Dire Straits

How It All Started
Everyone knows Dire Straits has become famous because of the voice and also the guitar-play of Mark Knopfler (1949), the one and only frontman Dire Straits has ever had. But only few know that Dire Straits was founded mostly by Marks younger brother, David Knopfler.
Together with John Illsley (1949) they formed a line-up which was soon completed with Pick Withers, who played the drums. At first they played a couple of gigs under the name of Mark's previous band, called the Cafe Racers.

But because of the abominable financial situation they were in, they followed an advice from a friend and renamed themselves into the later multi-selling world-famous popband Dire Straits, which roughly translated means 'in the shit'.

First Breakthrough
With 120 pounds - a lot of money when you're 'in the shit' - they taped a demo of what in the future would be one of the most played songs ever: "Sultans of Swing", and they sent it to BBC Radio London, where DJ Charlie Gillett was kind enough to play it. From that moment, approximately 6 months after the founding of Dire Straits, the band has always been trying, and succeeded, to reach a new level.

Discovery, gigs and the first album
John Stainze listened to the Honky Tonky show by DJ Charlie Gillet and after hearing some more, Dire Straits got a contract by Vertigo. Stainze made sure Dire Straits got their gigs, and organised the band to play as support act of the Talking Heads, already very famous at that time.
A couple of months later, they recorded their first, self-entitled album, of course including the classic "Sultans of Swing".

The Audience
Only a year after their first rehearsals they played live in England, France, The Netherlands and Germany, increasing their audience with thousands at the time. Dire Straits is 'growing' and becomes one of the greatest bands in time. While the first album Dire Straits is reaching a the first 1st place in the charts in Australia and climbs towards the Top 10 in almost the rest of the world, they decide to produce a new album, which now is known as Communiqué.

The Statistics
Another chapter in the Dire Straits stories is opened when the new album Communiqué is the first album ever to enter the German charts at #1. In the USA it reaches #11, in the UK #5.

More Will Follow
But it's not over yet: More about Dire Straits will follow! The latest news is that Mark Knopfler has been involved in an accident and broke 9 bones, but this has not been confirmed by him or his management.

Confirmed is, that his 4th solo-album will have its world release on the 27th of September, 2004 and will be called Shangri-La.

Albums
1995 Live At The BBC
1993 On The Night
1991 On Every Street
1988 Money For Nothing
1985 Brothers In Arms
1983 Alchemy
1982 Love Over Gold
1980 Making Movies
1979 Communique
1978 Dire Straits