Pophistorie-NL

Dire Straits

* Muziekstijl: rock, progressive rock, pop/rock, country rock, blues rock
* Actief: 1977-1988 | 1990-1995
 

dit profiel is door meerdere medewerkers samengesteld; mogelijk overlapt de info elkaar hier-en-daar

kORT & kLEIN  ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
korte, kleine berichtjes, achtergronden en wetenswaardigheden  (niet speciaal chronologisch)

Dire Straits was een Britse rockband die opkwam tijdens het postpunk-tijdperk van eind jaren 1970, en was voornamelijk actief tussen 1977 en 1995
Bestaande uit Mark Knopfler (leadzang en leadgitaar), zijn jongere broer David Knopfler (ritmegitaar en achtergrondzang), John Illsley
(basgitaar en achtergrondzang) en Pick Withers (drums en percussie), en Ed Bicknell (manager), speelde Dire Straits een meer bluesy stijl, en hoewel
hun geluid functioneel en eenvoudig was, hadden ze weinig gemeen met de punkrock die destijds prominent aanwezig was

De band vormde -hoe dan ook- de voorhoede van de pub rock
Maar terwijl de pub rock sound hoogtij vierde, kwamen Dire Straits met een melancholisch geluid
Ondanks hun ietwat ongewone en ingetogen aanpak van rock and roll werden Dire Straits een van 's werelds meest commercieel succesvolle artiesten en
verkochten ze meer dan 120 miljoen albums wereldwijd

Dire Straits baseerde hun geluid op de relaxte bluesrock van J.J. Cale, maar ze hadden ook jazz- en country-invloeden, waarbij ze af en toe in de
epische songstructuren van progressieve rock doken
De muziek van de band werd aangevuld door teksten van Knopfler, die leken op de 'kronkelende gedachtenstroom verhalen' van Bob Dylan
Naarmate hun carrière vorderde, werd Dire Straits verfijnder en hun nieuwe volwassenheid viel samen met de opkomst van MTV en de compact disc

Deze twee muzikale revoluties uit het midden van de jaren '80 hielpen het best verkochte album van Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms, tot een
internationale blockbuster te maken, dat meer dan 30 miljoen exemplaren wereldwijd heeft verkocht en het op drie na best verkochte album in de
geschiedenis van de Britse hitlijsten is

Samen met Eric Clapton, Phil Collins en Steve Winwood werd Dire Straits eind jaren '80 één van de leiders van een groep zelfbewuste volwassen
rockveteranen die met hun muziek een gestaag groeiende groep ouder wordende * babyboomers wilden aanspreken
* Babyboomers zijn mensen die geboren zijn in de periode direct na de Tweede Wereldoorlog, ruwweg tussen 1946 en 1964
Gedurende hun geschiedenis was Mark Knopfler de songwriter en drijvende kracht achter de groep

Dire Straits won verschillende muziekprijzen tijdens hun carrière, waaronder drie BRIT Awards, vier Grammy's en twee MTV Video Music Awards
De meest populaire nummers van Dire Straits zijn onder andere: Sultans of Swing, Romeo en Juliet, Tunnel of Love, Private Investigations
Money for Nothing, Walk of Life, So Far Away en Brothers in Arms

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Dire Straits

Genres:
Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Rock & Roll, Pop Rock, Soft Rock, Pop/Rock, Country Rock, Blues Rock
Albums:
Brothers in Arms (1985), Money for Nothing (1988), Alchemy - Dire Straits Live (Part One) (1984), Alchemy - Dire Straits Live (Part Two) (1984),
On Every Street (1991), The Whispers of Dire Straits (The Best Ballads) (1999), Mandela (Live) (1988), ExtendedancEPlay (1983), On the Night (1993)
Dire Straits (1978), Love Over Gold (1982), Making Movies (1980), Communique (1979), Brothers In Arms (40th Anniversary) (2025)
The Studio Albums 1978-1991 (2020), The Honky Tonk Demos (2015), Live at the BBC (1995), Live 1978-1992 (2023)

Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler

Genres:
Pop Rock, Soft Rock
Albums:
Private Investigations: The Best Of (2005), The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations (2005)

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Dire Straits was a London-based rock band formed in 1977
The original lineup included Mark and David Knopfler, Pick Withers and John Illsley
The name of the group reflected the financial troubles of the quartet, which were so bad that they hardly scraped money to record their demo
The musicians were lucky enough to have their song Sultans Of Swing played on the BBC radio to attach the interest of the Vertigo company

The debut album named after the band was released in 1978
Despite their punk rock past, Dire Straits musicians produced a type of music beyond traditional definitions
A mixture of swing, blues, country and funk was decorated with Mark's prominent acoustic guitar play and his unique way of singing
Britain was experiencing punk rock boom at that time, which predetermined the charts failure of their first album
The music by Dire Straits was too intelligent for those times, but promising for the critics

In the late 1979, Dire Straits started recording the second album, Communique (1979)
This one was a sign of the group's progress with improved melodiousness, arrangements and vocals
This studio work overcame the debut album and hit the leading positions in numerous charts, including the first place in Germany
Some of the songs, including Once Upon A Time In A West, Lady Writer, and Angel Of Mercy became trademarks of Dire Straits
Even the big success of the sophomore album did not keep David Knopfler on the band
He refused to stay in his brother's shadow and started a solo career

The third album of Dire Straits, Making Movies, released in 1980, was not on a par with its predecessor, although the single Romeo and Juliet had
a good charts history
 It appeared that this album was a kind of preparation before making a masterpiece
 Love Over Gold, released in 1982, earned Dire Straits world fame
It was recorded with two new musicians, Hal Lindes and Alan Clarc, and became a prototype of progressive rock
It revealed a focus on instrumental play without canonized structures and strict patterns

The sophisticated lyrics and well considered atmosphere fitted perfectly an integral piece of music consisting of five chapters
This album soared to the tops of 16 national charts making each song a separate hit
 Mark revealed himself as a brilliant composer and received a number of invitations to write music for the movies

Meanwhile, Pick Withers quit Dire Straits wishing to play jazz and leaving the drum kit to Terry Williams
The studio activities were interrupted by heavily loaded tours and making the live album Alchemy (1984)
However, the audience was not kept waiting long in vain. Brothers In Arms (1985) appeared another great album by Dire Straits to find admirers
all over the world

Thank to such hits as Money For Nothing with Sting singing in the chorus, Walk Of Lise, Your Latest Trick, and Ride Across The River, this album
became a best seller and charts leader in many a country
It made it even a bigger surprise that this release was followed by a long hiatus in the life of Dire Straits
The band reduced its activity to rare concerts, while Mark Knopfler was mainly occupied with soundtracks and recording for other performers
The long expected album On Every Street was released in 1991 and did not disappoint fans of the band

Nevertheless, it was the last studio work by Dire Straits
After releasing Live at the BBC in 1995, they decided to break up
On few occasions, the members reunited to play separate concerts, but Mark Knopfler refused to restore the band due to his deep interest in solo
career
Private Investigations: The Best Of was released in 2005 to present a compilation of hits from the band's studio works and Mark's own projects

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