Dire Straits

Dire Straits was a British rock band that was formed in Newcastle, England in 1977. The band's line up consisted of Mark Knopfler on vocals and guitar, his younger brother David Knopfler on rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, John Illsley on bass guitar and backing vocals, along with Pick Withers on drums and percussion.

The band was seemingly out of place in the musical landscape at the time, sounding more like a pub rock band in a post punk rock era of music. Instead of being upbeat and cheerful like most pub rock music, Dire Straits was somber and melancholy. Nonetheless, their music caught the attention of listeners and record executives.

The band's self titled debut album in 1978 caught fire in the United States and hit number one in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and eventually would land in the top ten in every European country. The most recognizable track from the album was "Sultans of Swing". That song hit number four on the Billboard Top 100 in 1979. The album went double platinum in the United States.http://tsort.info/music/9qangq.htmhttp://tsort.info/music/1xv8vv.htm

The band would release Communique in 1979 and the popular Making Movies album in 1980. David Knopfler left the band during recording sessions for the album to pursue his own solo career. Making Movies went platinum and was known best for its tracks "Romeo and Juliet" and "Tunnel of Love" which was featured in the box office hit An Officer and a Gentleman.

The band is best known for their album Brothers in Arms, which came out in 1985 and has been certified 13 times platinum. That album featured the track "Money for Nothing" with guest vocals from Sting of the popular band The Police. The album was number one in the United States for nine weeks and also featured hits such as "Walk of Life", "So Far Away" and the title track. It also won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with a Vocal in 1985 at the 28th annual Grammy Awards.http://www2.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=Dire%20Straits&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1

The band then went into hibernation from 1987 until 1990 before releasing their final studio album On Every Street in 1991. The band disbanded for good in 1995, with Knopfler continuing to stay on the scene with a solo career, in which several of his former band mates have appeared.