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Live At The BBC (Dire Straits Album)
''Live at the BBC'' is a live album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 26 June 1995 on Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album was recorded on 22 July 1978 at BBC Studios in London, with one track recorded on 31 January 1981. The studio versions of the first six songs were released on ''Dire Straits''. ''Live at the BBC'' was the band's third live album, preceded by '' Alchemy: Dire Straits Live'' (1984) and '' On the Night'' (1993). Release ''Live at the BBC'' was released on 26 June 1995, the year in which the group officially disbanded. According to Knopfler, the album was released because Dire Straits still owed one album to Phonogram Records (now Mercury Records). This album was a means to end the legal contract, before Mark Knopfler began his solo career (still signed to Mercury). Composition ''Live at the BBC'' consists of eight songs, the first seven were recorded for the BBC ''Live in Concert'' series on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percussion). They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995. Their first single, "Sultans of Swing", from their 1978 self-titled debut album, reached the top ten in the UK and US charts. It was followed by hit singles including "Romeo and Juliet" (1981), "Private Investigations" (1982), "Twisting by the Pool" (1983), " Money for Nothing" (1985), and "Walk of Life" (1985). Their most commercially successful album, '' Brothers in Arms'' (1985), has sold more than 30 million copies; it was the first album to sell a million copies on compact disc and is the eighth-bestselling album in UK history. According to the '' Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'', Dire Straits have spent over 1,100 weeks on the UK albums chart, the fifth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music. Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II. With Hart he wrote musicals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including '' Pal Joey'', '' A Connecticut Yankee'', '' On Your Toes'' and '' Babes in Arms.'' With Hammerstein he wrote musicals through the 1940s and 1950s, such as '' Oklahoma!'', '' Flower Drum Song'', '' Carousel'', ''South Pacific'', ''The King and I'', and '' The Sound of Music''. His collaborations with Hammerstein, in particular, are celebrated for bringing the Broadway musical to a new maturity by telling stories that were focused on characters and drama ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Illsley
John Edward Illsley (born 24 June 1949) is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist of the rock band Dire Straits. With it, he has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award. As one of the founding band members, with guitarist brothers Mark and David Knopfler, and drummer Pick Withers, Illsley played a role in the development of Dire Straits' sound. By the time the group disbanded in 1995 changes in personnel meant that Illsley and lead singer Mark Knopfler were the only two original band members remaining. Illsley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018. Illsley has produced two albums of his own, with Mark Knopfler as a guest musician, and has helped with Mark's personal projects and charities. He released two more albums, influenced by the Celtic-based band Cunla. Biography Early life Illsley's childhood memories include searching for sticklebacks in the River Jordan in Little Bowden (near Marke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Knopfler
David Knopfler (born 27 December 1952) is a British singer-songwriter. He was born in Scotland and raised in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, from the age of two. Together with his older brother Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, and Pick Withers, he founded the rock band Dire Straits in 1977, serving as rhythm guitarist on their first two albums. After quitting the band, Knopfler embarked upon a solo career as a recording artist. Knopfler initially created smaller record labels, publishing companies, and indie labels. Early life Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to an English mother, Louisa Mary (née Laidler), a teacher, and a Hungarian Jewish father, Erwin Knopfler, an architect. When Knopfler was four, his family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where he grew up and later attended Gosforth Grammar School. By the age of 11, Knopfler owned a guitar, a piano and a drum kit, and by 14 he was playing and singing his own compositions in folk clubs. After attending Bristol Po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a solo career after the band first dissolved in 1988. Dire Straits reunited in 1990, but dissolved again in 1995. He is now an independent solo artist. Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in Blyth, near Newcastle in England, from the age of seven. After graduating from the University of Leeds and working for three years as a college lecturer, Knopfler co-founded Dire Straits with his younger brother, David Knopfler. The band recorded six albums, including '' Brothers in Arms'' (1985), one of the best-selling albums in history. After they disbanded in 1995, Knopfler began a solo career, and has produced nine solo albums. He has composed and produced film scores for nine films, including '' Local Hero'' (1983), ''Cal'' (1984) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultans Of Swing
"Sultans of Swing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, written by lead vocalist Mark Knopfler. The demo of the song was recorded at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977 and quickly acquired a following after it was put in rotation on BBC Radio London. Its popularity soon reached record executives, and Dire Straits were offered a contract with Phonogram Records. The song was then re-recorded in February 1978 at Basing Street Studios for the band's eponymous debut album. The B-side, "Eastbound Train", is a live track that otherwise only appears on the '' Live at the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival'' album. The single would go on to reach the top 5 in Canada, South Africa, and the United States as well as the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The song has since largely remained a staple of classic rock radio, and is one of the band's most recognizable songs. Background and composition "Sultans of Swing" was composed by Mark Knopfler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Of Love
"Water of Love" is a song written by Mark Knopfler and originally released on Dire Straits' self-titled debut album. It was also released as a single in the Netherlands in October 1978 and in Australia in December 1978 as a follow-up to the band's first single "Sultans of Swing". The single reached number 28 in the Netherlands and number 54 in Australia. The song was also included on Dire Straits live album '' Live at the BBC'' and on the multi-artist compilation album ''More Than Unplugged''. Both "Water of Love" and "Down to the Waterline," as well as "Sultans of Swing," were among the five songs included on Dire Straits' demo tape that the band sent to Charlie Gillett, who played the tape on his radio show leading to the band's first recording contract. It is one of four songs on side 1 of the ''Dire Straits'' album which deals with unhappy relationships, and author Michael Oldfield believes that the song is basically about the break-up of Mark Knopfler's marriage. Knopfler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down To The Waterline
"Down to the Waterline" is a 1978 song written by Mark Knopfler and first released by Dire Straits as the first song on their debut album, '' Dire Straits''. It was also included on the demo tape that the band sent to Charlie Gillett, which led to their first recording contract. It was subsequently released as the B-side of the "Water of Love" single. Lyrics and music The lyrics of "Down to the Waterline" tell of a brief sexual tryst. According to Mark Knopfler's brother and fellow Dire Straits member David, the song's imagery is based on Mark's memories of walking along the River Tyne at night under the lights with his girlfriend when he was a teenager. ''News and Courier'' contributor Joel McNally describes how "the band appears out of the fog" to start the song, noting that the effect is "not hokey." ''Hartford Courant'' critic J. Greg Robertson describes the beginning of the song saying "the soft, haunting electric guitar and cymbals introduction abruptly switches into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Gui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communiqué (Dire Straits Album)
''Communiqué'' is the second studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 5 June 1979 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album featured the single " Lady Writer," which reached number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 51 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached number one on album charts in Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Sweden, number 11 in the United States and number 5 in the United Kingdom. ''Communiqué'' was later certified gold in the United States, platinum in the United Kingdom and double-platinum in France. It is the last album to feature David Knopfler, who would later depart from the band during the making of their following album and the last with the original lineup. Recording After the Dire Straits Tour finished in Hitchin on 18 November 1978, Dire Straits set to work on recording their second album. The recording sessions for ''Communiqué'' took pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Writer
"Lady Writer" is a 1979 song by Dire Straits, which appears on the band's second album ''Communiqué''. Overview When asked what the song was about, lead singer Mark Knopfler said that he was watching TV one day, and there was a lady writer on the TV, and that's basically where the idea for the song came from. Because the song says the writer is "talking about the Virgin Mary", some have speculated that the writer in question is Marina Warner, a view shared by Warner herself. Reception ''Billboard'' described the song as a "hypnotic rocker" with "sizzling instrumentation" and "distinctive vocals." ''Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...'' described it as being "very similar musically to Sultans of Swing'">Sultans_of_Swing.html" ;"title="Sultans of Swing">S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sting (musician)
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (born 2 October 1951), known as Sting, is an English musician and actor. He was the frontman, songwriter and bassist for new wave rock band The Police from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music. As a solo musician and a member of The Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards: he won Song of the Year for " Every Breath You Take", three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2019, he received a BMI Award for "Every Breath You Take" becoming the most-played song in radio history. In 2002, Sting received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
