The A to Z of Dire Straits

Everything you didn’t know you needed to know about the legendary English rock band, playing at A Summer's Day Live in Tauranga on December 30.

Words Karl Puschmann

A Summer’s Day Live 

This annual concert has become a must-do Summer event. This year Dire Straits Legacy headline, supported by Nazareth and Hello Sailor. They play Tauranga’s Wharepai Domain on December 30. Other dates include Napier, Matakana and New Plymouth.

Banned

Canadian radio banned Money for Nothing due to a problematic slur in the song’s lyrics. The ban was overturned in 2011, a mere nine months after being instigated. 

Compact Disc

Dire Strait’s 1985 Brothers in Arms was the first album in history to sell a million copies on the then brand-new Compact Disc format. 

Dire Straits Legacy

Former Dire Straits members keyboardist Alan Clark, guitarist Phil Palmer, percussionist Danny Cummings and saxophonist Mel Collins started this band. They enlisted the legendary Trevor Horn on bass and keys supremo Primiano Di Biase. Marco Caviglia, the world’s authority on original frontman Mark Knopfler’s distinctive guitar-playing style, leads the band. 

English teacher

Before Dire Straits took off Mark Knopfler was an English teacher at a college in Essex.

Football

Mark Knopfler famously supports football team Newcastle United. The
club plays his soaring instrumental, 1983’s “Going Home (Theme Of The Local Hero)” before every home game.

Grammy Awards

Dire Straits won four Grammys, including Best Rock Performance and Best Music Video, and was nominated for seven others including Album of the Year and Best New Artist.

Headbands

Dire Straits wasn’t the most fashionable band around, but Mark Knopfler’s dedication to sporting a headband during the 1980s has since become iconic. 

Infidels

Mark Knopfler produced Bob Dylan’s 1983 album Infidels. Dire Straits Legacy keyboardist Alan Clark also played on the record. 

Jack Sonni 

Guitarist Jack Sonni played with Dire Straits from 1984 to 1988. He was in Dire Straits Legacy until passing away aged 68 in September. The upcoming shows at A Summer’s Day Live are dedicated to him.

Knopfler, Mark

The founder, frontman and flipping amazing lead guitarist of Dire Straits. Classic Rock described him as “a virtuoso” and Rolling Stone ranked him 27th on their 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. 

Lawyers 

After asking Sting to sing backing vocals on “Money For Nothing” Mark Knopfler got a call from The Police’s lawyers. Because Sting accidentally sang “I want my MTV” with the same melody as The Police’s hit “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” the lawyers demanded – and got – Sting a song co-writing credit.

Money for Nothing 

This pop-rock classic belittling the rock stars on TV was written verbatim from an actual conversation Knopfler overheard in a hardware store. The song reached No.4 here, spending 27 weeks in the charts.

New Zealand

Dire Straits regularly toured here throughout the 80s. Their first gig was at Western Springs Stadium in 1981. Their final was at Mt Smart Stadium a decade later in 1991. 

On Every Street

The 1991 follow-up album to Brothers in Arms couldn’t match its predecessor's success. With morale at an all-time low, the band called it quits after the accompanying tour.

Private Dancer 

Tina Turner’s darkly seductive comeback hit was written by Mark Knopfler for Dire Straits. He shelved it after deciding the lyrics were unsuitable for a male singer. 

Q Magazine

Popular UK music mag Q ranked Brothers in Arms number 51 in their 100 Greatest British Albums Ever list.

Romeo and Juliet 

Alongside its Shakespearian influence, this early Dire Straits hit from 1981 takes oblique inspiration from one of Knopfler’s real-life failed romances.

Sultans of Swing

Undisputedly Dire Straits’ greatest song. This sublime, melancholic rocker from their self-titled 1978 debut album is a sophisticated fusing of rock, blues and jazz and details the (mis)fortunes of a pub band. The 10-minute performance on 1984’s live album Alchemy will rock your socks off.

Twisting by the Pool

The band’s only No.1 single here was this rock n’ roll throwback from 1983’s ExtendedancEPlay EP. It spent four weeks at No.1 and was in the charts for 15 weeks. 

Uli Edel

In 1989 the director tapped Mark Knopfler to write the soundtrack for his grim drama Last Exit to Brooklyn. Edel followed up this film with Madonna’s 1992 erotic thriller Body of Evidence.

Vertigo 

The British label that signed Dire Straits in 1977 after a London radio DJ played a demo of “Sultans of Swing” on his show.

Walk of Life 

This cheery ditty off Brothers in Arms spent 14 weeks in our charts, peaking at No.3. The album’s producer wanted to leave it off the record but he was outvoted by the band. 

Xylophone 

The xylophone appears on “Love Over Gold”, the title track from the 1982
album that went straight to No.1 in our fair country. 

Yes 

The influential English prog rock band was formerly home to current Dire Straits Legacy bassist Trevor Horn. 

Zaragoza

This Spanish city was the literal end of the line for Dire Straits. The band played their final ever concert there at the Estadio La Romareda on
October 9, 1992. 

For tickets to A Summer’s Day Live, visit trademark.flicket.co.nz