The bootleg Dire Straits – Leeds – January 30 (31?), 1978 is one of the earliest Dire Straits live recordings (actually the only earlier live recording is only one song – Eastbound Train from the Hope & Anchor pub, London, December 1977). This bootleg concert was recorded about one week before the recoding sessions for the very first Dire Straits album. This gig was the last of a short England […]
Mark Knopfler’s guitar sound on the first two Dire Straits albums is firmly associated to the 1 & 2 position (bridge & middle) of the 5-way switch. This position causes a special, nasal “out of phase” sound. The term out of phase is technically incorrect as both pickups are still in phase but – similar to a true out of phase wiring – certain frequencies are cancelled or at least […]
It is always a nice surprise to see “historic” pictures or recordings appear from the very early Dire Straits era. This time no pictures but a recording from the Talking Heads tour in early 1978 – to be precise , from February 5 at the Greyhound Croydon. This was the last gig of the Talking Heads tour on which Dire Straits were the support band, 5 days after the gig […]
Please use the comment function at the bottom of the page to add any missing relevant info. Manufacturer: Fender Model: Vibrolux (6G11 or 6G11-A) Year: ca. 1961 (the model was produced from 1961 – 1963) Serial No.: ? Power: ca. 30 watts from two 6L6 tubes Speaker: one 12″ speaker, probably Sound City Speaker (= Fane?) First seen with MK: 1977 (recording the first demo tape) Still in MK’s possession/Last […]
Please use the comment function at the bottom of the page to add any missing relevant info. Manufacturer: Fender (possibly parts were from a Japanese Strat copy) Model: Stratocaster Year: 1962 (?) Serial No.: ?? (the number 80470 found in some old gear lists turned out to be the one of David’s black Strat) Colour: red (non-original refinish, between fiesta and dakota red) Woods: ? body / maple neck/ laminated […]
Today while surfing youtube I found this rare video which I have never seen before, showing Mark Knopfler as a guest on a Brendan Crocker gig in Leeds, June 18, 1989 (the youtube video title says July 18, June 18 is confirmed and I doubt that there was a second gig one month later). For those who don’t know him, Brendan Crocker is an old friend of Mark’s, also a […]
As promised in the comments on one of the last articles, I tried to find all pictures of one of Dire Straits’ first gigs – the one at the summer party for Charlie Gilett’s Honky Tonk Radio Show, on the Clapham Common bandstand, September 10, 1977. Unfortunately there are only 4 pictures it seems, not 5 or 6 as I hoped (the one on the sleeve of the Honky Tonk […]
Mark Knopfler got his first Strat only shortly before Dire Straits were formed. Before that time he had played a Gibson Les Paul Special through a Selmer tube combo amp in a band called The Cafe Racers. It is not clear if he owned the Selmer amp or if it was borrowed. What we know is that when he got the Strat, he plugged it into a Fender Vibrolux which […]
The guitar playing on Setting me up from Dire Straits’ first album is a true masterpiece. The recording features three guitar tracks: the opening riff, the lead guitar (both played by Mark), and a strummed ryhthm guitar by Mark’s brother David. On Youtube you can find countless attempts by different players to play this riff. Most of them try it with standard tuning, which also works more or less. However, […]