Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977. They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1991 to 1995. Their most commercially successful album, Brothers in Arms, has sold more than 30 million copies. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
About Dire Straits in brief
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977. They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1991 to 1995. Dire Straits are one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with album sales of over 100 million. Their most commercially successful album, Brothers in Arms, has sold more than 30 million copies. They have spent over 1,100 weeks on the UK albums chart, the fifth most of all time. They won four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and various other awards. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. The group’s first single, \”Sultans of Swing\”, from their 1978 self-titled debut album, reached the top ten in the UK and US charts. Their stripped-down sound contrasted with punk rock and demonstrated a roots rock influence that emerged from pub rock. There were several changes in personnel, with Mark Knopfler and John Illsley being the only consistent members. After disbanding once again in 1995, KnopFler launched his solo career full-time. He has since declined reunions with the band. The name Dire Strait was coined by a musician flatmate of Withers, allegedly thought up while they were rehearsing in the kitchen of a friend, Simon Cowe, of Lindisfarne. The first album was recorded at B Street studios in Notting Hill, London, in February 1978, at a cost of £12,500.
Produced by Muff Winwood, it was first released in the United Kingdom on Vertigo Records, then a division of Phonogram Records Inc. It was the first album to sell a million copies on compact disc, and is the eighth-bestselling album in UK history. Their 1985–1986 world tour, which included a performance at Live Aid in July 1985, set a record in Australasia. Their final world tour from 1991-1992 sold 7. 1 million tickets, and they were called ‘the biggest British rock group of the 80s’ by Classic Rock magazine, their 1985– 1986 world tour was the most successful in the history of the music industry. In 1977, the group recorded a five-song demo tape which included their future hit single, ‘Sultan of Swing’, as well as ‘Water of Love’ and ‘Down to the Waterline’. In October 1977, they recorded tapes of ‘Southbound Again’ for BBC Radio London; and in November demo tapes were made of ’Real Girl’s’ ‘Setting Me Up’ and ’Eastbound Train’ The group’S first single was ‘Romeo and Juliet’; it was released in 1978, and it came to the attention of the A&R representative at Warner Bros. Records in New York City. She felt that it was the music of the kind of audiences that she was working with.
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This page is based on the article Dire Straits published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 10, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
