Talk:Dire Straits/Archive 1

Recording on CD
In the early 1980's I remember listening to a Dire Straits album on the new CD technology that was being demonstrated at the Royal Institution in London. However, it wasn't "Brothers in Arms" as stated in the article but "Love over Gold". Wasn't it this this came out on CD first and was THE 'test CD' for people who had just bought the new player? 82.213.248.138 14:47, 6 November 2005 (UTC) ElChoco
 * Love Over Gold was an analog recording (though an excellent one) released on LP and cassette in 1982, prior to the commercial availability of CD players outside Japan. As an example of some of the best-recorded popular music of its era, it was widely used as demo material at the time and may very well have been used in technology demonstrations like you describe (it was, to my recollection, indeed one of the first major-label CD releases and also probably a typical purchase for early-adopters of the CD format in 1983, but there weren't that many of them at the time).  Brothers In Arms was one of the first widely-available DDD (all-digital) recordings and came out concurrent with the boom in CD player sales.  Given the sales figures for the two albums, I'd say the article's claims that Brothers was the one that benefited from the CD boom are valid. Jgm 16:06, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

Disputed Statements
Claiming only two-hit songs quickly disqualifies one from making any judgment about this band. To say the least, DS had a whole disc worth of charted hits by 1988. Nontheless I don't see wikipedia as being like, say the Rolling Stone Rock Encyclopedia, in that statements like that will always be contested. BabuBhatt 11:05, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
 * I say it goes. It's opinion, technically.  Dire Straits is one of the best bands, and their guitarist alone proves it.  The number of hit singles proves nothing in terms of quality.
 * The second dispute seems unbased; according to the article, "Because of their unique sound and style some still consider them one of the greatest bands in the genre." This seems reasonable enough. Meanwhile, for the other dispute, it might be better to be checked, but I don't think it should be disputed; it would be better with a "reference needed" tag. Agreed? Darkhooda 17:40, 12 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Dire Straits had a unique sound, especially so for the disco-heavy period (1978) in which they started. Knopfler has proven himself to be a great guiarist, with Dire Straits and since.  I have found their albums to be largely excellent from start to finish, and don't confine myself to their pop hits.  An example is the "Comminique" album, which produced no top hits, but is superb from start to finish.  I guess you either like Dire Straits for their sound, and interesting lyrics, or not.(UTC)

Origins of the name
My English teacher, who worked with Knopfler in the same college before he became professional musician, told that the name "Dire straits" comes from the fact that atleast in the beginning of their career they were still quite amateurs, and often lacking guitars and sometimes even players just before the gig, thus the name. Should it be included to the article? He also told that Knopfler spoke (I don't now if he still does) in interviews very slowly and with simple words even though he is very intelligent and educated, just because he thought that it is the way how rock-stars speak. Latre -- Dire Straits ARE one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Mark Knofler is an ABSOLUTE genius on the guitar-you only have to listen to the Alchemy version of Sultans of Swing and the Live Aid performance of Money For Nothing. He is sensational and totally underrated. Money for Nothing defined the 80s music market.

'One of'? Vranak

picture
the image given only contains knopfler, so i don't see how it is remotely useful. we need a picture of the whole group. Joeyramoney 19:40, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

Knopfler's Guitar
I wonder if it would be useful to discuss Matk Knopfler's signature guitar sound. His playing is unique and lends itself well to long, sweeping, weeping, oft-powerful, oft-melancholy pasages and precise picking. He generates this atypical sound, as far as I remember hearing, by using nylon guitar strings as oppossed to steel ones. Should we mention that kind of thing? DocEss 17:44, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Knopfler's special sound has a lot do with his own style of finger picking. And as far as the nylon strings go, you can't use nylon strings on an electric guitar. That could be on some particular song, but I can't think of any where Knopfler uses a nylon string acoustic guitar. 85.76.253.210 (talk) 13:00, 10 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Knopfler has in fact used a nylon string acoustic (usually a Gibson Chet Atkins model) pretty extensively in his solo/soundtrack work. That or a similar guitar might also be the one on "Private Investigations".  It's certainly not his signature electric sound, which comes from (as mentioned) his picking style and pickups (not to mention incredible skill).  Jgm (talk) 20:49, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

pictures!
where are the photos? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.24.168.139 (talk) 17:23, 11 December 2006 (UTC).
 * Just thinking the same... -b 00:13, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Random question
Is Dire Straits an Expression?

If so, what does it mean?
 * Yes, see dire straits on dictionary.com. -Fnlayson 03:46, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Less gushing please —Preceding unsigned comment added by PedEye1 (talk • contribs)

References per WP:FN
I'm reverting the changes to conform with. --Rockfang (talk) 10:13, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

"Did not tour"
The Straits very definitely did tour Europe and North America in 1980 and -81 in support of Making Movies. Hal Lindes and Alan Clark along for the ride. 68Kustom (talk) 05:16, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

Telegraph Rd.
Is Dire Straits' song "Telegraph Rd." about the highway in Michigan? The article List of songs whose title includes geographical names mentions that song. --SuperDude 04:41, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I've read something along those lines - so probably yes, as far as can be confirmed, short of asking MK himself. Andrew Spinner 21:06, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

According to this article it is: Historic names Between Pontiac, Michigan and the Ohio border, the highway is known as Telegraph Road, its name before the highway system existed. Mark Knofpler of the rock group Dire Straits wrote the song Telegraph Road about the development and decay of the road, which he spotted enroute to a concert. It is a major surface route through western areas of Metro Detroit. The highway has 8 lanes and is often busy, particularly during rush hour.


 * The song is also clearly about the link between industrial decay, unemployment and fascism. "I got a right to go to work but there's no work to be found..." painting a picture of a country in economic decay (very topical in both Britain and the US in the early eighties) and fuelling riots and plausibly political extremism. It's fair to say that the ending makes a clear allusion to the Brixton riots in southern London (1981) and the Great Depression fifty years before ("and I don't wanna see it again") but that's technically a POV of course.Strausszek (talk) 12:29, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Dubious Statement
Is this statement fact or opinion? Are there any reference sources? James084 16:01, 5 January 2006 (UTC)
 * For one thing, the "genre" isn't even mentioned. If they are just "British Rock," then they are simply not among the best, compared to other "British Rock" bands like the Beatles. If Dire Straits performed a more less-well-known genre, then one might get away with claiming they are one of the greatest bands in the genre. IMO, they are kind of a two-hit group- Money for Nothing and Sultans of Swing are their only really good songs. -70.95.59.46 03:44, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Genre is mentioned - Dire Straits worked within the conventions of "classic" rock. I believe that the current wording of the sentence is very much close to the truth. The fact that someone (i.e. you) does not consider them to be a major influence does not make that statement an oppinion. You are also very wrong about them being a two hit band - there are 5 songs which reached UK top 10. A five hit group? Maybe. But sense the difference between your statement (which is an oppinion) and the sentence in the article. What is a fact anyways? How do you define "one of the greatest"? Dominykas Blyze 03:01, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I can't agree with that statement about only having two good songs - Dire Straits are one of the most famous band bands of all-time. And if you compare everybody to the Beatles, that still doesn't say much. At the same time, 'one of the best in the genre' (what genre?) is too vague. Maybe "one of the biggest-selling and most-respected bands of all-time" would be more accurate.Andrew Spinner 11:00, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

All such statements are points of opinion (although specifying "the genre" would be helpful). For example, I would not condider The Beatles as part of a Rock genre, British or otherwise.


 * "For example, I would not condider The Beatles as part of a Rock genre, British or otherwise." Hooboy.  It just gets sillier around here.  Dire Straits, like The Beatles, are a rock, or if you prefer, a rock-and-roll band. 68Kustom (talk) 05:14, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

"Although the band was formed in an era when punk rock was at the forefront..." This is pure editorializing. At the forefront of what? The pop-charts tell a very different history of music from what people who like to write about it tell. This statement is very dismissive. It effectively is saying "Dire Straits are a good band in spite of not being punk rock." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.126.85.38 (talk) 05:09, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

English band?
With two lead members being Scottish, why describe the band as English? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.48.146.217 (talk) 20:20, 17 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I've always thought it strange that bands, people, organisations etc. on Wikipedia get labelled as "English" at all, seeing as England isn't sovereign and is just a constituent part of a much larger country. Americans tend to use "England" when referring to Britain as a whole, I'd say that's the most likely explanation.  Anyway, I've changed it to "British" band, which removes any confusion.  And hopefully avoids offending any Scots.  Unless they're Nats of course... :P 213.121.151.174 (talk) 08:50, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Somebody has unilaterally changed it to English. As there was no discussion on here, I've changed it back to British. 213.121.151.174 (talk) 19:16, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

This text was stolen from a music guide.
"expanding the scope of Knopfler's storytelling through the moody, elegiac opening track "Once Upon a Time in the West." It may have been a Rolling Stone or Billboard record guide, but I've read that "elegiac" line before. That makes it a copyright issue. 68Kustom (talk) 22:04, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Prove it. Reading that "elegiac" line before doesn't make it a copyright issue. More details please?--Revilal90 (talk) 16:01, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Date they started gigging?
The opening of the article is blatantly contradictory to what you find when you read a bit. The first sentence, the infobox and the heading of section 1 all say they started in 1977, yet they had clearly been gigging and writing songs for some time before they recorded the demo. It says the original drummer left in the mid-seventies, well before the demo; this would imply they started at the latest in 74/75 (they were not full-time musicians at the time I think).Strausszek (talk) 12:34, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

Nominations and prizes
Can someone check the nominations and prizes they won because I think the information isn't right. Dethwatch (talk) 15:15, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

Local Hero
Why does the famous tune from this film have two names? On Sultans of Swing it is called Wild Theme; and yet it is also referred to as Going Home, when played by Hank Marvin?? 118.90.115.130 (talk) 02:16, 16 May 2009 (UTC)


 * The tunes "Wild Theme" and "Going Home" are pretty much the same, but in "Going Home" the band joins in after half of the song. It's two different songs on the, album. Just for an example, during Love Over Gold tour (Alchemy) and Brothers in Arms tour, they played Going Home, and during the On Every Street tour they played Wild Theme (the same as the record you mentioned). MaxxJ (talk) 17:55, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Wrong info?
What's with the names Calum Craik and Patrick Scott? They've never been a part of the band, right? Never heard of them before. MaxxJ (talk) 18:00, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Popularity claims...
Notable Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler fans include ...Lancaster University politics expert Robert Patterson, eminent historian Sophie Dover...

Neither have Wiki links, nor do google searches turn anything up for them - Are they spam? A tad suspicious methinks!

If you had to put in notable fans then there are many more than these folk that most people have never heard of. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.213.3.83 (talk) 13:18, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Both folk were added ~16th April 2008 - Removing them... 89.213.3.83 (talk) 13:54, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Update about reunion in Daily Star
"On the 4th August, it was reported in the Daily Star newspaper that Dire Straits would be reunite for a 2 day festival entitled "Brothers Back In Arms", which would involve a gig at Knebworth on the Saturday, then at the Milton Keynes Bowl on the Sunday, before finishing off with a headline set at the Hard Rock Calling festival."

Is this true? I can't find anything about it... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ruben1808 (talk • contribs) 09:31, 10 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Can't be true. There's isn't any info and Daily Star at all. I sent a message to Fletcher's forum just to see what he says about it. But it's probably just bullshit. MaxxJ (talk) 14:44, 17 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Obviously untrue considering that Hard Rock Calling was June 26th-28th, the week before the purported article.Andrew Spinner (talk) 11:31, 18 August 2009 (UTC)


 * It's now also confirmed by Guy Fletcher, that the reunion stuff was completely untrue. MaxxJ (talk) 22:57, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Unexplained tag
A tag was added to this article without any explanation as to what the issue(s) is. I don't see anything critical enough to warrant this template. Without some idea of what to fix, I suggest removing the tag. -Fnlayson (talk) 03:26, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Some early history of Mark Knopfler ?
I am almost 100% certain that a young Mark Knopfler spent some time in Glasgow staying in the flat of Billy Connelly. At the time Billy was still working in the docks and played part time folk music with the man who later sang Baker St. I was in the TA Paras with Billy and on occasions would go for a drink after and this young man would be in the corner picking away on a guitar. Perhaps it is during his time with Billy that he picked up his obvious love of Celtic music. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.25.240.173 (talk) 20:53, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Need article for *IN dire straits*
What does it mean to be in dire straits? This very common expression ought to have its own wikipedia article. The David Knopfler article mentions this expression, but all instances of the expression (abbreviated, or not) that i can find link to the band, not to an article explaining the expression itself. Richard Myers (talk) 22:28, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Genre
What is the exact genre for Dire Straits? Just "rock" is very inaccurate.--188.26.48.169 (talk) 07:04, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

Brothers In Arms CD vs LP content
The compact cassette version of Brothers In Arms (UK version at least) content is exactly the same as the CD. 71.51.237.9 (talk) 17:03, 15 January 2011 (UTC)