You are here:

Dire Straits Sultans of Swing

See More Videos From Coyote_Digital

Dire Straits was a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass), and Pick Withers (drums), and managed by Ed Bicknell. Although the band was formed in an era when punk rock reigned, Dire Straits worked within the conventions of classic rock, albeit with a stripped-down sound that appealed to modern audiences weary of the overproduced stadium rock of the 1970s. In their early days, Mark and David requested that pub owners turn down the amps so that patrons could converse while the band played — indicative of their unassuming demeanor. Despite this oddly self-effacing approach to rock and roll, Dire Straits soon became hugely successful with their first album going multi-platinum globally.

The band's best-known songs include "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet," "Private Investigations," "Money for Nothing," "Walk of Life," "Your Latest Trick," "Heavy Fuel," "So Far Away", and "Brothers in Arms."
Dire Straits recorded and released their first album, Dire Straits, in 1978 for £12,500.[citation needed] The album was recorded at Basing Street studios (now known as 'Sarm West') near Portobello Road in West London. It was initially released in the UK on Vertigo, a division of Phonogram. Karin Berg, an assistant in the artists and repertoire (A&R) department of Warner Brothers Records in New York City heard Dire Straits' first British album and felt it was the kind of music that audiences were hungry for. Unfortunately, only one person in her department agreed. "Other people didn't hear it," she recalls. "The act was doing poorly in the U.K., and the record wasn't getting air play. It was totally out of left field. But we fought through and took it to the label (Warner Brothers.) We signed it, put out the record and it went platinum." Later, re-released as a single, "Sultans of Swing" became a surprise UK chart hit, making the top 10.

The group's second album, Communiqué followed in 1979, resulting in a typical situation of the time, Communiqué showing as number one in the German album charts with Dire Straits simultaneously at number 3. It is their least-selling album by some distance. Both albums are characterised by a stripped-down sound. However, this would change with those that followed. The band's line-up would also change over the years, but Mark Knopfler and John Illsley played together till the dissolution of Dire Straits, the only two founding members to do so.