Dire Straits - Paradise at your fingertips

What would Dire Straits have been without Mark Knopfler? Hard to say. They probably would have been a decent, honest rock'n'roll band, but nothing more. They probably would never have reached the worldwide success they went on to achieve, and would have remained stuck within the narrow confines of Britain, if not of their own hometown, Deptford. What would Mark Knopfler have been, on the other hand, without Dire Straits? He probably would have become Mark Knopfler all the same. His immense talent, extraordinary technique and strong personality meant that, in a short time, he became the deus ex machina of the band, the absolute master with the power of life and death over the group. His shadow loomed so large that one could easily have thought Dire Straits were nothing more than the phenomenal guitarist's backing band.

Mark Knopfler has the extraordinary ability to make his Schecter Custom Stratocaster emit sounds that seem to be produced by angels on a Saturday night, when they're exhausted from having been good all week and feel the need for a strong beer

(Douglas Adams, “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish”, 1984)

This small quotation helps to convey just how prodigious Knopfler's skill on the six strings is, and just how innovative his style was. Over the years, dozens of guitarists have taken on the acrobatic riffs of the Knopfler songbook, trying to reproduce that divine sound. Countless tribute bands have been formed by musicians fascinated by the Dire Straits repertoire. But what made this style unique? What allowed Mark Knopfler to enter the pantheon of the greatest living guitarists and become a reference point for others? Not the dizzying speed of a Steve Vai, nor the tons of effects that characterize the sound of other virtuosos like Dave “The Edge” Evans and Zakk Wylde, but rather class, restraint, touch and, above all, the fingertips of his right hand. A natural left-hander, Knopfler in fact learned to play guitar right-handed, which allowed him to exert greater control with his dominant hand on the instrument's fretboard, making bending and vibrato easier. His idea of playing exclusively with his fingers (so-called fingerpicking), developing a highly personal technique derived from the clawhammer style typical of banjo players, also allowed him to vary his sound, alternating warmer, more enveloping tones with sharper, more incisive ones. By now, the “Knopfler style” of playing is confidently mastered by many guitarists, who use it whenever they need softer textures that a classic pick simply cannot produce.

But considerable instrumental technique alone isn't enough to explain the immense success of Dire Straits. To it must be added a strong emotional charge in the lyrics and a style blending blues, country and rock'n'roll. Behind a refined, musically flawless sonic backdrop lie stories drawn from everyday life, often seasoned with intelligent, even-handed political and social commentary. Knopfler himself once said of his songs: “A lot of my songs came from the places I regularly go to. Inspiration isn't something you can have if you're shut up at home, or going around with six bodyguards: that's not living.”

Dire Straits

The historic core of the group formed in Deptford in 1977, when the young journalist and teacher Mark Knopfler (Glasgow, 12 August 1949) moved into the house his brother David (Glasgow, 27 December 1952) shared with John Illsley (Leicester, 24 June 1949). Given the Knopfler brothers' decent experience as guitarists and Illsley's as a bassist, the three soon decided to form a band, drawing on songs Mark had written some time before and had never played in public due to a lack of confidence in his abilities. To complete the lineup, all that was missing was a drummer, and the choice fell on Pick Withers (Leicester, 4 April 1948), an old friend of the band. After a less-than-brilliant debut under the name Café Racers, the group found its definitive name thanks to a friend of Withers who suggested Dire Straits, a reference to the unhappy financial situation the band members found themselves in. The new name didn't change the band's fortunes much: despite numerous gigs, they failed to achieve the success they hoped for, owing to a clean, crystalline style that ran completely against the grain of the punk and disco music dominant at the time. Their reflective, crepuscular lyrics were a world away from the light, carefree rock blaring from the radio, making the group an anomaly on the British music scene. Things changed suddenly on 27 July 1977, when Dire Straits decided to record demos of their original compositions. The first included tracks such as “Sultans Of Swing”, “Water Of Love”, “Down To The Waterline”, “Wild West End” and “Scared Loving” (a David Knopfler composition never included in the official discography). The second, recorded between the following October and November, featured early versions of “Southbound Again”, “In The Gallery”, “Six Blade Knife”, “Eastbound Train”, “Setting Me Up” and “Real Girl”. The tapes were sent to the local radio station to get an unbiased opinion. The band's music struck disc jockey Charlie Gillett so much that he decided to put “Sultans Of Swing” into rotation without their knowledge. The song proved an unexpected hit with the station's listeners, so much so that, through Gillett's mediation, Dire Straits landed their first record deal with Vertigo Records.

In February 1978, after a stint as an opening band on an American tour by Talking Heads, Dire Straits began working on their debut album. Recorded in just twelve days at Basing Street Studios in London and simply titled Dire Straits, this record gathers all the material the band used to play in small London clubs (as well as in the famous demo sent to Gillett). Producer Muff Winwood decided to leave the band's simple, clean style, centred on Knopfler's virtuosity, more or less unaltered. It's the unmistakable notes of his guitar that open the album, with the opening solo of “Down The Waterline”, a track marked by a warm, enveloping vocal delivery set against a precise, incisive guitar sound. Another contrast within the song is that between the tormented love at the heart of the lyrics and its driving rhythm. The beguine rhythm of “Water Of Love” accompanies lyrics centred on human loneliness and the need for love as vital as water. The true star is the resonator guitar (or, more simply, dobro, an all-metal guitar later made famous by Dire Straits themselves a few years on), which fills the entire song almost like a second voice. A stuttering arpeggio and torrential drumming characterize “Setting Me Up”, whose lyrics, centred on a troubled romantic relationship, are skilfully softened by a rhythmic base with a clear country-rock flavour. The central solo is truly remarkable, a mix of power and energy combined with stratospheric technique.

The mood softens on “Six Blade Knife”. Although still dealing with unrequited or troubled love, the tone becomes more restrained, and even Knopfler's fiery guitar steps back, leaving the spotlight to Illsley's bass and Withers' drums, limiting itself to a few essential splashes of colour. Country-rock returns in force on “Southbound Again”, perhaps the most autobiographical track on the record, centred on the protagonist's constant relocations – much like what happened to the young Knopfler, who was forced to move from his native Glasgow to Blyth, then Leeds, and finally London. “Sultans Of Swing” is undoubtedly the most famous track on the album, and indeed of the whole band's career; a true proving ground for young guitarists eager to test themselves against Knopfler's incredible, captivating style. The story of four jazz musicians playing purely for the love of it in a London pub takes a back seat to the frenzied dialogue between the guitar hero and his instrument. The song's real gem is the closing solo, perhaps one of the finest ever recorded.

“In The Gallery” is dedicated to sculptor Harry Phillips, dismissed out of self-interest by art dealers and only reappraised after his death. Anger rings out in Knopfler's voice and words, backed by a highly incisive, powerful rhythm section. The ups and downs of London's West End district are at the heart of “Wild West End”, where the roughness of the resonator guitar is offset by the languid sound of the Fender Stratocaster. The whole hazy musical backdrop nonetheless helps make this the sweetest song on the record. “Lions” closes the album, once again confirming the band's clear, crystalline style.

Released on 8 June 1978, Dire Straits was initially almost ignored in Britain, submerged as it was by the punk wave, but it achieved notable success in other European countries such as Germany and Holland, thanks to a supporting tour across the Old Continent, and managed to make its mark in the United States and Australia too, markets less swept up by punk's anarchic, iconoclastic lash. The album later also found decent success at home, but by then Dire Straits were already fully immersed in recording sessions for their second album: Communiqué.

Recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau between November and December 1978, Communiqué was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, confirming the band's soft, clean-cut style. Mark Knopfler's compositional and technical abilities grew considerably, as did the chemistry between the musicians, who thus managed to build on both their fame and their repertoire. Knopfler's reverb-drenched guitar opens the album, introducing the track "Once Upon A Time In The West", an epic portrait centred on violence and the degeneration of modern society ("Who's protecting the innocent/ Heap big trouble in the land of plenty/Tell me how we're gonna do what's best/You guess once upon a time in the west"). The long guitar excursions and the hypnotically swaying, almost reggae-like tempo have made it, over the years, one of the band's live staples, one they've delighted in rearranging in every conceivable way. The dramatic, moving "News" confirms once again Knopfler's fine poetic streak. The lyrics, this time centred on the story of a charismatic man who lives recklessly until he's killed in a car accident (“He sticks to his guns/ He take the road as it comes/ It take the shine off his shoes/ He’s too fast to stop/ He take it over the top/ He make a line in the news”), are set off by a vocal delivery softer and more hushed than ever, almost like "Bob Dylan with a tune". After John Lennon's murder on 5 December 1980, this song was dedicated to him as a mark of deep respect and admiration. The gorgeous sound of an acoustic guitar and the end of a love affair are at the heart of "Were Do You Think You're Going", another song of aching beauty. Worth noting is a striking change of tempo in the instrumental coda, which adds to the allure of a dazzling solo. The title track showcases Dire Straits' ability to master different musical styles and their ongoing attention to social themes. The importance of words, of their meaning - almost lost in contemporary society - takes absolute centre stage, while the musical backing unwinds along a typically rock path, dominated by that trademark staccato guitar.

The driving rhythm of "Lady Writer" serves as the backdrop to a kind of psychological introspection. The lyrics are, in fact, built around a parallel between a writer seen on TV and an ex-partner (“Lady Writer on the Tv/ Talk about the Virgin Mary/ Reminded me of you/ Expectations left to come up to yeah”), from which the ex-partner emerges hopelessly defeated. Thanks to its highly enjoyable, distinctly radio-friendly cut, "Lady Writer" was the only single lifted from the album. Side B opens with "Angel Of Mercy", marked by a soft sonic carpet underpinning dreamlike, fairy-tale-like lyrics (“Well there’s a Peter Pan moon, shepherd’s delight/ I got the dragon at noon, yes and I won the fight/ Now I want my reward in heaven tonight, just like you promised/ Angel of mercy you’ll come to no harm”). The unpredictable final acceleration heightens the power of the chorus and the precise, forceful guitar solo. The sound of the resonator guitar returns on "Portobello Belle", a soft, country-rooted piece dedicated to a prostitute from the city outskirts. Knopfler's smooth voice sings the adventures of Belladonna, known as Portobello Belle, which unfold through a cast of street musicians, beggars and cart-drivers, in a kind of urban jungle where survival is hard.

Seafaring life is evoked in "Single Handed Sailor" through references such as the Cutty Sark (a type of English ship), while musically it's rendered through clean, precise guitar riffs. Knopfler's technique emerges more forcefully than ever, and the sound that comes from his fingers takes on those unique, inimitable traits that make him recognisable from the very first listen. The influence of the California school is felt on "Follow Me Home", a sprawling, dreamlike track that closes the album. The relaxed flow of the melody and the reverb of the lead guitar help make this piece as warm and laid-back as the midsummer day in which it's set, so much so that it sounds like it was recorded in the middle of the desert. The words, too, exude passion and warmth (“When the church bells rung/ I stayed out on the tower/ In a dying sun/ Come on woman, come follow me home”), helping to raise the track's temperature.

Released on 15 June 1979, Communiqué fared decidedly better than its predecessor, selling 7 million copies worldwide, going gold in the US and debuting straight at number one in Germany. The cover, created by Grant Advertising UK, won the NME award for best cover of the year in 1979.

Right after the album's release, Dire Straits embarked on a world tour that sold out everywhere. In America the band played 51 shows in 38 days, and during one evening in Los Angeles, Bob Dylan, enraptured by the band's sound, invited Mark Knopfler and Pick Withers to the recording sessions for "Slow Train Coming". This was the first of the many excellent collaborations the various members of Dire Straits would string together over the course of their brilliant career. Meanwhile, television also began taking an interest in them: on 16 February 1979 the German channel WDR broadcast one of their concerts in full as part of the Rockpalast programme, while the BBC aired, as part of Arena, excerpts from the shows held on 20 and 21 December at London's Rainbow Theatre, accompanied by a lengthy interview with the four band members.

The world is not enough

Now artists of international renown, Dire Straits set to work on new material, showing great inspiration and musical maturity. In the summer of 1980, at Power Station in New York, work began on Making Movies, an album that marked a considerable stylistic evolution, making room for jazz, blues, country and folk influences. Song lengths grew substantially, and the arrangements became more refined and complex, aided also by top-tier session players such as Roy Bittan of the E Street Band. Mark Knopfler's poetic streak also underwent a radical shift, producing strongly narrative lyrics, refined and emotionally powerful. Roy Bittan's fairground-style organ (a rearrangement of "The Carousel Waltz") opens the record, providing the ideal introduction to the breakneck ride of "Tunnel Of Love". A syncopated rhythm marked out by Knopfler's guitar underpins a small novel set to music. The pains of love, the inability to communicate and loneliness (“and now I’m searching through these carousels and the carnival arcades/ searching everywhere from steeplechase to palisades/ in any shooting gallery where promises are made/ to rockaway rockaway from cullercoats and whitley bay out to rockaway”) are addressed through the metaphor of a man and a woman who chance to meet at a funfair: a sudden falling in love that, however, vanishes into thin air by the end of the night. The final solo is of spectacular beauty, considered one of the finest ever recorded.

The theme of tormented love returns in the album's most famous track, "Romeo And Juliet", which, as the title suggests, is inspired by the tragic story of the young lovers of Verona. Moving, exhilarating, musically flawless, "Romeo And Juliet" has rightfully earned a place among the band's signature songs and in the catalogue of the greatest love songs ever written. The absolute star of the melody is the resonator guitar, whose metallic arpeggio flows like a river through the entire structure of the song. The pathos is heightened by well-judged pauses in which Knopfler's voice is accompanied by a simple drum touch, letting the poetry do the rest. Romeo, in this case, is the archetype of the lone young man in love, except that, unlike in Shakespeare's tragedy, his feelings for Juliet are not reciprocated (“a lovestruck romeo sings the streets a serenade/ laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made/ finds a streetlight steps out of the shade/ says something like you and me babe how about it?”).

Keyboards dominate "Skateway", a rock-rooted track centred on the theory of the "communication bubble". The story of a girl who roams the city on roller skates, listening to music on her Walkman, cutting herself off from the world around her, is rendered with vivid poetic clarity. Melodically, the reverb heightens the effectiveness of the lead guitar together with a skilful use of volume and tremolo arm, while the percussion reinforces the rhythmic foundation. Once again the Knopfler/Bittan duo produce a fine introduction for "Expresso Love", which behind a musically very sustained structure conceals a tender ode to a beloved girl (“and she was made in heaven/ heaven’s in the world/ is this just expresso love/ you know I’m crazy for the girl”). The use of well-placed changes in intensity gives the piece good sonic tension, while the organ in the background offers the ideal bed for Knopfler's flourishes. A piano and an acoustic guitar shape "Hand In Hand", perhaps the album's softest song. Despite the title, the central theme is love that ends after being lived intensely (“Now you and me go parallel together and apart/ And you keep your perfect distance and it’s tearing at my heart/ Did you never feel the distance/ You never tried to cross no line”), and the drama of the situation is heightened by the sweetness of the melody and the restraint of the accompaniment.

The technical virtuosity of each individual member of Dire Straits emerges forcefully on "Solid Rock", a stormy invective against the futility of material goods in modern society (“well I’m sick of potential/ I’m sick of vanity now/ I’m sticking to essential reality now/ I don’t know what’s worse/ try to make a silk purse/ living an illusion living in confusion”). Here the musicians truly give their best, delivering refined arrangements and highly complex harmonic passages. The album closes with "Les Boys", a track that, behind its seemingly light touch, tackles a thorny subject such as homosexuality (“les boys do cabaret/ les boys are glad to be gay/ they’re not afraid now”), even going so far as to cite Jean Genet. The music, overtly inspired by the atmospheres of the film "Cabaret", helps depict scenes set in a gay club in Munich, catapulting the listener into that pre-war German atmosphere that Liza Minnelli had so effectively portrayed.

While working on such an important album, Dire Straits found themselves facing a small internal crisis. At odds with the rest of the band over certain guitar parts, David Knopfler left the group to pursue a solo career that brought him little success. Nonetheless, Making Movies, released on 17 October 1980, went on to sell 8 million copies, topping the charts in many countries, including Italy. Ahead of the On Location World Tour, which would also take in Australia and New Zealand, Dire Straits replaced David Knopfler with Hal Lindes (Monterey, 30 June 1953) and brought in keyboardist Alan Clark (Great Lumley, 5 March 1952).

On returning from this triumphant tour, and with this drastically overhauled lineup, Dire Straits went back into the studio once again to work on new material. Mark Knopfler took total artistic and musical control of the band's production, which steered decisively towards more experimental, jazz-inflected territory. Love Over Gold, recorded at Power Station in New York in June 1982, shows substantial differences from its predecessors. Taking its cue from Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" in terms of the title track's placement and the average song length, this album departs from the pop-rock of the band's early days to make room for long, intricate instrumental passages. "Telegraph Road" opens the record, striking the listener with its musical and lyrical richness. After an introduction built on resonator guitar and keyboards, the other instruments come in to play the track's main theme. The song then moves into a remarkable guitar solo before vigorously picking the thread back up. After the last two verses, ample room is given over to Knopfler's talent, as he delivers another solo of nearly five minutes. Lyrically, the song is split into two distinct parts: the first describes the founding of a town by a lone traveller (“A long time ago came a man on a track/ Walking thirty miles with a pack on his back/ And he put down his load where he thought it was the best/ Made a home in the wilderness”), while in the second the narrator speaks in the first person about his struggle against unemployment ("I used to like to go to work but they shut it down/ I got a right to go to work but there's no work here to be found").

The delicate sound of a classical guitar accompanied by a piano opens "Private Investigations", in which Knopfler's voice takes on the delicacy of a whisper, heightened by a skilful use of reverb. Illsley's pulsing bass inexorably marks the time, sustaining the long instrumental coda. A fierce critique of consumerism, capitalism and the free-market ideology of contemporary society is at the heart of "Industrial Disease", which, despite its catchy melody, remains one of the band's most politically engaged songs (“The caretaker was crucified for sleeping at his post/ They’re refusing to be pacified it’s him they blame the most/ The watchdog’s got rabies the foreman’s got fleas/ And everyone’s concerned about industrial disease”). The tremolo organ and the wah-wah-drenched distorted guitar provide a distinctly rock groove, in sharp contrast to the atmospheres built in the previous tracks. The world of women, meanwhile, is the defining theme of "Love Over Gold", an elegant ballad dedicated to a fragile, inconsistent, elusive woman (“You walk out on the high wire/ You’re a dancer on thin ice/ You pay no heed to the danger/ And less to advice”). The classical guitar arpeggios and the unusual sound of Mike Mainieri's vibraphone are particularly notable, confirming the band's continued progress in terms of musical sophistication. The album closes with the lyrically bitter "It Never Rains", which behind a thoroughly enjoyable melody conceals deep wounds of love.

Released on 20 September 1982, Love Over Gold, despite limited radio play owing to the excessive length of its tracks, sold 10 million copies, becoming one of Dire Straits' best-selling albums and, at the same time, one of the high points of their output. From the same sessions came another track, "Private Dancer", which, dropped from the final tracklist because it was deemed better suited to a female voice, became a hit in the hands of Tina Turner. Despite now-global success, the band was forced into yet another lineup change. Longtime drummer Pick Withers left due to increasingly pressing and hectic commitments. He was replaced by Terry Williams (Swansea, 11 January 1948), already active with Man and Rockpile. With the help of the new member, Dire Straits released, on 10 January 1983, the EP ExtendedancEPlay, a kind of playful tribute to the rock'n'roll of their early days. The tracks, all very light and enjoyable, nonetheless don't shy away from tackling, with wit and sarcasm, fairly serious subjects such as the demands of the music business ("Badges, Posters, Stickers And T-Shirt"), the consequences of fame ("Twisting By The Pool"), and the banality with which love is often treated in songs ("Two Young Lovers" and "If I Had You").

Finished in just three days, ExtendancEPlay came out a few days ahead of the massive world tour that sold out everywhere it went. The final show, held at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on 23 July 1983, was recorded and released under the name Alchemy: Dire Straits Live on 12 March 1984. This live album too, featuring some of the gems the band from Deptford had released up to that point, achieved great commercial success, partly because it was released without any touch-ups or overdubs, faithfully capturing all the sonic depth created that night at the Hammersmith.

Meanwhile, the various members of Dire Straits began turning their attention to solo projects. Mark Knopfler, by now unanimously regarded as a guitar virtuoso as well as a skilled producer, was called on to collaborate with artists of the caliber of Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Phil Everly and Aztec Camera, and also wrote and released the soundtracks for films such as "Local Hero", "Cal" and "Comfort And Joy". John Illsley released his first solo album, titled Never Told A Soul, and contributed (alongside Knopfler himself) to David Knopfler's solo debut.

Play the guitar on the Mtv

Despite the various centrifugal pulls, Dire Straits never lost sight of their musical path and, buoyed by a dazzling burst of inspiration, got to work on new material that would flow into another of their triumphs: Brothers In Arms.

Recorded between November 1984 and March 1985 at Air Studios in Montserrat and London and at the Power Station in New York, Brothers In Arms represents, in fact, the definitive consecration of Knopfler & co. Setting aside the long musical explorations of Love Over Gold, Dire Straits moved towards a much more radio-friendly, easy-listening pop-rock, which allowed them to achieve success of unimaginable proportions. With over 35 million copies sold, it became the band's best-selling album and one of the best-selling albums in history. One only needs to look at the tracklist to immediately understand the reason for such a triumph. It opens with "So Far Away" and its unmistakable guitar intro. The masterful use of echo and reverb, together with Guy Fletcher's discreet keyboards, make it a song to fall in love with on first listen, while Knopfler's warm vocal delivery recalls the Bruce Springsteen of "Born In The Usa". Despite the change in style, however, the lyrics remain focused on tormented love stories ("Here I am again in this mean old town/ And you're so far away from me") and sharp social critique, as in the following "Money For Nothing". Despite the invective against the music business ("Now look at them yo-yo's that's the way you do it/ You play the guitar on the Mtv"), the words take a clear back seat to the unmistakable guitar riff, dominated (unusually for the Dire Straits catalogue) by the sound of overdrive. Played with the band's signature fingerpicking technique, it's a must for any guitarist. Also helping cement its immortal status was the video (one of the first to air on the fledgling Mtv), showing Knopfler's fingers plucking the strings of a Gibson Les Paul. An extra touch of style comes courtesy of Sting's voice, who joins the band on the final chorus. Good old 1950s rock'n'roll inspires and permeates "Walk Of Life", a genuine tribute to the traveling minstrels who moved from city to city making a living by playing music (“Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies/ Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say/ Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman/ Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay”). Here the guitar is relegated to a merely rhythmic role, while the keyboard takes the lead, thanks to a theme that has by now become a pop classic. Knopfler and his instrument also stay in the background on "Your Latest Trick", one of the band's most popular ballads, opened by the soft sound of a trumpet and marked by an extended sax solo, with the keyboards providing the right counterpoint to a soft, aching vocal. The guitar returns to the forefront, however, on the gorgeous "Why Worry", a gentle encouragement to face life's difficulties. Knopfler sings in a near-whisper, as if trying to encourage the listener to carry on despite adversity (“Why worry/ There should be laughter after pain/ There should be sunshine after rain/ These things have always been the same/ So why worry now/ Why worry now”), while his instrument produces crystalline notes.

The horrors of war are at the center of "Ride Across The River", a decidedly stark, irregular track, marked by a rhythm pared down to the bone, designed to emphasize the apocalyptic guitar phrasing. The banality of evil and the violence of contemporary society are at the heart of "The Man's Too Strong" (“I’m just and ageing drummer boy/ And in the wars I used to play/ And I’ve called the tune/ To many a torture session/ Now they say I am a war criminal”), thanks to a predominantly acoustic arrangement, torn apart by sudden flashes of fury. A veiled personal despair permeates "One World", which behind a robust arrangement conceals deep private torments (“Can’t find no sleeves for my records/ Can’t get no laces for my shoes/ Can’t get no fancy notes/ On my blue guitar/ Can’t get no antidote for blues”). The album's fitting closer comes with "Brothers In Arms", an epic plea for human brotherhood (“And though they did hurt me so bad/ In the fear and alarm/ You did not desert me/ My brothers in arms”). The long instrumental intro, the keyboard-based musical bed, the color of the guitar phrasing, the hoarse, breathy vocal all make it a stunning tableau recalling the Pink Floyd of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Us And Them", for a musical grandeur of great evocative power.

The stratospheric sales, the awards won, the iconic cover art immediately made Brothers In Arms an evergreen. But at the same time, the album marked the band's swan song. Already during its making, Dire Straits were coming apart at the seams due to the growing pull of solo projects. Hal Lindes contributed only marginally to the recording, and the number of session musicians taking part in the sessions grew (Jack Sonni, Tony Levin, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Omar Hakim, Guy Fletcher), a clear sign that the band's delicate internal balance had finally cracked. Nevertheless, Dire Straits embarked on a massive world tour that sold out everywhere. Over 1985-1986 they played 248 shows, even taking part in Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on 31 July 1985. Now international stars, they also performed for Nelson Mandela's seventieth birthday, while he was still imprisoned under the South African regime. The band's musical activity slowed considerably due to ongoing parallel commitments, only picking back up in full in the early '90s. In November of that same year, aided by a large number of session musicians including Jeff Porcaro, Vince Gill and Danny Cummings, Dire Straits returned to the studio to begin work on what would become On Every Street.

An Ending Foretold

Recorded at Air Studios in London between November 1990 and March 1991, On Every Street was released in June of that same year, a full six years after the previous record. Despite decent sales, largely thanks to the drafting effect of a bestseller like Brothers In Arms, the album showed a noticeable dip in songwriting quality and a clear creative fatigue. Initially conceived as a traditional country/blues project, it morphed along the way, ending up with a somewhat confused stylistic identity. The opening track, "Calling Elvis", is purely country in flavor. Manu Katché's galloping drums are prominently featured, along with Knopfler's refined flourishes embellishing the melodic line. Needless to say, the song is naturally centered on the figure of Presley and the various legends claiming he's still alive. The title track, "On Every Street", shifts register completely. It's a track of great intensity, dominated by the lead guitar's reverb and the precision of Jeff Porcaro's (Toto) drumming. The pained lyrics, tinged with melancholy and bitterness, about the torments of love, take the listener back to the days of Making Movies, while the long instrumental coda makes it perfect for live performance. Love as suffering and disappointment returns in "Fade To Black", a "nocturnal", jazzy introspection of great impact. The unmistakable sound of a Hammond organ accompanying a restrained, anguished voice, the use of brushes and upright bass, the guitar limited to a few highly effective touches, all give this track a smoky, noir, night-club atmosphere. "When It Comes To You" brings the electric guitar back to center stage as the absolute lead. The use of distortion, very similar to that heard on "Money For Nothing", gives energy and depth to an atypical ballad: it's not the usual tear-jerker about the pain of a love gone wrong, but rather a syncopated talking blues full of well-hidden resentment, tucked behind the folds of a quiet, whispered voice. A jolt of energy arrives with "The Bug", a galloping rock'n'roll number driven by Porcaro's pounding drums. The lyrics reflect on the fickleness of human affairs and the precariousness of existence (“sometimes you’re the windshield/ sometimes you’re the bug/ sometimes it all comes together baby/ sometimes you’re a fool in love”).

The unmistakable sound of the dobro opens "You And Your Friends" instead, a hushed ballad about friendship, enriched by the majestic carpet laid down by Alan Clark's organ and Knopfler's skillful touches. Worth noting is the masterful use of bottleneck that marks the epic closing solo. Harder rock returns on "Heavy Fuel", a venomous track that sarcastically extols the "virtues" of cigarettes, money and alcohol, true scourges of humanity ("It took six hamburgers and scotch all night, Nicotine for breakfast just to put me right, Cause if you wanna run cool"). The ghosts of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger surface on "Iron Hand", a mournful, spectral piece made even more dramatic by its sparse, unplugged arrangement (voice, acoustic guitar, keyboards and dobro flourishes). Knopfler does it all himself, proving, now more than ever, that he had become the band's great demiurge.

"Ticket To Heaven" shakes things up with its beguine rhythm and vaguely Latin flavor. A tex-mex gem that confirms Dire Straits' versatility and their technical-musical eclecticism. The smooth arrangement built on strings and percussion conceals a bitter indictment of certain men of God, devoted more to luxury than to spirituality ("now I send what I can to the man, with the diamond ring, he's a part of heaven's plan, and he sure can sing"). The gentle, catchy "My Parties" takes aim at the shallowness of those who care only about material comfort. Mark Knopfler's voice is given great prominence here, as he chooses, in this case, to push his guitar into the background.

A fiery three-way dialogue between Knopfler's guitar, Paul Franklin's pedal steel and Chris White's sax characterizes "Planet Of New Orleans", without a doubt the album's most complex and ambitious track. The end of a love affair with a girl from New Orleans takes shape in the hands of these three virtuosos, who convey all its sadness and pain through a flood of notes. The album closes with the country sound of "How Long", which evokes the classic colors of the American West Coast.

Released in September 1991, On Every Street achieved huge success, eventually selling over ten million copies worldwide. Even before its release, Dire Straits set off on a massive world tour that ran until 9 October 1992, touring the world's major countries across 216 sold-out shows. The world tour yielded a live album and an EP, On The Night (released in May 1993) and Encores (released just a few days later), which presented, strictly in live versions, all of the Deptford band's most significant songs. A kind of swan song, a final bow, since by the end of the tour Dire Straits had effectively ceased to exist. Mark Knopfler had said enough, choosing to focus exclusively on his solo career. Having become a colossal entertainment machine, one of the biggest and most famous bands in history, Dire Straits had stopped being, for Knopfler—a reserved figure, alien to the logic of the music business—the ideal environment for self-expression.

"In recent years we had become a gigantic structure: on tour I'd sometimes find myself eating with people from our staff I didn't even know, when what I really wanted was to stay home for a while with my kids and devote myself to what I do best, which is writing songs. I think of Dire Straits as a wonderful place to visit, but not one to settle down and live in." (Mark Knopfler)

The other members of the group continued in the music world with mixed fortunes, never coming close to repeating the success achieved with Dire Straits, while Knopfler's career took off in full force, cementing his status as a guitar-rock legend.

Mark & Co.

Even during their time in Dire Straits, the band's various members had never shied away from focusing their attention on side projects. Mark Knopfler in particular channeled his talent into film scores, high-profile collaborations and appearances in "alternative" bands. In 1986, over dinner at a venue in Notting Hill, London, the Notting Hillbillies were born almost by chance - a kind of folk/country/blues "supergroup" made up of Steve Phillips, Guy Fletcher, Brendan Crocker and Knopfler himself. The band, which played shows at some of the world's most prestigious venues, released just one official album: Missing... Presuming Having A Good Time, out in 1990. This markedly country-flavoured record features only one Knopfler composition ("Your Own Street Way"), one by Crocker ("Weapon Of Prayer"), one by Phillips ("Will You Miss Me?") and a number of suitably rearranged traditional tunes ("Railway Work Song", "Run Me Down", "One Way Gal", "Please Baby"). True to the band's understated, clean sound, Missing... Presuming Having A Good Time achieved solid commercial results, thanks to a UK tour and the irresistible draw of having the famous guitarist on board.

Having set aside the Notting Hillbillies experience, Knopfler turned to high-profile collaborations with the likes of Tina Turner, Van Morrison, Sting, Randy Newman and, above all, Chet Atkins. With Atkins he struck up a particular rapport that led to the release of an album, Neck And Neck, also in 1990 - a kind of guitar divertissement between two legends of the six-string. The extraordinarily high technical level displayed by the two musicians, together with a repertoire drawn from country, jazz and blues standards (ranging from Paul Kennerly's "Poor Boy Blues" to Django Reinhardt's "Tears", from Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams" to Randy Goodrum's "So Soft Your Goodbye"), make it a decidedly niche work, but one perfectly suited to anyone eager to explore new guitar horizons.

After these varied and rewarding experiences, Mark Knopfler finally launched his solo career proper. On 4 March 1996 he released his debut album Golden Heart, enlisting the help of members of the now-disbanded Dire Straits. The sound at times recalls that of his former band, though for the most part Celtic-inflected tones take precedence. Buoyed by the solid success of "Darling Pretty", the only single lifted from the album, Golden Heart went on to sell 1.6 million copies, helped along by the accompanying world tour, which took in 66 countries across 84 dates.

Four years later Mark Knopfler released his biggest success outside of Dire Straits: Sailing To Philadelphia. Featuring prestigious collaborations (James Taylor and Van Morrison chief among them) and built on a shrewd blend of country, folk and cajun, the album went on to sell three and a half million copies, topping the charts in several countries including Italy, Germany and Switzerland. The appeal of tracks such as "What It's This", "Sailing To Philadelphia" and "The Last Laugh" showed just how far Knopfler's songwriting had matured, and the class on display in his effective, elegant arrangements.

After four charity shows that saw him tackle both the Notting Hillbillies' and Dire Straits' back catalogues, Knopfler set to work on his next album. The Ragpicker's Dream duly arrived on 30 September 2002, a record built around much more country- and folk-leaning sounds. Tracks like "Why Aye Man", "Hill's Farmer Blues", "Marbletown" and "Coyote" revealed a growing distance from rock'n'roll and its stereotypes, and a rejection of the guitar hero label.

This new direction was confirmed by the albums that followed. Shangri-La (2004) - featuring musical biographies of famous figures such as Elvis Presley, Sonny Liston and Lonnie Donegan - and All The Roadrunning (2006), recorded entirely with the golden voice of American country, singer Emmylou Harris, showed a Knopfler drifting ever further from the logic of the star system and increasingly focused on high-quality, refined production. Sales, while not stratospheric, remained solid.

Even so, the urge to change and experiment led Knopfler toward new horizons. The 2007 album Kill To Get Crimson presented an unusual tracklist, moving between waltzes, polkas and medieval-tinged melodies, all dressed in arrangements built around flutes, accordions and strings. This time sales weren't encouraging, but the fact didn't seem to trouble the brilliant guitarist much.

After two years of silence, spent mostly guesting on other people's records (B.B. King, John Fogerty, Bill Wyman), Knopfler returned with an album much closer to the Dire Straits sound. Get Lucky (2009), driven by the singles "Border Reiver" and "Remembrance Day", climbed to the top of charts around the world thanks to a far more radio-friendly, immediate style that leaned into classic blues and country.

2012 brought Privateering, a lavish double album marking 35 years in the business and a genuine kaleidoscope of the Knopfler universe. Across twenty tracks there was room for the blues of "Don't Forget Your Hat", the country of "Radio City Serenade" and the Celtic-style ballads of "Kingdom Of Gold".

Mark Knopfler has always had a knack for surprising and wrong-footing his listeners; his constant shifts in style, his discretion and his undeniable talent make him one of the most distinctive and compelling figures in rock, able to stay at the top of his game for more than thirty years. Who knows - maybe one day the world will be ready again for a sensational Dire Straits reunion, given that the band's storied name, though formally shelved, has never officially been laid to rest.

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