On The Road Again: Dire Straits "Dire Straits"

domingo, 3 de diciembre de 2017

Dire Straits "Dire Straits"

Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 7 October 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album produced the hit single "Sultans of Swing", which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached #1 on album charts in Germany, Australia and France, #2 in the United States and #5 in the United Kingdom. Dire Straits was later certified double-platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Dire Straits came about through a musical collaboration between Mark and David Knopfler. After graduating from college with a degree in English, Mark Knopfler took a job writing for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Wanting to pursue a career in music, he took a teaching position at Loughton College while playing music at night, performing with pub bands around town, including Brewer's Droop and Cafe Racers. Following his divorce and struggling financially, Knopfler moved into his brother David's flat, where John Illsley also lived. In 1977, Mark, John, and David decided to form a band. They recruited drummer Pick Withers and began rehearsing. A friend of Mark's helped give the group their name, a reference to their financial situation. After a few months of rehearsals, the band borrowed enough money to record a five-song demo tape, which included the song "Sultans of Swing." They took the tape to disc jockey Charlie Gillett, who had a radio show called "Honky Tonk" on BBC Radio London. The band respected Gillett and sought out his advice. Gillett liked what he heard and started playing "Sultans of Swing" on his show. Two months later, Dire Straits signed a recording contract with the Vertigo Records division of Phonogram Inc.

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 "Wild West End." He also used a black Telecaster Thinline (serial number 226254) on "Setting Me Up". David played a black Fender Stratocaster and a Harmony Sovereign acoustic guitar. The album was produced by Muff Winwood, and engineered by Rhett Davies.

The album was released in the US on 20 October 1978. The first single released was "Sultans of Swing" which first broke into the United States top five early in the spring of 1979, becoming a hit a full five months after the album was released there, and then reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart. "Water of Love" was also released as a single in some countries, and charted in Australia, reaching number 54, and in the Netherlands, reaching number 28.

"Sultans of Swing" was re-released as a single in the UK in November 1988 to promote the greatest hits compilation Money for Nothing, released in October that year.

The album was remastered and reissued with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 to most of the world excluding the U.S. and on 19 September 2000 in the United States.

The album cover artwork is taken from a painting by Chuck Loyola. The Dire Straits Fender icon, which appears on the back cover, was designed by Geoff Halpern.

Dire Straits promoted the release of their first single and album with the Dire Straits Tour, which started on 6 June 1978 at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton, included 55 shows, ending on 18 November 1978 at the College of Education in Hitchin. The European tour included concerts in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. These concerts presented Dire Straits with their largest audiences to that date. The first leg of the tour promoted their first single, "Sultans of Swing". This first leg took the band around Great Britain in June and July 1978, performing in England, Scotland and Wales. The band typically performed in small halls with a maximum capacity of 1,000. The second leg of the tour promoted the band's debut album. This leg took the band to several European countries, where they met journalists and performed on television programmes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mark Knopfler