In Dire Straits

Sorry but I have to admit it, I was never a great fan of Punk Rock.  Yes, I did like some of the music, particularly Magazine, The Jam, The Ramones and The Cure, but generally no.  That is not to say that I don't think Punk was absolutely necessary in order to  shake up a music industry that was getting complacent and churning out formulaic 'hits' aimed at the younger audience who had yet to develop real appreciation.... bit like today really :-)

And shake it up it did!  It was like the early 60's all over again (only with, dare I say, some better music).  The result was that many non and post-punk but excellent bands felt they had a chance of being heard; once again they could play what they liked rather than what was dictated by an industry dominated by large music companies whose only motivation was money.

One of these (and again in my incredibly humble - or is that ignorant - opinion) was of course Dire Straits.  Fronted by Mark Knoppfler who quickly stamped his mark on the music scene as one of the great guitarists.  They didn't exactly burst onto the music scene but crept in slowly; growing a fervent fan base with songs like 'Sultans of Swing', 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Private Investigations'.  Never really a 'hit single' band, Knopffler concentrated on quality albums and in the band's relatively short lived existence produced some of the finest.

An old friend put me onto them after the first album release and I decided to check them out, but rather than just listening to the album in a record shop or try to hear them on the radio, I just went ahead and bought the album.  Again, first listen - hooked; just my type of music (actually most music is my type but let's just say I really really liked that album). 

The next two did not disappoint; however, I was sitting in a library car park waiting for a friend on a saturday when I first heard Private Investigations on the radio and was totally blown away.  I immediately went out and bought the 12 inch single, something I rarely did as I always waited until any band's singles appeared on an album.  Then of course I did buy the fabulous Lover Over Gold, my last Dire Straits vinyl purchase; because then of course CDs had appeared and one of the first 3 CDs that I ever bought was Brothers in Arms.

I also have all of Knoppfler's solo output and still play them all; a class act that will live forever.