Question: What band was Mark Knopfler in before releasing th Princess Bride soundtrack?

Context articles: Private Investigations (album)
The Princess Bride (album)
Boom, Like That
Screenplaying
Mark Knopfler
Calling Elvis
Mark Knopfler discography
The Booze Brothers
Golden Heart
Bob Dylan Tour with Mark Knopfler 2012

Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler is the third compilation album by Dire Straits and British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released in 2005 by Mercury and Vertigo internationally, and Warner Bros. in the United States.
 Named after their 1982 hit single, the album consists of material by Dire Straits, with songs selected from the group's six studio albums (excluding the 1979 album "Communiqué") from 1978 up through the group's dissolution in 1995.
 It also features work from the solo career of the group's singer, songwriter, and guitarist Mark Knopfler, including some of his soundtrack material.
The Princess Bride is a soundtrack album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 12 November 1987 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros.
 Records in the United States.
 The album contains music composed for the 1987 film "The Princess Bride", directed by Rob Reiner.
 The album features the song "Storybook Love", written and performed by Willy DeVille and arranged by Mark Knopfler.
 In 1988, the song received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
"Boom, Like That" is a 2004 single by Mark Knopfler, from his album "Shangri-La".
 It is – with "Darling Pretty" – one of only two Mark Knopfler solo singles to reach the UK Top 40, hitting no. 34.
Screenplaying is a compilation album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 9 November 1993 by Vertigo Records internationally and Warner Bros.
 Records in the United States.
 The album contains previously released tracks from Knopfler's soundtrack albums "Cal" (1984), "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1989), "The Princess Bride" (1987), and "Local Hero" (1983).
Mark Freuder Knopfler, {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer and film score composer.
 He was born in Glasgow but raised near Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
 He is best known for having been the lead guitarist, lead singer and songwriter for the rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded with his younger brother, David Knopfler, in 1977.
"Calling Elvis" is a song written by Mark Knopfler and performed by Dire Straits.
 It first appeared on the final studio album by the band, "On Every Street" (1991).
 It was released as the first single from that album, peaking at number 21 in the United Kingdom, and reaching the Top 10 in numerous other countries.
 It was included on the 2005 compilation "The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations".
 A live version of the song also appears on the 1993 live album "On the Night".
The Mark Knopfler discography consists of recordings by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, not including his work with Dire Straits.
 Knopfler began recording apart from Dire Straits in 1983, when he released his first soundtrack album "Local Hero".
 That same year he produced his first album, "Infidels" for Bob Dylan.
 Between 1983 and 2002, Knopfler composed and released eight soundtrack albums.
 He also produced four additional albums for other artists, including "Land of Dreams" in 1988 for Randy Newman.
The Booze Brothers, "featuring Mark Knopfler & Dave Edmunds", is the second album released by Brewers Droop, an English blues band.
 Although most of the tracks were recorded back in 1973 the album was only released in 1989 when it was discovered that the album had involved the renowned producer/rocker Dave Edmunds and the line-up had included Pick Withers and Mark Knopfler, later of Dire Straits.
 Ron Watts, the founder of the band, became much better known later in the '70s as a punk rock promoter at venues such as 100 Club.
 Steve Darrington continued as a professional musician, appearing on over 50 albums, and is the organizer of the Swanage Blues Festival.
Golden Heart is the debut solo studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 26 March 1996 by Vertigo Records internationally and Warner Bros.
 Records in the United States.
 Following a successful career leading the British rock band Dire Straits and composing a string of critically acclaimed film soundtrack albums, Knopfler produced his first solo album, drawing upon the various musical endeavors in which he has engaged since emerging as a major recording artist in 1978.
 The album reached the top ten position on album charts in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
 The album peaked at 105 on the "Billboard" 200 in the United States.
The Bob Dylan Tour with Mark Knopfler 2012 was a concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler.
 The North American tour, which was part of Dylan's Never Ending Tour 2012, started on 5 October 2012 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and included 33 concerts in 31 cities, ending in Brooklyn, New York, on 21 November 2012.