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Dire Straits (album)
''Dire Straits'' is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 9 June 1978 by Vertigo Records, internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album has the hit single " Sultans of Swing", which reached number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached the top of the album charts in Germany, Australia and France, number 2 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. ''Dire Straits'' was later certified double platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Recording ''Dire Straits'' was recorded at Basing Street Studios in London from 13 February to 5 March 1978. Knopfler used a few guitars for the recording, including a pair of red Fender Stratocasters—one from 1961 (serial number 68354) and one from 1962 (serial number 80470). He played his 1938 National Style O 14 fret guitar (serial number B1844) on "Water of Love" and "Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percussion). They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995. Their first single, "Sultans of Swing", from their 1978 self-titled debut album, reached the top ten in the UK and US charts. It was followed by hit singles including "Romeo and Juliet" (1981), "Private Investigations" (1982), "Twisting by the Pool" (1983), " Money for Nothing" (1985), and "Walk of Life" (1985). Their most commercially successful album, '' Brothers in Arms'' (1985), has sold more than 30 million copies; it was the first album to sell a million copies on compact disc and is the eighth-bestselling album in UK history. According to the '' Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'', Dire Straits have spent over 1,100 weeks on the UK albums chart, the fifth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setting Me Up
"Setting Me Up" is a song written by Mark Knopfler. It was originally recorded by British rock group Dire Straits on their self-titled debut album but not released as a single. Ken Tucker in ''Rolling Stone'' described the song as a "heavenly number" combining humor with bitterness, despite having a typical messed-up romance theme. Tucker noted that the song's impact is enhanced by the growling tone in Knopfler's singing voice and by the song's country music-style guitar solo. Carly Darling in ''Billboard Magazine'' praised the song's rockabilly guitar but criticizes the lyrics. The song appeared on Eric Clapton's 1980 double live album '' Just One Night'', with Albert Lee singing lead vocals. Albert Lee also covered the song on his album ''Hiding'', with backing harmonies sung by Don Everly. "Setting Me Up" is one of five songs that Knopfler's publisher made country demos of without the songwriter's approval, leading to a number of country covers of this and other songs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pick Withers
David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English rock and jazz drummer. He was the original drummer of rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations". Withers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018. Biography Taught by childhood friend Richard Storer, Withers first played a drum in the Boys' Brigade in his home city of Leicester. He became a professional musician at the age of 17, in an Italian band called The Primitives. This was followed by a band called Spring who had a record contract but little success; they released one album on the RCA label. In the mid-1970s Withers was a house drummer at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, Wales. He played on records by Dave Edmunds, Hobo, the John Dummer Band and the Gary Fletcher Band, amongst others. His nickname has been subject to some variations in spelling. Dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Illsley
John Edward Illsley (born 24 June 1949) is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist of the rock band Dire Straits. With it, he has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award. As one of the founding band members, with guitarist brothers Mark and David Knopfler, and drummer Pick Withers, Illsley played a role in the development of Dire Straits' sound. By the time the group disbanded in 1995 changes in personnel meant that Illsley and lead singer Mark Knopfler were the only two original band members remaining. Illsley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018. Illsley has produced two albums of his own, with Mark Knopfler as a guest musician, and has helped with Mark's personal projects and charities. He released two more albums, influenced by the Celtic-based band Cunla. Biography Early life Illsley's childhood memories include searching for sticklebacks in the River Jordan in Little Bowden (near Marke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Knopfler
David Knopfler (born 27 December 1952) is a British singer-songwriter. He was born in Scotland and raised in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, from the age of two. Together with his older brother Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, and Pick Withers, he founded the rock band Dire Straits in 1977, serving as rhythm guitarist on their first two albums. After quitting the band, Knopfler embarked upon a solo career as a recording artist. Knopfler initially created smaller record labels, publishing companies, and indie labels. Early life Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to an English mother, Louisa Mary (née Laidler), a teacher, and a Hungarian Jewish father, Erwin Knopfler, an architect. When Knopfler was four, his family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where he grew up and later attended Gosforth Grammar School. By the age of 11, Knopfler owned a guitar, a piano and a drum kit, and by 14 he was playing and singing his own compositions in folk clubs. After attending Bristol Po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a solo career after the band first dissolved in 1988. Dire Straits reunited in 1990, but dissolved again in 1995. He is now an independent solo artist. Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in Blyth, near Newcastle in England, from the age of seven. After graduating from the University of Leeds and working for three years as a college lecturer, Knopfler co-founded Dire Straits with his younger brother, David Knopfler. The band recorded six albums, including '' Brothers in Arms'' (1985), one of the best-selling albums in history. After they disbanded in 1995, Knopfler began a solo career, and has produced nine solo albums. He has composed and produced film scores for nine films, including '' Local Hero'' (1983), ''Cal'' (1984) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down To The Waterline
"Down to the Waterline" is a 1978 song written by Mark Knopfler and first released by Dire Straits as the first song on their debut album, '' Dire Straits''. It was also included on the demo tape that the band sent to Charlie Gillett, which led to their first recording contract. It was subsequently released as the B-side of the " Water of Love" single. Lyrics and music The lyrics of "Down to the Waterline" tell of a brief sexual tryst. According to Mark Knopfler's brother and fellow Dire Straits member David, the song's imagery is based on Mark's memories of walking along the River Tyne at night under the lights with his girlfriend when he was a teenager. ''News and Courier'' contributor Joel McNally describes how "the band appears out of the fog" to start the song, noting that the effect is "not hokey." ''Hartford Courant'' critic J. Greg Robertson describes the beginning of the song saying "the soft, haunting electric guitar and cymbals introduction abruptly switches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its coverage of rock music and political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. It has since returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics. The first magazine was released in 1967 and featured John Lennon on the cover and was published every two weeks. It is known for provocative photography and its cover photos, featuring musicians, politicians, athletes, and actors. In addition to its print version in the United States, it publishes content through Rollingstone.com and numerous international editions. Penske Media Corporation is the current own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitchfork (website)
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working at a record store in suburban Minneapolis, and the website earned a reputation for its extensive coverage of indie rock music. It has since expanded and covers all kinds of music, including pop. Pitchfork was sold to Condé Nast in 2015, although Schreiber remained its editor-in-chief until he left the website in 2019. Initially based in Minneapolis, Pitchfork later moved to Chicago, and then Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Its offices are currently located in One World Trade Center alongside other Condé Nast publications. The site is best known for its daily output of music reviews but also regularly reviews reissues and box sets. Since 2016, it has published retrospective reviews of classics, and other albums that it had not previously rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ticknor & Fields
Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business would publish many 19th century American authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain. It also became an early publisher of ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and '' North American Review''. The firm was named after founder William Davis Ticknor and apprentice James T. Fields, although the names of additional business partners would come and go, notably that of James R. Osgood in the firm's later years. Financial problems led Osgood to merge the company with the publishing firm of Henry Oscar Houghton in 1878, forming a precursor to the modern publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Houghton Mifflin revived the Ticknor and Fields name as an imprint from 1979 to 1989. Company history Early years In 1832 William Davis Ticknor and John Allen bega ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Albums Of The Seventies
''Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' is a music reference book by American music journalist and essayist Robert Christgau. It was first published in October 1981 by Ticknor & Fields. The book compiles approximately 3,000 of Christgau's capsule album reviews, most of which were originally written for his "Consumer Guide" column in ''The Village Voice'' throughout the 1970s. The entries feature annotated details about each record's release and cover a variety of genres related to rock music. Christgau's reviews are informed by an interest in the aesthetic and political dimensions of popular music, a belief that it could be consumed intelligently, and a desire to communicate his ideas to readers in an entertaining, provocative, and compact way. Many of the older reviews were rewritten for the guide to reflect his changed perspective and matured stylistic approach. He undertook an intense preparation process for the book during 1979 and 1980, which temporarily h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as Compact disc, CDs replaced LP record, LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
