Mark has a distinctive vocal and it compliments his guitar playing perfectly, leaving room for some delicious fills in between the lyrics. That's what make him more special as a performer.

This is definitely my taste in music! Thank you for the reaction video.

Great song from a great band and album. Tunnel of love is my favourite by a fraction.

“Sultans of Swing” from their first album was their greatest song and launched their career. It was released when punk/new wave was the thing , reviving good old guitar-based rock and roll. It is a classic.

Triffic Band , saw them in 1983 , the Alchemy Tour ! Which is an outstanding live Album , a must listen to ! First 4 albums are Ace . Brothers in Arms the track is great ! the Album got beaten to death in the 80s ! An Album made for the Film "Local Hero " is a great Album , Gerry Rafferty is on a Track which is Brill . Cheers .

Great band and one of my favourite songs is one you should consider.....Private Investigations.

I believe it was Romeo & Juliet, Skateaway and Tunnel of Love

Great band, great guitarist, it's good to hear a track which you don't hear so often.

In the early days of MTV 📺 they often screened Skateaway from this album with the star roller skating girl. It's a great video.

LP #1 and #2 are Smithsonian collector LPs. Esp #2. Communique. Start with #2 and then #1. The live version of Sultans of Swing and Telegraph going around on reaction channels are also amazing.

Hi haniers, scott uk here Thanks for the earth dies screaming I was ten in 1980 when this came out. I was gripped by it instantly. I think it was their first album. no wonder they went big. Brothers in arms was one of the best albums of the eighties. And private investgations is my favourite single outside of that album.thanks.

My favourite song of all time is Telegraph Road from their fourth album Love Over Gold. There will be many who would tell you to listen to their live version from Alchemy, but I would urge you to listen to the studio version first. It is Mark Knopfler’s Magnum Opus, a 14 minute epic inspired by a tour-bus ride down Telegraph Road in Michigan whilst Mark was also readying a Norwegian book called Growth Of The Soil. The linear development on the road coupled with themes in the book turned into a song that starts as a documentation of the beginnings of a town then its boom and bust times, and eventually a more personal exploration of how those bust times affect the dreams and relationships of people getting mired in a decline that is beyond their control. Given the difficulties you guys and many others including myself are finding in trying to just live a modest life whilst the economic and social problems of the world crowd in, this is probably a song that will resonate quite well. It’s almost (but not quite) like an English version of Born To Run; whereas the hype of the American Dream allows Bruce to write a triumphant and romantic edged version of these types of events, the more depressed and struggle-filled life of a Newcastle boy like Mark gives the ideas a more desperate feel and the song is greater for it. I hope you’ll give it a go - studio version, turn it up loud, and bask in the impeccable production and the imagery of the lyrics.

Another great Dire Straits trilogy imo, Six Blade Knife, Down to the Waterline, Wild West End.

You’re right about the drummer. Pick Withers (what a name) played on their first four albums, and he has amazing feel. His hi-hat work is superb, really adding to the groove of the songs. You can hear his Mersey-beat tendencies and an interest in making the drums musical, not just a rhythmic element. He was in all the early videos, but he left before Brotters In Arms. That album ended up with a lot of session drumming, but their live double album and live video (both called Alchemy) featured a drummer called Terry Williams, who was more bombastic than Pick. In truth, whilst I don’t think Terry was anywhere as good as Pick, the live album is definitely successful because of the energy that Terry brought in. Terry also featured in the videos from Brothers In Arms, but he contributed nothing that didn’t get re-recorded EXCEPT the drum solo at the start of Money For Nothing. So, Terry became for most people the face of the drumming in Dire Straits, but Pick was the only real drummer who was actually ‘in the band’ as a proper member and contributor.

I dropped an email with a rare photo of The Go-Betweens.

Guys, I've dropped a good and rare picture of The Sports. If you do decide to do ''Don't Throw Stones'', the picture I sent could come to good use. It's an Arista records advertisement of the ''Don't Throw Stones'' album for the US market.

Agreed on his vocals. Mark is absolutely nobody’s singer, and it’s usually even less interesting in a live performance. But it’s got a quasi-Dylanesque flavour, and I tend to not focus on it.

The album Making Movies was when DS changed direction and became more daring and with a bigger sound..The album is superb apart from the last track...what were they thinking!!!😂

Dire Straits have recorded a handful of songs I love and a load that bore me to tears. Side one of Making Movies is one of the best sides of vinyl ever released, this is from side 2. Pick Withers was the perfect drummer for the band and Mark was not kind about him when he left. He's either someone who won't let anyone stand in the way of his musical vision, or he can be a bit of an a***hole. You can take your pick, and hardly uncommon in the music industry. But I don't think Dire Straits was ever a democracy and really a band in name only.

a few singers IMO were influenced by the style of BobDylan ,but more Dire Straits please .Especially 'Private Investigations ' live ,great storytelling in the lyrics .

The Sports - Don't Throw Stones nzoz1979

Yeah not everyone flavour vocally 😂. But hey musically excellent and Knofler writes very good narrative songs.

There is a long list of very famous and successful "Singers" that don't have a great vocal sound.