Mark and Lourdes go on to have twin sons, Benji and Joseph (both born in 1987). In My Life in Dire Straits: The Inside Story of One of the Biggest Bands in Rock History, bassist and founding member John Illsley goes behind the music with never-before-told stories tracing Dire Straits rise from the spit-and-sawdust pubs of London to the best-known venues and concerts in the world, and inside the studio recording some of the Although The Notting Hillbillies look like an ongoing project, they release only one album, MissingPresumed Having A Good Time (1990) (UK no. Given this family background, it is not surprising that Guy Fletcher also gravitates towards the music business. Former Dire Straits bassist John Illsley meets Celtic rock band Cunla in 2005, an act whose chief songwriter is Greg Pearle and their violinist is Johnny Owens. 25), The Welsh Connection (1976) and Alls Well That Ends Well (1977). During his recent interview, John Illsley reflected on the challenges Mark Knopfler faced after the bands massive success. When Alan Clark joins Dire Straits in 1980 he becomes the groups first official keyboards player. 62, AUS no. He learns bass on an instrument nicknamed The Spade that Johns brother makes for him in woodwork class. He is named after his Italian grandfather Giovanni Tommaso. 1, US no. When Mark Knopfler is 7 and younger brother David is 2 the family moves to England. In 1973 Mark Knopfler moves to London. King, jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and British instrumental rock band The Shadows (whose guitarist Hank B. Marvin plays a Fender Stratocaster). His father, Ted Fletcher, is a designer of audio equipment. Their first live performance was at a 1977 punk festival, held outside their flat, on the Farrer House lawn we were the odd onesout, laughs John, themisfits, doing our own thing! They used local band Squeezes PA, and their flat as the dressing room. The title track, On Every Street (UK no. Paul Franklins first notable gig is in 1978 as part of Barbara Mandrells touring band. That is probably not the case. Love Over Gold is recorded at the Power Station in New York from 8 March 1982 to 11 June 1982. Dire Straits is produced by Muff Winwood, the elder brother of rock star Steve Winwood. It gets a good reaction. The first seven tracks on this set were recorded for BBC Live in Concert on 22 July 1978; the eighth track, Tunnel Of Love, comes from The Old Grey Whistle Test on 31 January 1981. 41) with country rock singer Emmylou Harris; Real Live Roadrunning (2006) in concert with Emmylou Harris; Kill To Get Crimson (2007) (UK no. He was born in Hungary and is Jewish. Tunnel Of Love, a tale of romance in a seaside carnival, is also interpreted by some as Dire Straits own story of their rise to fame: And the big wheel keep on turning / Neon burning up above / And Im just high on this world. Tunnel Of Love showcases a new dynamism in the bands sound and is less laid-back and melancholy. The boy takes an early interest in music learning first piano, then trumpet. The first single from On Every Street is Calling Elvis (UK no. Famed guitarist Eric Clapton fills in for Jack Sonni on this occasion. It may be just the shock of the new, that Sultans Of Swing is so unexpected, but it still stands as the highpoint of the groups output. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); sonicnet.com Dire Straits no author credited as at 28 August 2001, Friday On My Mind by Ed Nimmervoll (Five Mile Press, 2004) p. 147, The Rolling Stone Rock Almanac by the Editors of Rolling Stone magazine (Papermac, 1984) p. 296, The Illustrated Rock Handbook edited by Roxanne Streeter, Ray Bonds (Salamander Books, 1983) p. 63, 131, wikipedia.org as at 26 July 2017, 3 January 2019, buddharadioprep.rzero.com Sultans of Swing: The Untold Story of Dire Straits by Paul Rees as at 30 July 2017, The Daily Telegraph (U.K. newspaper) Mark Knopfler: How Did We Avoid Disaster interview conducted by Neil McCormick (5 September 2012) (reproduced on telegraph.co.uk), Internet Movie Database imdb.com as at 1 August 2017, The Sunday Mail (U.K. newspaper) I Really Was in Dire StraitsBut Now Ive Beaten the Cancer I had for 15 Years: John Illsley Tells for the First Time how he was Saved from Chronic Leukaemia interview conducted by Alice Smellie (18 May 2014) (reproduced on dailymail.co.uk), The Watford Observer (U.K. newspaper) Former Dire Straits Bassist John Illsley Opens up about Finding Out he had Leukaemia and Writing his New Album in Hospital interview conducted by Laura Enfield (2 October 2014) (reproduced on watfordobserver.co.uk), TVE (Madrid, Spain) John Illsley interview (5 May 1992) via 5 (above) [John Illsley], davidknopfler.com via 5 (above) [John Illsley], Dire Straits Sleeve notes by Charlie Gillett (Vertigo/Mercury Records Ltd, 1996 reissue) p. 2, allmusic.com Dire Straits by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as at 31 July 2017, Guitar World 100 Greatest Guitar Solos: No. It is not clear exactly when John Illsleys marriage to his first wife, Pauline, ended but it was probably sometime around 1988. It was a moment of madness, he grins. She is not publicly identified. Back then you couldnt play Italy without the say-so of the Mafia. At 18, Will invited him to join his covers band, The Knott and built him a bass guitar. A waiter brought in a tray of rolled joints and during the meal one of the women sat next to each of us and their hands started wandering under the table. Charlies music was kinder on the ears.. I thought Id better get some of it down before I forget it all, he jokes over the phone from Provence. 9, US no. 8, US no. After Man runs its course, Terry Williams moves on to Rockpile (1976-1981). Dire Straits undertake their first concert tour of the United States in 1979. The band plays shows in the United Kingdom through June and July before going to Europe for gigs in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Although this is not the first time Mark Knopfler has written in the voice of a different persona (e.g. 27). Around this time, Dire Straits bassist John Illsley marries. However, they soon move slightly south to Newcastle upon Tyne. It is not clear exactly when John Illsleys marriage to his first wife, Pauline, ended but it was probably sometime around 1988. The Way It Always Goes shows up on a movie soundtrack Mark Knopfler goes on to create. Chris Whitten is born on 26 March 1959 in Wimbledon, London, England. Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler produces the album Knife (1984) (UK no. The punchy Lady Writer (UK no. He studies for a degree in English at the University of Leeds. Guitarist Jack Sonni joins the band in 1985. The only song with vocals on this set is The Way It Always Starts. It all happened very quickly, says John. Success yes, fame no thank you, he says. He leaves to spend more time with his family. However Withers is gone before Mark Knopfler gets involved with The Droop; Withers and Knopfler do not meet at this time. In 1977 we had no roadies, and Mark and I were humping bins [speaker cabinets] into the Hope & Anchor. Paul Cummins, our tour manager, got a gun pulled on him in Bologna. As the song nears its climax, it sounds like Knopfler is borrowing from Bruce Springsteen (whose keyboardist Roy Bittan appeared on Making Movies) for lines like these: But believe in me baby and Ill take you away / From out of this darkness and into the day / From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain / From the anger that lives on these streets with these names / Cos Ive run every red light on memory lane / Ive seen desperation explode into flames / And I dont want to see it again The title track, Love Over Gold, suggests that art is more valuable than commerce. An additional live EP, Encores (UK no. Local Hero (1983), released in March, is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. The Bug (UK no. 62) is prefaced by an excerpt from The Carousel Waltz from the musical Carousel (1945) by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Its great to realise your still touching people in all four corners of the world.. Live In Les Beaux De Provence (2007) is credited to John Illsley with Cunla and Greg Pearle. 1, US no. Dire Straits' John Illsley: 'I dont want to pass vast amounts of Guy Edward Fletcher is born on 24 May 1960 in Maidstone, Kent, England. 2, AUS no. Dire Straits are on the bill at Londons Wembley Stadium on 18 July 1988 for the 70th birthday celebration honouring South African political identity Nelson Mandela. The recording sessions take place at the Power Station in New York from 20 June 1980 to 25 August 1980. The On Every Street tour is said to be a disappointment, with many tickets going unsold in both the U.S. and Europe. The final show takes place in Zaragoza, Spain, on 9 October 1992. I thought it was dull, but as soon as I bought my first Strat (i.e. Sultans Of Swing is a sympathetic account of a jazz group trying to eke out a living: And Harry doesnt mind if he doesnt make the scene / Hes got a daytime job, hes doing alright / He can play the honky tonk like anything / Saving it up for Friday night / With the Sultans, the Sultans of Swing. It is Mark Knopflers guitar, riding the waves of rhythm from the other musicians, that captures the attention. He has three children and at least one of them is female. After the end of the Dire Straits tour in 1986, guitarist Jack Sonni stays on in Australia for a while. The recording sessions took place at Basing Street Studios in London from 13 February 1978 to 5 March 1978. 9, UK no. 14). The album Bakersfield (2013) is co-credited to Vince Gill and Paul Franklin. Firstly, Hendrix and Clapton are products of the 1960s while Knopfler came to light in the more cynical 1970s when worshipping any guitarist was a less acceptable practice. 47); Shangri-La (2004) (UK no. He owns a local pub, the Dire Straits never reunite as a group in any lasting or significant manner. 26) features a smoky saxophone part by Michael Brecker. 7, AUS no. Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers follow the producers of Communique Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler over to the recording sessions for a new album by one of Knopflers key influences, Bob Dylan. We were ushered into a private room full of attractive women who were not overly dressed. 19, AUS no. This necessitates another membership change for Dire Straits. Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Kids Change). (Note: Danny Cummings was never officially a member of Dire Straits but he provided percussion for On Every Street and subsequently accompanied Mark Knopfler on the guitarists solo work and also did the same for Guy Fletcher.) It is one of the first albums to be directed at the CD [compact disc] market rather than the more traditional vinyl records audience. We ended up with 150 roadies, it became a massive machine.. 50, AUS no. David and Anna have a child but the name, gender and birthdate of their offspring does not appear to be public knowledge. Love Over Gold is an album of songs filled with lengthy, experimental passages. Note: Three additional songs are created for Love Over Gold but do not end up on the album. The latter title, published by Blackwing Books, is a book of poetry. For me, songwriting is really where its at, says Mark. Dire Straits honed their craft playing the local Albany Empire and that same year recorded a five-track demo, including Sultans Of Swing, thanks to the 500 Johns grandmother left him in her will. The bands first gig as Dire Straits takes place in the summer of 1977. 57), is a tone poem soldiers lament. Dire Straits second album, Communique (1979) (UK no. For Illsley, becoming a pro musician was the realisation of a dream that formed listening to Little Richard and Elvis on Radio Luxembourg, courtesy of his brother Wills crystal radio set at home in Market Harborough. Although he resides in that metropolis from 1976 to 1985, Jack Sonni finds only a limited amount of work as a session guitarist. Currently, John Illsley is 73 years, 8 months and 18 days old. 47), is released on the same date as the album with songs that were also recorded in May 1992. It lasted a matter of months, but John had written to Gillett at Radio London asking what records to stock and he wrote straight back with tips. In the 1960s, he plays drums for such Welsh bands as The Commancheros, The Smokeless Zone, Dream and Plum Crazy. Through this connection, Iovine obtains the services of pianist Roy Bittan from Bruce Springsteens backing group, The E-Street Band, to play on this album. Mark Freuder Knopfler is born on 12 August 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. It seems that, at first, they land in Blyth, Northumberland, in the north east of the country. This band is also managed by Ed Bicknell, Dire Straits manager. 4) has an instrumental sound that is quite different from previous Dire Straits fare. Mr Illsley has two children from his first marriage and two with wife Stephanie. Around 2012, saxophonist Chris White creates The Dire Straits Experience. By contrast, during the first months of recording, drummer Terry Williams is found unsuitable. Session musician Omar Hakim plays drums on most of the album. John Illsley 69); All The Roadrunning (2006) (UK no. Guitarist Deke Leonard and bassist Martin Ace both work with Williams in The Smokeless Zone and Dream and will work with him again. Mark Knopfler plays guitar on Time Out Of Mind, a track on the album Gaucho (1980) (US no. The music of Dire Straits is also kept alive by compilation sets and concert recordings. Brothers In Arms has the Dire Straits recording debuts for both Guy Fletcher (keyboards, guitar) and Jack Sonni (guitar). Clark moves on to Durham Technical College and is offered a place at Guildhall School of Music but declines because, by then, he is already a working musician. These are all comments on the work of guitarist Mark Knopfler of the British rock group Dire Straits. During the tour, Dire Straits take time out to participate in Live Aid, the all-star charity concerts to raise funds to fight famine in Africa. This outfit reunites Williams with Dave Edmunds. B. Dire Straits bassist John Illsley releases his second solo album, Glass (1988). He is the son of Erwin Knopfler and Louisa Mary Knopfler. 4) is a compilation album. On Every Street (1991) (UK no. By 12 or 13, I was listening to [folk rock icon] Bob Dylan, says Mark. It is released on 20 September. In the mid-1970s, Pick Withers is the house drummer at Dave Edmunds Rockfield Studios recording facility in Wales. 6), released in May 1978. 6), is released on 17 October. As first Mark Knopfler and then David Knopfler move on to tertiary education, their musical ambitions are, if not exactly abandoned, put on a back burner while they try to find more conventional career paths. Dire Straits guitarist Jack Sonni left the group in 1988. In 1977 Pick Withers is briefly a member of folk rock act Magna Carta, a band fronted by Chris Simpson (vocals, guitar). The title of the song and the album is inspired by a piece of graffiti Mark Knopfler could see from the window of his old council flat in London.