Artist · EveryDisc catalogue

Dire Straits

A British rock band founded in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar, vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), bassist John Illsley, and drummer Pick Withers. The band's manager for almost its entire career was Ed Bicknell. The musical style of Dire Straits, which developed from pub rock, can be characterized as melodic blues rock, which experienced a strong influence from country, rock and roll, folk, and jazz. Melancholic compositions predominated in the group's work. Despite the fact that the group was formed during the heyday of punk rock and contrasted sharply with it in sound, thanks to Mark Knopfler's talent, it gained worldwide popularity. Dire Straits entered the ranks of the most commercially successful groups in the history of rock music; in total, more than 120 million copies of their albums have been sold. The most popular album of the group, Brothers in Arms, sold over 30 million copies. The group's most famous hits are: "Telegraph Road," "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet," "Private Investigations," "Money for Nothing," "Walk of Life," "Tunnel of Love," "Your latest trick," "You and your friend," "Brothers in Arms," and "Calling Elvis."