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Dire Straits (The Sultans of Swing) was formed way back
in 1977 in the UK by brothers Mark and David Knopfler, and friends John
Illsley and Pick Withers. The band made a demo tape that caught
the attention of a local DJ who began playing their songs, and before
long, they had a record deal with Phonogram Records. Their first
self-titled studio album was released in 1978.
Although their initial released did not fair too well
initially in the UK, the band had also caught the attention of Warner
Brothers in the USA, and the album quickly charted with hit songs like
"Sultans of Swings". The bands 1979 release, Communique,
met with some success in the UK and Germany. In 1980, Dire Straits
released
Making
Movies, which featured the songs "Romeo and Juliet", "Solid
Rock", and "Tunnel of Love".
Lover Over Gold (1982),
featured the hit songs "Private Investigations" and "Industrial
Disease". In 1983, Dire Straits released a four-song EP called
ExtendedancEPlay, which featured the hit song "Twisting by the
Pool".
It was 1985's
Brothers in Arms
that became the band's greatest success, featuring the hit songs "Money for Nothing",
"Brothers in Arms", "Walk of Life", "Your Latest Trick" and "So Far Away".
The album spent 228 weeks on the UK Albums Chart and it peaked at no. 1
on the Billboard 200 in the USA, where it spent 9 weeks. This
album was also the first recorded on digital equipment and often
credited with jump starting the compact disc era.
By 1988, the pressure and stress of performing had taken
its toll on the band, and Mark Knopfler announced that the band was
calling it quits. Knopfler went on to other projects, such as The
Notting Hillbillies, was met with some success in the early 1990's.
By 1991, Dire Straits was back at it, and their final studio album,
On Every Street, was released in 1991. After this release, the
band disbanded again, and Mark went on to a solo career. At the
time of this writing in mid 2013, it appeared no reunion was on the
horizon. The Dire Straits Discography is as follows:1978: Dire Straits
1979: Communique
1980: Making Movies
1982: Love Over Gold
1983: ExendedancEPlay EP
1984: Alchemy Live
1985: Brothers in Arms
1988: Money for Nothing
1991: On Every Street
1993: On the Night Live
1993: Encores EP
1995: Live at the BBC
1998: Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits
2005: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knoplfer: Private Investigations |
