"Tunnel of Love" is a 1981 single by

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 percuss ...

. It appears on the 1980 album ''

Making Movies ''Making Movies'' is the third studio album by British rock band Dire Straits released on 17 October 1980 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album includes the single ...

'', and subsequently on the live albums ''

Alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

'' and '' Live at the BBC'' and the greatest hits albums '' Money for Nothing'', '' Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits'', and '' The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations''. The song was also featured in the 1982 Richard Gere film ''

An Officer and a Gentleman Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of t ...

'' and was included in the film’s accompanying soundtrack album. "Tunnel of Love" is one of only three Dire Straits songs not credited to Mark Knopfler alone (the other two are " Money for Nothing" and " What's The Matter Baby?"). The song itself is entirely by Knopfler, but the opening instrumental is an arrangement of the "Carousel Waltz" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

''. The song mentions the ''

Spanish City The Spanish City is a dining and leisure centre in Whitley Bay, a seaside town in North Tyneside, Tyne & Wear, England. Erected as a smaller version of Blackpool's Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Pleasure Beach, it opened in 1910 as a concert hall, re ...

'' which, at the time the song was released, housed fun fair rides and amusements, referenced throughout the song. Spanish City is in Whitley Bay, which is also referenced near the end of the song (along with Cullercoats). It tells the story from the protagonist's point of view of meeting a young girl at the amusement park, spending time with her only to lose her in the park and unable to find her again.

Reception

''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci rated "Tunnel of Love" as Dire Straits' 4th best song and said it contains Mark Knopfler's best

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

. ''Classic Rock'' critic Paul Rees rated it to be Dire Straits' 2nd best song, saying that it combines " Dylan’s and Springsteen’s biggest moments with

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

grit."

Chart performance

"Tunnel of Love" reached the position of number 54 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

upon its single release in October 1981, a rather modest position despite being one of the band's most famous and popular compositions. However, it fared much better in other countries, especially Italy (#7) and Spain (#11).

Personnel

Dire Straits * Mark Knopfler – vocals, guitar * John Illsley – bass, vocals *

Pick Withers David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English rock and jazz drummer. He was the original drummer of rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet" ...

– drums, vocals ;Additional musicians *

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...

– piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

* Sid McGinnis – guitar (uncredited)

Music videos

Two music videos exist for the song, one depicting Mark Knopfler, John Illsley and

performing on a blank set, intercut with imagery and actors, most notably the 'heroine' played by a young

Leslie Ash Leslie Ash (born 19 February 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' (1985–1987), the BBC sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly'' (1992–1997), ITV drama '' Where the Heart Is'' (2000–2003), and BBC me ...

relevant to the lyrics, the other featuring a larger band arrangement and telling the story of a couple escaping a group of soldiers who chase them from a

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

Live performances

In 1980s concerts, Dire Straits played the central theme of The Animals' " Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" during an extended instrumental introduction to the song, as Knopfler talked about that group's hometown of Newcastle. Knopfler's outro solo has received numerous plaudits over the years: Mark Knopfler also sometimes played melody from chorus of " Stop! In the Name of Love" by

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

, as an additional intro prior to the "Carousel Waltz" while performing this song live.

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunnel Of Love (Dire Straits Song) 1981 singles Dire Straits songs Songs written by Mark Knopfler Songs with music by Richard Rodgers Song recordings produced by Mark Knopfler Song recordings produced by Jimmy Iovine 1980 songs