietly disbanded the group again. Though they have reunited periodically for one off shows, the band has yet to release any further studio albums.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS April 2, 1983 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS April 2, 1988 |
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