The British group Dire Straits arose in 1977 in London against the backdrop of a universal passion for punk music. The founder of the band was Mark Knopfler, a professor at the University of London, a highly educated person and a talented guitarist. He refused to follow the newfangled trends and turned to the classics, seasoning it with exquisite blues motifs. The result was so aristocratic and professional that the group forever made its name in the history of rock music.
Early Dire Straits
The first demo of the group was the song Sultans of Swing and was especially liked by fans of rhythm and blues. The song instantly gained popularity and began to be broadcast on the radio, after which it was included in the collection of Charlie Gillette's private radio station The Honky Tonk Demos. Dire Straights became even more popular, and Phonogram Recording Studio drew attention to the musicians. The following year, the debut composition came out as a full-fledged studio single and lasted for about a week on the first lines of the charts.
The group recorded their debut album in the Bahamas with the help of one of the best American producers Barry Becket and Jerry Wexler. As a result, the album entered the top three in America, and in England took only 5th position. Interestingly, it was in the United States that the group was overwhelmingly successful at the beginning of their careers, while the Dire Straights were clearly underestimated in their homeland.
Climbing the Musical Olympus
After the success of the debut album, it became clear to everyone that we were dealing with a new star of rock music, and these people are professional musicians who compose quite complex and diverse music. The second album of the Communique collective in terms of material quality was slightly inferior to its debut one, but the group was saved by a large-scale tour in the USA, so they still managed to stay on the top lines of the charts. By the way, on the first posters the name of the group was announced as Dire Straights, but then they decided to reduce it.
Then came Making Movies and the famous Love Over Gold, which finally drew the attention of Great Britain to “Dire Straights” and for a long time held on the first line of the charts. In 1980, the band's brother David Knopfler, who was responsible for the rhythm guitar and backing vocals, left the band. Hal Linda came in his place, and the ascent to the top of the musical Olympus continued.
The group increased its potential every year, and finally in 1983 their first world tour took place, in which the best songs of “Dire Straights” were performed and crowds of new fans were attracted. The monetary reward also turned out to be quite substantial, which allowed the musicians to distance themselves from the financial side of the issue and concentrate fully on composing new material. The result was not long in coming, and in 1985, perhaps the best album of Brothers in Arms, which became multi-platinum, hit the world.
Video Dire Straits
The clips of Dire Straights are mostly live, the most popular video was shot on a song from the legendary Brothers in Arms album called Your Latest Trick. Among the live clips you will find Walk of Life, Money for Nothing, Tunnel of Love and many other hits of the group.
The late work of Dire Straits
During its existence, the group disintegrated in 1990, but the next year the musicians gathered again and issued several more high-quality albums and the compilation “The Best” Dire Straits. groups.
However, the story of Dire Straights did not end there, as the musicians began solo activities. Despite the fact that after the dissolution, the members of the collective did not show a desire to reunite, they continue to work closely in the musical field. For example, keyboardist Guy Fletcher took an active part in recording the parts on all Mark's solo albums.
In total, Mark Knopfler released 7 solo albums, the last of which, Privateering, was released in 2012. The musician was awarded 27th place in the hit parade of the best guitarists of all time according to Rolling Stone. During his brilliant career, he managed to work with such famous colleagues as Sting, Bob Dylan, Chris Rea, Tina Turner and many others.
In the fall of 1999, after the dissolution, the group was awarded the Heritage Award and immortalized its name in one of the London houses where the group's first rehearsals took place. The collective has made an invaluable contribution to the development of modern musical art, and its founders still continue to delight fans with quality music.