Dire Straits
In 1977, Mark Knopfler (who had been teaching English at
Loughton in Essex) hooked up with his brother David and John
Illsley (who were sharing a council flat in Deptford) and
invited Pick Withers down from the North East.
With £1000 left to Illsely by his grandmother, the band
recorded a five-song demo. Illsley and Mark Knopfler then
took the tape to DJ Charlie Gillett, who duly played Sultans
Of Swing on his Radio London show, resulting in a
record deal with Phonogram.
Dire Straits then played a residency at London's Marquee Club
to critical acclaim, but in spite of rave reviews and a sold-out
tour, their self-titled debut album only reached Number 37 in
the charts. Curiously it fared much better in Australia and New
Zealand where it topped the charts.
In May 1985, Brothers In Arms entered the UK album
charts at Number 1 and shortly repeated this success in the
American charts.
Marking the dawn of a new era, it was the first major hit on
the new Compact Disc format. The album subsequently made it to
the Number One spot in 25 countries and shifted over 20 million
copies.
The single Money For Nothing (co-written by Mark
Knopfler and Sting) dominated the US charts in September with
the video on heavy rotation on MTV (despite its anti-MTV lyrics,
including the sarcastic chant "I want my MTV").
The 1991-1992 On Every Street tour finally broke the
camel's back. The combination of 225 gigs in 12 months and
marriage and relationship failures for band members convinced
them to call a halt to the Dire Straits machine.
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