In October 1977, the band recorded demo tapes of "Southbound Again", "In the Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London in November demo tapes were made of " Setting Me Up", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". Two months later, Dire Straits signed a recording contract with Phonogram Records. The band simply wanted advice, but Gillett liked the music so much that he played "Sultans of Swing" on his show. Then they went to DJ Charlie Gillett, who had a radio show called "Honky Tonk" on BBC Radio London. After a performance at The Rock Garden in 1977, they took a demo tape to MCA in Soho but were turned down. In 1977, Dire Straits (a name given to the band by a musician flatmate of drummer Pick Withers), recorded a five-song demo tape which included their future hit single, " Sultans of Swing", as well as " Water of Love", " Down to the Waterline", "Wild West End" and David Knopfler's "Sacred Loving". The original Dire Straits line-up in Hamburg, Germany (1978) L to R: Illsley, Mark Knopfler, Withers, David Knopfler.īrothers Mark and David Knopfler, and friends John Illsley, and Pick Withers formed the band in 1977. There were several changes in personnel over both periods, leaving Mark Knopfler and John Illsley as the only two original bandmates who had remained throughout the band's career. They originally split up in 1988, but reformed in 1991, and disbanded for good in 1995 when Mark Knopfler launched his career full-time as a solo artist. Their career spanned a combined total of 15 years. The band's songs include " Money for Nothing", " Sultans of Swing", " So Far Away", " Walk of Life", " Brothers in Arms", " Private Investigations", " Romeo and Juliet", " Tunnel of Love", and " Telegraph Road".Īccording to the Guinness Book of British Hit Albums, Dire Straits have spent over 1,100 weeks on the UK albums chart, ranking fifth all-time. Dire Straits won four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards-winning Best British Group twice, two MTV Video Music Awards, and various other music awards. They also became one of the world's most commercially successful bands, with worldwide records sales of over 100 million. Dire Straits' biggest selling album Brothers in Arms has sold over 30 million copies, and was the first album to sell a million copies on CD. Many of Dire Straits' compositions were melancholic. Despite the prominence of punk rock during the band's early years, their stripped-down sound contrasted with punk, demonstrating a more " rootsy" influence that emerged from pub rock. Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, and blues, and came closest to beat music within the context of rock and roll. Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), his younger brother David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion).
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