Mark Knopfler | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Mark Deming The most celebrated British guitar hero to emerge in the 1970s and '80s, Mark Knopfler rose to fame as the leader of Dire Straits , and his songwriting and incisive guitar work played a decisive role in making them an international success story. At a time when punk and new wave were making technique for its own sake seem irrelevant, and metal was taking the guitar solo in noisier and unpredictable directions, Knopfler 's clean but dexterous picking proved there was still room for traditionalism and chops in mainstream rock & roll. But even without considering Dire Straits , Knopfler has accumulated an impressive résumé as a producer, sideman, songwriter, and film composer, working alongside some of the best and best-known figures in the music business. Mark Freuder Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland on August 12, 1949. His father, a Hungarian émigré, worked as an architect, while his mother, of English heritage, was a schoolteacher.

The Knopfler family moved to England when Mark was seven years of age, settling in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and he developed a passion for music while spending time with his uncle; as he told journalist Dan Forte , "I heard my Uncle Kingsley playing boogie-woogie on the piano when I was about eight or nine, and I thought that those three chords were the most magnificent things in the world -- still do." A few years later, Knopfler began learning to play guitar, first on an inexpensive Hofner model before moving up to a Fender electric his father bought for him. At 16, Knopfler and some pals cut a demo single that was never released, and he performed in a vocal group that was successful enough to merit an appearance on local television. In 1967, Knopfler enrolled at Harlow Technical College, where he studied journalism, and a year later he landed a job at the Yorkshire Evening Post, where he wrote news stories and music criticism. After two years at the Post, Knopfler opted to return to school, studying English at Leeds University.

While at Leeds, he became friends with a fellow guitarist named Steve Phillips , and they began playing out under the name the Duolian String Pickers; while working with Phillips , Knopfler began developing the fingerpicking style that would become his trademark. After graduating from Leeds in 1973, Knopfler moved to London and joined a pub rock band called Brewer's Droop , featuring drummer Pick Withers . Knopfler 's tenure with the band was short-lived, and he took a position as a lecturer at Essex's Loughton College. Knopfler became friends with a handful of local musicians, and they formed a new band called the Café Racers. Mark 's brother, David Knopfler , who was also a guitarist and songwriter, introduced Mark to a fellow musician, John Illsley , who played guitar but was also a solid bassist. When the Café Racers found themselves in need of a bass player one night, Mark asked Illsley to sit in, and before long, Mark , David , and John were sharing an apartment and working on songs, with Mark on lead guitar, David on rhythm, and John on bass.

Mark invited Pick Withers to play drums with the new combo, and while they played their first few gigs as the Café Racers, before long they adopted a new name coined by Withers -- Dire Straits . After cutting a demo tape, Dire Straits found a champion in BBC disk jockey Charlie Gillett , who began playing their demo on his show, attracting the attention of manager Ed Bicknell and Polygram A&R man John Stainze . Bicknell took Dire Straits under his wing and Stainze signed the group to Polygram's progressive and hard rock subsidiary Vertigo Records; Warner Bros. picked up the band for the United States. Dire Straits ' self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1978, and the song "Sultans of Swing" became a surprise hit single in both America and the U.K., with the album following it into the charts, as the group's clean, expert playing, and Knopfler 's deft lead guitars, Dylanesque vocals, and evocative songs won the band airplay on pop and classic rock playlists.

It was the first of a long string of successes for Dire Straits , and while the lineup would shift frequently over the group's lifespan -- Mark Knopfler and John Illsley would prove to be the group's only constants -- between 1978 and 1995 the group was a top concert draw and a frequent presence on radio and record charts; their landmark 1985 album Brothers in Arms sold over nine million copies in the United States alone, and was the top-selling CD of the '80s in the U.K. It wasn't long after Dire Straits made their commercial breakthrough that Knopfler began expanding his creative boundaries. In 1979, he was invited to play lead guitar on Bob Dylan 's album Slow Train Coming , and in 1983, he produced Dylan 's Infidels , as well as leading the backing band. In addition to producing much of Dire Straits ' catalog, Knopfler was behind the controls for albums by Aztec Camera , Randy Newman , and Willy DeVille .

Knopfler lent his talents as a session guitarist to an impressive and diverse range of artists, including Van Morrison , Phil Lynott , Steely Dan , Kate & Anna McGarrigle , Cliff Richard , and Scott Walker . He also penned the song "Private Dancer" for Tina Turner 's triumphant comeback album of the same name, and found his songs being covered by the Shadows , whose legendary guitarist Hank Marvin was one of Knopfler 's first inspirations. In 1983, Knopfler added "film composer" to his résumé when he wrote the score for the Scottish comedy Local Hero ; Knopfler 's music was cited in many of the film's rave reviews, and he would later score the films Cal , The Princess Bride , Last Exit to Brooklyn , and Wag the Dog , among others. And when Weird Al Yankovic asked Knopfler 's permission to record a parody of Dire Straits ' "Money for Nothing" for the soundtrack to his film UHF , Knopfler agreed under one condition -- that he be allowed to re-create his guitar parts for Yankovic 's version. Weird Al happily acceded to Knopfler 's request.

After Knopfler made guest appearances on several albums by another of his heroes, Nashville icon Chet Atkins , the two cut a collaborative project in 1990, called Neck & Neck , which was the first non-soundtrack album Knopfler released under his own name. Knopfler also showed off his love of country sounds with his side project, the Notting Hillbillies , which featured Brendan Croker , Guy Fletcher , and Mark 's old Duolian String Pickers partner Steve Phillips . In the fall of 1992, Dire Straits played their last concert, a show in Spain on the tour in support of On Every Street , and in 1995, Knopfler quietly announced that he'd retired the band, feeling they'd become too big. Released in 1996, Golden Heart became Knopfler 's official solo debut, followed in 2000 by Sailing to Philadelphia , which included guest appearances by Van Morrison , James Taylor , Gillian Welch , and Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford of Squeeze .

The newly prolific Knopfler shortly returned to the studio and released The Ragpicker's Dream in the fall of 2002; a world tour was planned, but after Knopfler was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him with a broken shoulder and collarbone, the dates were canceled. However, he was soon feeling well enough to go back to recording, and issued Shangri-La in 2004, a set recorded at the Malibu compound where the Band recorded and rehearsed in the '70s. As Knopfler 's taste for rootsy, country-influenced sounds became a growing presence in his solo work, he began working on material with singer Emmylou Harris , and their collaborative album, 2006's All the Roadrunning , was recorded during sessions spread over seven years. Knopfler and Harris toured together in support of the set, and a live album, Real Live Roadrunning , came out later the same year.

Knopfler continued to record at a steady pace, releasing Kill to Get Crimson in 2007 and Get Lucky in 2009, while still finding room to contribute to albums by Sonny Landreth , Bill Wyman , Diane Schuur , Bap Kennedy , and America . The year 2012 found Knopfler releasing Privateer , the first double-disc studio set of his career; the album debuted at eight in the U.K. Three years lafter, Knopfler returned with Tracker ; the album debuted at three in the U.K. and 14 in the U.S. In 2016, he collaborated with Evelyn Glennie on the soundtrack for Altamira .

Dire Straits Knopfler brothers fall out leaves a 'huge shadow' over their family | Music | Entertainment | Daily Express MUSIC Brothers in arms no more: Dire Straits siblings no longer on speaking terms DAVID Knopfler, who founded Dire Straits with his sibling Mark, says they now don't speak, placing 'a huge shadow on both our lives and families' 15:08, Fri, Apr 24, 2015 | UPDATED: 02:17, Sat, Apr 25, 2015 REDFERN Mark and David in happier times Together Mark and David Knopfler were the original lynchpins of one of the world's most successful rock bands. The bestselling album by Dire Straits was called Brothers In Arms but it has now been revealed that behind the scenes the group was torn apart by a severe case of sibling rivalry. David, the younger of the Knopfler brothers, admits that he no longer speaks to Mark after they fell out over the way the band was being run. "I don't know what he does," says David. "Of course it casts a huge shadow on both our lives and our families.

We've got cousins who don't know one another." The brothers founded Dire Straits - whose fans included Princess Diana - in 1977 and began performing together after leaving the North-east, where they grew up, and later shared a flat in London. They performed in pubs in a band called Café Racers before forming Dire Straits and recording a demo tape containing the single Sultans Of Swing. It was a slow burner, first becoming a hit in the Netherlands before a wider audience caught on to the band's folk and blues-influenced sound. Within a year Dire Straits had a deal with Warner Brothers and their self-titled debut album was a massive worldwide hit. Mark, on vocals and lead guitar, and David, on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, never looked back. During Dire Straits' first tour of the US the brothers performed 38 sell-out concerts spanning 51 days. However there were often hints that behind the scenes there was disharmony. Matters came to a head in 1980 when David suddenly quit the band in New York during the recording of third album Making Movies. Citing that old get-out clause "creative differences", the junior Knopfler walked away to pursue a solo career.

To add insult to his injured pride David, who is three years Mark's junior, was not even credited on the album. Now 62-year-old David has shed more light on the simmering tensions between the brothers at the time. He claims that Mark, who handled all the songwriting duties for the band, became too domineering. Related articles I was building a democracy and Mark was making an autocracy. Everything put a strain on us David Knopfler "He was the bloke I had shared a bedroom with," says David. "How could I be deferential to him? Mark and I had a different vision of what we were up to. I was building a democracy and Mark was making an autocracy. Everything put a strain on us. "I spent a lot of time doing therapy and dealing with my issues and ghosts and demons." Dire Straits continued under Mark's leadership going on to rack up 120 million album sales. The album Brothers In Arms sold 30 million copies alone while hit singles included Romeo And Juliet and Money For Nothing,with its memorable video.

The band, which performed at Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday tribute concert in 1988, finally broke up in 1995, having won four Grammys. WENN David Knopfler performing solo David's career has been low key since leaving the band and he's now often regarded as a footnote in the history of Dire Straits. However he has also proved himself to be a fine songwriter and has released a string of solo albums. The younger sibling has also written sound tracks for films and has had his poetry published, but tends to shun the limelight. David, who was a social worker before becoming a professional musician, says: "I don't regard what I do as remotely glamorous. I write and record music because I completely love doing it, despite any so called 'celebrity status' that sometimes comes with the job." David was once pressed on whether it was a wrench to leave Dire Straits. He revealed: "It was more a big relief - the fun had gone out of it for me a long while before." In the same interview he was also asked if he had any plans to tour with his brother again. "No," was his terse reply.

In the past he has been dismissive about his Dire Straits 'days, claiming that he has no " respect or pride for the music he made while with the band, adding: "I have to be honest and say to you that Dire Straits is a subject I feel no affection or affinity for - like a long forgotten ex-girlfriend when you've moved on to the real deal and are having a wonderful time." Mark, whose third wife is actress Kitty Aldridge, has rarely broached the thorny issue of the falling out. However with great understatement he did describe their relationship as "tricky" at the time of his departure from the band. He has denied that he feels any bitterness but on Mark's official website the loss of David from the band is ignored. It is said that Mark felt his sibling lacked commitment. Fellow band member John Illsley once commented: "Once David left it seemed to lift a tremendous strain. Mark felt very freed." The Knopflers are by no means the first siblings to discover that being in a rock band puts family ties under pressure. Just ask the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, of Oasis or Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks who also had spectacular fall-outs.

The feud between Mark and David is not on those epic scales and there is no suggestion that they have ever come to blows. However, after more than 30 years of silence there is no sign of an imminent thaw. Most read in Music BIOGRAPHY: Mark Knopfler Lifetime twitter BIOGRAPHY Knopfler was a late bloomer as a musician. He worked as a journalist and a teacher before forming Dire Straits with his younger brother David in 1977. Two years later, the band scored their first hit, 'Sultans of Swing'. Knopfler was born on 12 August 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland to an English mother and Hungarian-Jewish father. At the age of seven, Knopfler moved to Northumberland with his family where he attended Gosforth Grammar School with his younger brother David. From a young age, he started playing the guitar and listened to Elvis Presley and BB King for inspiration. He formed and joined bands at school before pursuing a journalism career from 1970.

In 1973 he moved to London, where he joined the band Brewers Droop and became a lecturer at Loughton College in Essex where he stayed for three years. By the mid 1970s he had formed the band Café Racers. His brother joined him in London and the pair moved in with John Illsley, who Knopfler asked to join Café Racer, which became Dire Straits. Though Dire Straits began as a group with a permanent line-up, it evolved into a title for Knopfler with varying personnel. An apolitical alternative to punk in the radical late 1970s and early 1980s, his restrained, thoughtful songs were characterised by mournful guitar and world-weary vocals. The band's third album, 'Making Movies', was his most personal, featuring what has become his best-loved song, 'Romeo and Juliet', about a failed love affair. For the most part, Knopfler kept the deepest part of himself out of his songwriting, creating fictional characters and narratives.

After the demise of Dire Straits in 1995, he returned to a more personal style for his debut solo album, 'Golden Heart', in 1996. He has continued to pursue a successful solo career releasing 'Sailing to Philadelphia' in 2000, which has been his most popular record so far. This was followed by 'The Ragpicker's Dream' in 2002, 'Shangri-La' (2004), 'Kill To Get Crimson' (2007) and 'Get Lucky' in 2008. Having received song credits for two 1980 movies ('Brothers and Sisters' and 'Riding High'), Knopfler composed an enchanting score for Bill Forsyth's 'Local Hero', and also worked with the director on 'Comfort and Joy', in 1984. Knopfler, who has performed his songs for many movies, was featured guitarist and music producer for Barry Levinson's 'Wag the Dog' in 1997, in addition to composing its score. Among his other film scores are music for Rob Reiner's 'The Princess Bride', and 'Last Exit To Brooklyn'.

He has also collaborated with artists such as the Chieftains, Waylon Jennings and Vince Gill. Mark has been married three times, and has twin sons from his second marriage and two daughters with his current wife, actor Kitty Aldridge. Dire Straits Who Wrecked the Straights? | Dire Straits Story Dire Straits Who Wrecked the Straights? Posted July 14, 2015 by straitjacketmusic in Uncategorized . Leave a Comment Who was it that destroyed Dire Straits a band that could have been as popular as the Beatles, why change or lose the line up of Mark and David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers. Who convinced Mark Knopfler to change the bands name to Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, who then would be Dire Straits David Knopfler John Illsley and Pick Withers?

John Illsley said, ” It was him that told David Knopfler his time with Dire Straits was over,” in fact I think he told him to , “Fuck Off,” not a nice thing to say to someone who claims he was one of the Founders of the band, and Mark allowed it to happen, in my family Illsley would have been decked and a new bass player brought into the group. It seems that John Illsley has taken quite a active part in assuming the role of spokesman for Mark Knopfler, and in my own case he has even told Mark Knopfler how to act in my presence. So in my mind Illsley comes out as the Boss of the outfit, and who is he minding his own self, he had no professional experience in a band and his business dealings are Bob Cotten..rotten, and Ive listened to his music and read his lyrics. He complained he had to spend 30,000 grand to produce Greg Pearles lyrics and music, he’d have had to spend the 15 million he somehow acquired through his time with Dire Straits to get his own into the charts.

So is it Illsley who has filled Mark Knopflers head with the rubbish that breaks up a successful line up of artists that includes his brother David, and then probably forced Dave Pick Withers, the only true professional in the group to follow David Knopfler, and leaving who, let me guess, John call me your friend Illsley, and the hooked Mark Knopfler. Its strange really for Ive been working with someone with those exact qualities, and the list of artists they use are like obituaries to their own lack of securities. There was another problem with David Knopfler he’d been a Social Worker and that takes in quite a few Academic disciplines, like integrity and a quality to improve life, for five years he had believed his brother Mark had written the lyrics for the first Dire Straits album, [Or that is what he told me,]. It was now three albums later and the lyrics I had written to show Knopfler how I wrote Folk lyrics, apart for Money for Nothing, were about to be brought out from their hiding place and become the Brothers in Arms album.

Would DAVID FALL FOR IT A SECOND TIME, I don’t think so there were three albums of lyrics his brother had written since the D.S. ALBUM and there was no similarity at all, Les Boys, Twisting by the Pool you’ve got to be joking, and now the younger brother was going to be shocked by a completely different Album with folk lyrics mastered into a genre of rock what I think was a very clever con trick. Could David have been fooled if he’d been there would Pick Withers have seen through Illsley and Mark Knoplers deception, it wasn’t the fans they were conning it was David Knopfler, and in time myself. Who was it that wanted David Knopfler excluded from knowing about my part in Dire Straits, it certainly wasn’t me, the only person I was worried about finding out I’d written the lyrics was the Censor especially with my background, about that I will go into later.

Why was it when Mark took my lyrics to the Copywriters Office, it was David the innocent who accompanied him, which made the younger Knopfler a conspirator in fraud if the intentions were to plagiarize the lyrics, the lyrics I had written, or did Mark Knopfler not know he was involving his younger brother in what is a criminal offense. Once again John Edward Illsley seems to be a good few steps in front of the Knopfler brothers, he was present during the time I wrote the lyrics in Farrer House, he actually read them as they were written acting like a old schoolmaster checking your homework. Then if he and Mark had failed to inform David that someone else had written the lyrics, or about my idea about the formation of a band called Dire Straits, if a witness was needed at the Copyrights office or if Mark needed support it should have been the bankers son John Illsley who gave it. For in reality if charges of theft are brought by me for the monies due to me and the return of my intellectual property, it will be the Knopflers who would stand trial, Illsley would be watching the trial from the Gallery some friend, and talk about getting a using.

There’s some who say I was naive for allowing Knopfler and Illsley to use my ideas and lyrics and not contact them, but I’d made a decision that any further dealings with them would have come through them, some fans say the album Communique was that message, but that’s like listening to the lyrics of a record in reverse, and in the 80s it wasn’t so hard to find someone? I had a few reasons for keeping my distance, my main one as David Knopfler and the Social Services, the Government and Law Courts, and the Police are reluctant to tell the public, once you have committed a Criminal offense in this country, your future in the Arts in Sport, Education the Law or any of the structures within society where your opinion may influence people, especially children who may want to follow in your footsteps, is a no goer no matter how gifted you are, so don’t break the Law kids. So actually the Knopfler family should be thanking me for guiding the two brothers into the music scene, and away from the temptations of making a million pounds through drugs or fraudulent crimes, and don’t be fooled in thinking that after you have done the time the slate gets wiped clean.

My reputation had been tarnished before I was a teen in a catch 22 situation, and though I was innocent of the more serious crime, I had been playing truancy from school when the crime was committed, that gave the Sheriff the opportunity to make his decision through probabilities, if he was wrong in his judgement on one of the offenses he was right on the other. And it was the first time I’d been in trouble with the Law, and I was sentenced to a grade D Approved School that would haunt me throughout my life. If John Illsley and Mark Knopfler had been straights, the monies I’d have expected to receive for my part in Dire Straits would have been used to clear my name, instead its been used to tarnish theirs, catch 22 or what. Even before I met the noble John Illsley, I knew how high I could climb up the ladder of success, before the press or someone who knew me blew my background, that was the reason I used to write under so many Nom de Plumes, even some of the jobs I worked at were under someone elses name.

Even my mother wouldn’t take a penny of the money I’d got for my Edinburgh Novel, because the cheque didn’t have my real name on it. And apart from having a phobia about having my photo taking, and a stigma of being pointed at by the public when in the Approved School, I never wanted to be a rock star where I’d never know if the fans were saying he’s good, or he’s been in jail, so any thoughts of her Majesty pinning a O.B.E. on my leather jacket was out. Though you have to remember through John Illsley and especially Mark Knopfler, the amount of money through Dire Straits that has been generously donated to Charities, and you can bet your life on whose money it was, yours truly, so if you read this your Majesty remember not all of us bad boys are all that bad. Oh and there’s the Knopflers divorces I have had to pay for, their children’s educations, no wonder they don’t want to give me my money, the list is endless I have done some ghost writing but a ghost money bank never.

Which brings it back to the ghost of David Knopfler, he now knows about my part in Dire Straits, he also knows his brother and Illsley were pulling his strings, they allowed him to think he with them had founded Dire Straits when in fact it had been founded before David was given the job as rhythm guitarist. I bonded with Mark Knopfler he is something special, but what made him change from mister nice guy. He told me when Illsley was becoming obtuse and showing the bullying and jealous side of his character to me, that he Mark could handle him, are you sure Mark were you sure you could, its split your family and a great band. Illsley knows the meaning of cynicism, like using one brother against another, or for that matter using Mark against me who has done nothing against any of them, and he’s so wrapped up in his own personnel survival everybody has to suffer. Maybe it was caused through the multiple operations he had when he was a child, maybe its the scars of his childhood, who knows but what he should know are our feelings towards him, and its those scars he has to heal.

I said to him in house at Deptford, if you become famous you may not want to know me, and if I didn’t make it big in my life to ignore me, maybe he doesn’t think my making a super group called Dire Straits was a big thing for he definitely doesn’t want to know me, Its just a pity the Knopfler boys cannot see or have been blinkered and don’t want to see what or who wrecked not only Dire Straits, but there own family if they do, they may come back to the truth and loving each other. And now the truth of the Citations my Lawyers sent to each of the members of Dire Straits comes to the fore, now we know if the case had gone to Court it would have been Mark and David who would have been the guilty parties to Plagiarizing my lyrics. But it was John Illsley who was supposedly acting on their behalf, and by accepting the citations took the heat away from the Knopflers, and I have the proof that he burned the evidence. If I’d known that when we met at St James, we wouldn’t be waiting to go to the Law Courts.

It would have been the Crown Court, come on John Edward Illsley take me to Court or give me my money. Share this: Untitled Document Mark Knopfler, Shepherds Bush Empire, July 2002 © Carolyn Dean If you have ever been fortunate enough to see the Notting Hillbillies you may well have heard Brendan Croker introduce the Mark Knopfler song Why Worry as "Why Bother." And, I must admit, in thinking about writing a biography of Mark I have many times asked myself the same question - why bother ? What could possibly be said about Mark Knopfler, his songs and guitar playing, that has not been said a million times already ? But, then, just recently, I received an e-mail from a fan in Thailand asking for biographical information on Mark Knopfler so I guess there are some folks out there who still need to know what I thought every fan knew already. So, here goes.... Mark Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 12th of August 1949. He was around seven years old when the Knopfler family moved to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the North-East of England.

Mark attended Gosforth Grammar School. As a young boy Mark was inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica and boogie-woogie piano playing. Later, in his teens, he set his heart on an all too expensive flamingo-pink Fender Strat, just like Hank Marvin's, but in the end he had to settle for a ï¿½50 twin pick-up Hofner Super Solid and ï¿½50 was a lot of money in those days. Like lots of other guitar-toting schoolboys of the 1960s, he served an early apprenticeship by forming and joining anonymous schoolboy bands and listening to guitarists such as Scotty Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and James Burton. At sixteen he made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo along with school-friend Sue Hercombe. At school Mark had demonstrated a flair for English and in 1967 he went to study journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College. At the end of the course he secured a job in Leeds as a junior reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post. After two years he decided to further his studies and commenced a degree in English at Leeds University.

It was whilst Mark was living in Leeds that he met a local blues singer/guitarist by the name of Steve Phillips. Mark wrote newspaper articles and reviews on the music scene in and around Leeds. By an odd coincidence, Mark's boss was another man by the name of Stephen Phillips. This has caused some confusion over the years and a number of Steve Phillips biographies have claimed erroneously that Steve himself worked as a journalist. Mark and his boss - the other 'Steve Phillips' - went to see Steve playing in Leeds. Steve fondly recalls how Mark's first words were "Steve Phillips, meet Steve Phillips." Steve and Mark found that musically they had much in common and they went on to form a duo called The Duolian String Pickers. By day Mark continued working as a reporter and, later, as a full-time student, while Steve took a job restoring paintings and furniture at Leeds City Art Gallery and Temple Newsam House. They played together on and off over the next five years. Some of their work is featured on Steve's 1996 Just Pickin' album.

"He was a good guitar player", Steve says wryly of the young Knopfler, "in a B.B.King sort of way." Steve was to have a profound affect on Mark's guitar playing introducing him to the intricate lead technique of black blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson and the subtle skills of country blues guitar, the elements of which Mark was eventually to weave into his own unique style of guitar picking. This was, in fact, a very important stage in Mark's development as a guitarist. He was later to tell Jack Sonni that it was not until he began to finger-pick that he found his guitar 'voice'. While living in Leeds Mark made his first record. It was recorded in a room that had been converted into studio in a house in Pudsey. The song was called Summer's Coming My Way and it featured Steve Phillips on twelve-string guitar. On graduating from Leeds University in 1973 Mark decided to go to London and try to break into the rock scene. He scanned through the music press and finally answered the biggest advert he could find in Melody Maker. That led him to an audition and a two month stint with a blues band called Brewer's Droop.

Mark played guitar on three songs they recorded at Dave Edmunds' Rockfield Studios in Wales. The band's drummer was a guy called Pick Withers. Pick had turned professional at the age of seventeen and was a very experienced drummer. Having left Brewer's Droop Mark took up a job as a lecturer at Loughton College in Essex where he remained for two years living in a rented flat in Buckhurst Hill, sometimes giving guitar lessons at Staples Road School. Then brother David came to stay for a few weeks en route to London. The Knopfler brothers would often sit up late into the night playing songs and, without knowing it, to some extent laying the foundations of what was to become, in time, Dire Straits. It was the mid-1970s, David moved on to London and Mark went on to form a working band with friends at Loughton College. They called themselves the Cafï¿½ Racers. David came to share a flat at Farrer House on Deptford's Crossfield Estate, South-East London, with a Leicester-born bass player by the name of John Illsley. John recalls first meeting Mark. "I'd been out all night and came in about ten in the morning.

I walked into the kitchen, started making myself a cup of tea, walked into the lounge and there was this guy lying on the floor with his head propped up against a chair. He was fast asleep, fully clothed in denim with leather boots. He had a guitar slouched over his waist." David had often spoken to John of his guitar-playing brother and John guessed correctly that the guy sprawled out on the lounge floor was indeed Mark. It wasn't long before John found himself on stage with Mark. One night the Cafï¿½ Racers' bass player was ill and John was asked to stand-in. Mark and John immediately struck up a great working relationship and both realised that, despite having built-up a good reputation on the local pub scene, the Cafï¿½ Racers had a limited future. In April 1977 Mark gave up his flat in Buckhurst Hill and moved in with David and John. John quickly realised that not only was Mark a talented and excitingly different guitar player, he was also a gifted song-writer. During the summer of 1977 the three musicians found themselves playing and rehearsing Mark's songs. Yet, something was missing - a drummer.

Mark, recalling his brief stint with Brewer's Droop, said he knew of a drummer who would be ideal for the sort of music they were developing. Mark had been very impresssed with Pick Withers back in 1973 and so Pick was invited to the Farrer House flat and the four musicians began doing gigs together under the name of Mark's old band, the Cafï¿½ Racers. John recalled that "playing with Pick Withers was fantastic...I'd never played with anybody as good as him." Later, a friend of Pick's suggested a new name for the band - Dire Straits. The die was cast. The band's first gig took place on the open space at the back of the Farrer House flats, the electricty provided by a power cable running from the stage into a socket on the wall of John's first floor flat. Punishing rehearsals and live gigs followed. There was just enough room in the back of John's estate car for the band's equipment and they earned just enough money to pay for PA hire and a round of beers.

On the 27th of July 1977 Dire Straits recorded the now famous demo tapes of five songs - Wild West End, Sultans of Swing, Down To The Waterline, Sacred Loving and Water of Love. In what was probably October they recorded Southbound Again, In The Gallery and Six Blade Knife for BBC Radio London and, finally, on the 9th of November demo tapes were made of Setting Me Up, Eastbound Train and Real Girl. Many of these songs reflected Mark's experiences in Newcastle, Leeds and London, and were to be featured on the first Dire Straits album the following year: Down To The Waterline recalled images of life in Newcastle; In The Gallery is a tribute to a Leeds sculptor/artist named Harry Phillips, father of Steve; and, Lions, Wild West End and Eastbound Train were all drawn from Mark's early days in the capital. The demo tapes were given to BBC Radio London DJ Charlie Gillett. Charlie played the tapes calling upon record company executives to sign this new band: enter John Stainze and Ed Bicknell. It is said that Phonogram A&R man Stainze was in the shower listening to the radio when he first heard Dire Straits.

A few weeks later he signed the band to Phonogram's Vertigo label and Mark secured a publishing deal with Rondor Music. Towards the end of 1977 Ed Bicknell was working at the NEMS agency when he got a call from Stainze asking him to fix up some gigs for Dire Straits. Ed was invited round to Phonogram's offices in December where he heard the Charlie Gillett demo tapes. He was then taken to Dingwalls Club in North London to meet Dire Straits. The date was the 13th of December, 1977, and as he walked into the club they were playing Down To The Waterline. Ed recalls, "The first thing I noticed was that it wasn't necessary to stand at the back of the room; they were very quiet. I'd just done The Ramones, who were deafening......The second thing I noticed was that Mark was playing a red Stratocaster, which immediately made me think of Hank Marvin, who I had idolised in the sixties." After hearing two or three numbers Ed decided that he wanted to manage the band. He was organising a tour for Talking Heads and was able to put his new band on the bill as the support act.

Dire Straits were paid ï¿½50 per night for the Talking Heads tour; a ten-fold increase from their fee at Dingwalls. The rest - as is often said - is history. I once asked Ed Bicknell's former assistant, Liz Whatley, when it was that she realised Dire Straits were going to be really big. She replied that it was the first time she heard Romeo and Juliet. By the mid-1980s Dire Straits had released Brothers in Arms, one of the best selling albums of all time, and had been tagged 'the biggest band in the world'. By that stage the recording and touring personnel of the band had changed more than once. David left. Hal Lindes, guitar, and Alan Clark, keyboards, joined. Then came Tommy Mandel, keyboards, and Mel Collins, saxophone. Pick left and was replaced on drums by Terry Williams. Keyboard player Guy Fletcher became a member of Dire Straits for the Brothers In Arms album. Jack Sonni, guitar, and Chris White, saxophone, were brought in for the subsequent world tour.

By the time Dire Straits commenced the 1991/92 On Every Street tour Mark, John, Alan, Guy and Chris were left from the mid-80s line-up. They were joined on stage by Phil Palmer, guitar, Paul Franklin, pedal-steel guitar, and percussionists Danny Cummings and Chris Whitten. Others who have been featured on Dire Straits' recordings include Roy Bittan, keyboards, and Joop De Korte, drums. The Brothers In Arms tour saw Dire Straits play 234 shows in twelve months to combined audiences of about 2.5 million. Within a couple of weeks of the tour finishing Mark was producing Tina Turner but, at the same time, felt he needed to get back to his roots. Long-time mates Steve Phillips and Brendan Croker had teamed-up to form a duo shortly after Mark had left Leeds in 1973. In 1986 Steve was in London and called in to see Mark who said he fancied coming up to Leeds and sitting in with Steve and Brendan on one of their gigs.

This resulted in the three of them playing together at The Grove pub in Hunslet, Leeds, on the 31st of May, 1986. The following year Mark offered to produce Steve's next album but Steve suggested that a new album should feature both himself and Brendan. Guy Fletcher was brought in to help out on the technical side. From this evolved the Notting Hillbillies. Ed Bicknell is an accomplished drummer in his own right and during a meal in a Notting Hill wine bar, Mark sat next to him and said "OK, Ed; we've formed a band, and you're the drummer." Paul Franklin joined on pedal-steel guitar. There followed an extensive UK tour to promote the 1990 release of the multi-platinum selling album Missing......Presumed having A Good Time. Also in 1990 Mark was able to release the Neck and Neck album, a joint project with the greatly admired Chet Atkins. Mark brought Dire Straits back together for the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert which featured Eric Clapton who was standing-in for Jack Sonni as Jack had just become the father of twin girls.

Mark, John, Alan and Guy appeared on stage at Knebworth in June 1990 along with, among others, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Ray Cooper and Phil Palmer, to help raise funds for the Nordoff Robbins charity. Then came the On Every Street album. The resulting extensive world tour, which played to more than four million people, was punishing and exhausting. After it was over Mark felt that he needed to take a break from the pressures of live performance and studio schedules. Over the years Mark has collaborated with many artists. He has at one time or other worked with people such as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Randy Newman, Buddy Guy, Tina Turner, Phil Lynott, Willy DeVille, Eric Clapton, Waylon Jennings, Chet Atkins, Phil Everly, Vince Gill, Paul Franklin, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Paul Brady, The Chieftains, Ben. E.

King, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Joan Armatrading, Scott Walker, Jeff Healey, The Judds, Jimmy Nail, Bryan Ferry, Aztec Camera, Steely Dan, Sting, Sonny Landreth, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. He has also devoted a great deal of time to charity work for institutions large and small. Dire Straits did a total of three concerts for the Prince's Trust in front of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. They appeared at the 1985 Live Aid Concert and the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert. In 1995 Mark was featured on the chart-topping Dunblane single Knockin' On Heaven's Door and in September 1997 was one of the artists who performed for Sir George Martin's Music For Montserrat Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The Notting Hillbillies, too, have performed many charity concerts helping to raise money for a range of deserving causes. Mark Knopfler has always been a songster, to him the song is king. It is said that he has never really understood why his music is so popular.

In this he is not alone. When reviewing the Sultans of Swing compilation album in November 1998, the writers of Mojo magazine commented "overwhelming sales testify to Mark Knopfler's song-writing ability and guitar expertise, and there is certainly something intimate and friendly in that smokey voice and fluid guitar, though the scale of Dire Straits' success remains mildly baffling." Some have tried to answer this by arguing that Mark's music has an instant appeal. Perhaps a better explanation comes in Robert Sandall's liner essay for the Sultans of Swing compilation. Sandall noted, "As the fires of punk raged around them, they made no secret of their love for styles of music which the cultural commissars of the day had recently declared irrelevant....What part could this lot possibly play in the brave new world of anarchy, media manipulation and anti-musicianship? Apart from their consummate skill as performers, it was their complete disregard for all the fashionable nonsenses of the moment that rescued Dire Straits from the fate which swiftly overtook most of their punky contemporaries.

While others lived and died in a blaze of publicity and disappointing record sales, they took the world by stealth....Dire Straits were, above all, superb communicators.... The heartfelt simplicity of their music - chiefly derived from Mark Knopfler's gruff vocals and elegantly burnished Fender guitar tone - came across in songs that sounded both fresh and timeless, and which also possessed a breathtaking accuracy." Mark also found time to score the music to numerous films. First came Local Hero in 1983 followed in 1984 by the Cal and the Comfort and Joy soundtracks. These were followed in 1987 by The Princess Bride and two years later came Last Exit To Brooklyn. Further soundtrack work has seen the release of Metroland and Wag The Dog, both of 1998, and the soundtrack album to the film A Shot At Glory released in 2001. In 2016 Mark collaborated with Evelyn Glennie for the soundtrack to the film Altamira. In 1996 Mark began his career as a solo performer with the release of the Golden Heart album.

The album was simply a step forward in the evolution of his music, "It's just moving forwards...", he said, "... just trying to be better." Mark's solo career has allowed him to hone his rare talent as a singer/song-writer. His second solo album, Sailing To Philadelphia, was released in 2000. Autumn 2002 saw the release of his third solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream, but, just as rehersals were about to begin, the planned 2003 tour had to be cancelled due to a serious motorcycle accident. Thankfully, Mark made a full recovery from his injuries and was on the road again in 2005 to promote his fourth solo album, Shangri-La, released in September 2004. One year on saw the release of The Best of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations compilation album. 2006 has seen the release of a number of albums to which Mark has contributed and also of the much acclaimed and Grammy nominated All The Roadrunning CD with Emmylou Harris promoted by a tour of Europe and North America.

2007 saw the release of another solo album, Kill To Get Crimson, followed by a 2008 promotional tour of Europe and the USA. Mark's sixth solo album, Get Lucky, was released on the 14th of September, 2009, another North America/Europe tour followed in 2010. Autumn 2011 saw Mark and his band undertaking a short European tour with Bob Dylan with a similar tour taking place in North America late-2012. The double CD Privateering, was released on the 3rd of September, 2012, with a European tour to follow in 2013. 2015 sees the release of a ninth solo ablum*, Tracker, with concerts in Europe and North America. * includes All The Roadrunning Mark has been the recipient of countless awards and accolades from Grammies to an OBE. In May 1993 he was conrerred with an Honorary Doctor of Music Degree by Newcastle University of which he is justly proud. He also has honorary music doctorates from the universities of Leeds and Sunderland.

In 1999, Mark was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Honours List. In 2001, British scientists named a dinosaur they discovered after him: the dinosaur, which was discovered in Madagascar, was named "Masiakasaurus Knopfleri." Many more honours have followed such as an ARPS Sound Fellowship (2009) bestowed on individuals who have made a "significant contribution to the art, science or business of sound recording", a PRS Music Heritage Award (2009) and an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award (2012). There remains another side to Mark Knopfler, a private side. By the mid-80s Mark was being referred to by some as the "quiet man of rock and roll." Shy by nature, in some ways Mark has tended to shun fame. He gets embarrassed when fans tell him how much they have been affected by his songs and how his music has changed their lives. It is a matter of public record that Mark has been married three times.

His second marriage produced his twin sons, Benji and Joseph, born in 1987, and his third marriage to Kitty Aldridge has been blessed with two daughters, Isabella, born in 1998, and Katya born in 2003. After more than thirty years at the top of his profession, Mark Knopfler remains at heart a family man who loves nothing better than to spend time with his wife and his children. Mark Knopfler | New Music And Songs | Mark Knopfler About Mark Knopfler The most celebrated British guitar hero to emerge in the 1970s and '80s, Mark Knopfler rose to fame as the leader of Dire Straits, and his songwriting and incisive guitar work played a decisive role in making them an international success story. At a time when punk and new wave were making technique for its own sake seem irrelevant, and metal was taking the guitar solo in noisier and unpredictable directions, Knopfler's clean but dexterous picking proved there was still room for traditionalism and chops in mainstream rock & roll.

But even without considering Dire Straits, Knopfler has accumulated an impressive résumé as a producer, sideman, songwriter, and film composer, working alongside some of the best and best-known figures in the music business. Mark Freuder Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland on August 12, 1949. His father, a Hungarian émigré, worked as an architect, while his mother, of English heritage, was a schoolteacher. The Knopfler family moved to England when Mark was seven years of age, settling in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and he developed a passion for music while spending time with his uncle; as he told journalist Dan Forte, "I heard my Uncle Kingsley playing boogie-woogie on the piano when I was about eight or nine, and I thought that those three chords were the most magnificent things in the world -- still do." A few years later, Knopfler began learning to play guitar, first on an inexpensive Hofner model before moving up to a Fender electric his father bought for him.

At 16, Knopfler and some pals cut a demo single that was never released, and he performed in a vocal group that was successful enough to merit an appearance on local television. In 1967, Knopfler enrolled at Harlow Technical College, where he studied journalism, and a year later he landed a job at the Yorkshire Evening Post, where he wrote news stories and music criticism. After two years at the Post, Knopfler opted to return to school, studying English at Leeds University. While at Leeds, he became friends with a fellow guitarist named Steve Phillips, and they began playing out under the name the Duolian String Pickers; while working with Phillips, Knopfler began developing the fingerpicking style that would become his trademark. After graduating from Leeds in 1973, Knopfler moved to London and joined a pub rock band called Brewer's Droop, featuring drummer Pick Withers. Knopfler's tenure with the band was short-lived, and he took a position as a lecturer at Essex's Loughton College. Knopfler became friends with a handful of local musicians, and they formed a new band called the Café Racers.

Mark's brother, David Knopfler, who was also a guitarist and songwriter, introduced Mark to a fellow musician, John Illsley, who played guitar but was also a solid bassist. When the Café Racers found themselves in need of a bass player one night, Mark asked Illsley to sit in, and before long, Mark, David, and John were sharing an apartment and working on songs, with Mark on lead guitar, David on rhythm, and John on bass. Mark invited Pick Withers to play drums with the new combo, and while they played their first few gigs as the Café Racers, before long they adopted a new name coined by Withers -- Dire Straits. After cutting a demo tape, Dire Straits found a champion in BBC disk jockey Charlie Gillett, who began playing their demo on his show, attracting the attention of manager Ed Bicknell and Polygram A&R man John Stainze. Bicknell took Dire Straits under his wing and Stainze signed the group to Polygram's progressive and hard rock subsidiary Vertigo Records; Warner Bros. picked up the band for the United States.

Dire Straits' self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1978, and the song "Sultans of Swing" became a surprise hit single in both America and the U.K., with the album following it into the charts, as the group's clean, expert playing, and Knopfler's deft lead guitars, Dylanesque vocals, and evocative songs won the band airplay on pop and classic rock playlists. It was the first of a long string of successes for Dire Straits, and while the lineup would shift frequently over the group's lifespan -- Mark Knopfler and John Illsley would prove to be the group's only constants -- between 1978 and 1995 the group was a top concert draw and a frequent presence on radio and record charts; their landmark 1985 album Brothers in Arms sold over nine million copies in the United States alone, and was the top-selling CD of the '80s in the U.K. It wasn't long after Dire Straits made their commercial breakthrough that Knopfler began expanding his creative boundaries.

In 1979, he was invited to play lead guitar on Bob Dylan's album Slow Train Coming, and in 1983, he produced Dylan's Infidels, as well as leading the backing band. In addition to producing much of Dire Straits' catalog, Knopfler was behind the controls for albums by Aztec Camera, Randy Newman, and Willy DeVille. Knopfler lent his talents as a session guitarist to an impressive and diverse range of artists, including Van Morrison, Phil Lynott, Steely Dan, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Cliff Richard, and Scott Walker. He also penned the song "Private Dancer" for Tina Turner's triumphant comeback album of the same name, and found his songs being covered by the Shadows, whose legendary guitarist Hank Marvin was one of Knopfler's first inspirations. In 1983, Knopfler added "film composer" to his résumé when he wrote the score for the Scottish comedy Local Hero; Knopfler's music was cited in many of the film's rave reviews, and he would later score the films Cal, The Princess Bride, Last Exit to Brooklyn, and Wag the Dog, among others.

And when Weird Al Yankovic asked Knopfler's permission to record a parody of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" for the soundtrack to his film UHF, Knopfler agreed under one condition -- that he be allowed to re-create his guitar parts for Yankovic's version. Weird Al happily acceded to Knopfler's request. After Knopfler made guest appearances on several albums by another of his heroes, Nashville icon Chet Atkins, the two cut a collaborative project in 1990, called Neck & Neck, which was the first non-soundtrack album Knopfler released under his own name. Knopfler also showed off his love of country sounds with his side project, the Notting Hillbillies, which featured Brendan Croker, Guy Fletcher, and Mark's old Duolian String Pickers partner Steve Phillips. In the fall of 1992, Dire Straits played their last concert, a show in Spain on the tour in support of On Every Street, and in 1995, Knopfler quietly announced that he'd retired the band, feeling they'd become too big.

Released in 1996, Golden Heart became Knopfler's official solo debut, followed in 2000 by Sailing to Philadelphia, which included guest appearances by Van Morrison, James Taylor, Gillian Welch, and Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford of Squeeze. The newly prolific Knopfler shortly returned to the studio and released The Ragpicker's Dream in the fall of 2002; a world tour was planned, but after Knopfler was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him with a broken shoulder and collarbone, the dates were canceled. However, he was soon feeling well enough to go back to recording, and issued Shangri-La in 2004, a set recorded at the Malibu compound where the Band recorded and rehearsed in the '70s. As Knopfler's taste for rootsy, country-influenced sounds became a growing presence in his solo work, he began working on material with singer Emmylou Harris, and their collaborative album, 2006's All the Roadrunning, was recorded during sessions spread over seven years.

Knopfler and Harris toured together in support of the set, and a live album, Real Live Roadrunning, came out later the same year. Knopfler continued to record at a steady pace, releasing Kill to Get Crimson in 2007 and Get Lucky in 2009, while still finding room to contribute to albums by Sonny Landreth, Bill Wyman, Diane Schuur, Bap Kennedy, and America. The year 2012 found Knopfler releasing Privateer, the first double-disc studio set of his career; the album debuted at eight in the U.K. Three years lafter, Knopfler returned with Tracker; the album debuted at three in the U.K. and 14 in the U.S. In 2016, he collaborated with Evelyn Glennie on the soundtrack for Altamira. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi Mark Knopfler on Apple Music To preview a song, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to buy and download music.

Biography The most celebrated British guitar hero to emerge in the 1970s and '80s, Mark Knopfler rose to fame as the leader of Dire Straits, and his songwriting and incisive guitar work played a decisive role in making them an international success story. At a time when punk and new wave were making technique for its own sake seem irrelevant, and metal was taking the guitar solo in noisier and unpredictable directions, Knopfler's clean but dexterous picking proved there was still room for traditionalism and chops in mainstream rock & roll. But even without considering Dire Straits, Knopfler has accumulated an impressive résumé as a producer, sideman, songwriter, and film composer, working alongside some of the best and best-known figures in the music business. Mark Freuder Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland on August 12, 1949. His father, a Hungarian émigré, worked as an architect, while his mother, of English heritage, was a schoolteacher.

The Knopfler family moved to England when Mark was seven years of age, settling in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and he developed a passion for music while spending time with his uncle; as he told journalist Dan Forte, "I heard my Uncle Kingsley playing boogie-woogie on the piano when I was about eight or nine, and I thought that those three chords were the most magnificent things in the world -- still do." A few years later, Knopfler began learning to play guitar, first on an inexpensive Hofner model before moving up to a Fender electric his father bought for him. At 16, Knopfler and some pals cut a demo single that was never released, and he performed in a vocal group that was successful enough to merit an appearance on local television. In 1967, Knopfler enrolled at Harlow Technical College, where he studied journalism, and a year later he landed a job at the Yorkshire Evening Post, where he wrote news stories and music criticism. After two years at the Post, Knopfler opted to return to school, studying English at Leeds University.

While at Leeds, he became friends with a fellow guitarist named Steve Phillips, and they began playing out under the name the Duolian String Pickers; while working with Phillips, Knopfler began developing the fingerpicking style that would become his trademark. After graduating from Leeds in 1973, Knopfler moved to London and joined a pub rock band called Brewer's Droop, featuring drummer Pick Withers. Knopfler's tenure with the band was short-lived, and he took a position as a lecturer at Essex's Loughton College. Knopfler became friends with a handful of local musicians, and they formed a new band called the Café Racers. Mark's brother, David Knopfler, who was also a guitarist and songwriter, introduced Mark to a fellow musician, John Illsley, who played guitar but was also a solid bassist. When the Café Racers found themselves in need of a bass player one night, Mark asked Illsley to sit in, and before long, Mark, David, and John were sharing an apartment and working on songs, with Mark on lead guitar, David on rhythm, and John on bass.

Mark invited Pick Withers to play drums with the new combo, and while they played their first few gigs as the Café Racers, before long they adopted a new name coined by Withers -- Dire Straits. After cutting a demo tape, Dire Straits found a champion in BBC disk jockey Charlie Gillett, who began playing their demo on his show, attracting the attention of manager Ed Bicknell and Polygram A&R man John Stainze. Bicknell took Dire Straits under his wing and Stainze signed the group to Polygram's progressive and hard rock subsidiary Vertigo Records; Warner Bros. picked up the band for the United States. Dire Straits' self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1978, and the song "Sultans of Swing" became a surprise hit single in both America and the U.K., with the album following it into the charts, as the group's clean, expert playing, and Knopfler's deft lead guitars, Dylanesque vocals, and evocative songs won the band airplay on pop and classic rock playlists.

It was the first of a long string of successes for Dire Straits, and while the lineup would shift frequently over the group's lifespan -- Mark Knopfler and John Illsley would prove to be the group's only constants -- between 1978 and 1995 the group was a top concert draw and a frequent presence on radio and record charts; their landmark 1985 album Brothers in Arms sold over nine million copies in the United States alone, and was the top-selling CD of the '80s in the U.K. It wasn't long after Dire Straits made their commercial breakthrough that Knopfler began expanding his creative boundaries. In 1979, he was invited to play lead guitar on Bob Dylan's album Slow Train Coming, and in 1983, he produced Dylan's Infidels, as well as leading the backing band. In addition to producing much of Dire Straits' catalog, Knopfler was behind the controls for albums by Aztec Camera, Randy Newman, and Willy DeVille.

Knopfler lent his talents as a session guitarist to an impressive and diverse range of artists, including Van Morrison, Phil Lynott, Steely Dan, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Cliff Richard, and Scott Walker. He also penned the song "Private Dancer" for Tina Turner's triumphant comeback album of the same name, and found his songs being covered by the Shadows, whose legendary guitarist Hank Marvin was one of Knopfler's first inspirations. In 1983, Knopfler added "film composer" to his résumé when he wrote the score for the Scottish comedy Local Hero; Knopfler's music was cited in many of the film's rave reviews, and he would later score the films Cal, The Princess Bride, Last Exit to Brooklyn, and Wag the Dog, among others. And when Weird Al Yankovic asked Knopfler's permission to record a parody of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" for the soundtrack to his film UHF, Knopfler agreed under one condition -- that he be allowed to re-create his guitar parts for Yankovic's version. Weird Al happily acceded to Knopfler's request.

After Knopfler made guest appearances on several albums by another of his heroes, Nashville icon Chet Atkins, the two cut a collaborative project in 1990, called Neck & Neck, which was the first non-soundtrack album Knopfler released under his own name. Knopfler also showed off his love of country sounds with his side project, the Notting Hillbillies, which featured Brendan Croker, Guy Fletcher, and Mark's old Duolian String Pickers partner Steve Phillips. In the fall of 1992, Dire Straits played their last concert, a show in Spain on the tour in support of On Every Street, and in 1995, Knopfler quietly announced that he'd retired the band, feeling they'd become too big. Released in 1996, Golden Heart became Knopfler's official solo debut, followed in 2000 by Sailing to Philadelphia, which included guest appearances by Van Morrison, James Taylor, Gillian Welch, and Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford of Squeeze.

The newly prolific Knopfler shortly returned to the studio and released The Ragpicker's Dream in the fall of 2002; a world tour was planned, but after Knopfler was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him with a broken shoulder and collarbone, the dates were canceled. However, he was soon feeling well enough to go back to recording, and issued Shangri-La in 2004, a set recorded at the Malibu compound where the Band recorded and rehearsed in the '70s. As Knopfler's taste for rootsy, country-influenced sounds became a growing presence in his solo work, he began working on material with singer Emmylou Harris, and their collaborative album, 2006's All the Roadrunning, was recorded during sessions spread over seven years. Knopfler and Harris toured together in support of the set, and a live album, Real Live Roadrunning, came out later the same year.

Knopfler continued to record at a steady pace, releasing Kill to Get Crimson in 2007 and Get Lucky in 2009, while still finding room to contribute to albums by Sonny Landreth, Bill Wyman, Diane Schuur, Bap Kennedy, and America. The year 2012 found Knopfler releasing Privateer, the first double-disc studio set of his career; the album debuted at eight in the U.K. Three years lafter, Knopfler returned with Tracker; the album debuted at three in the U.K. and 14 in the U.S. In 2016, he collaborated with Evelyn Glennie on the soundtrack for Altamira. ~ Mark Deming Top Albums

Question: What was the first name of Mark Knopfler’s brother in Dire Straits?
Answer: David