"Tunnel of Love" is a 1981 single by Dire Straits. 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 sing ...

'', 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Live at the BBC {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Live at the BBC or BBC Recordings are recordings originally made for or by BBC Radio 1. Many recordings were released under several name variants. Live at the BBC *Live at the BBC (The Beatles ...

'' 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 Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

film '' An Officer and a Gentleman'' 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 Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical '' Carousel''. 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, it opened in 1910 as a concert hall, restaurant, roof garden an ...

'' which, at the time the song was released, housed fun fair rides and amusements, referenced throughout the song. Spanish City is in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

, which is also referenced near the end of the song (along with

Cullercoats Cullercoats is a coastal settlement in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Historically in Northumberland, it has now been absorbed into the wider Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth to the ...

). 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. ''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 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 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 s ...

– vocals, guitar *

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, ...

– 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 Jul ...

– 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 *

Sid McGinnis Sidney Foster "Sid" McGinnis (born October 6, 1949) is an American musician and guitarist, best known for his work on the CBS television show ''Late Show with David Letterman'', as part of the CBS Orchestra. The Pittsburgh-born guitarist made h ...

– guitar (uncredited)

Music videos

Two

music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

exist for the song, one depicting

and

performing on a blank set, intercut with imagery and actors, most notably the 'heroine' played by a young Leslie Ash 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 The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

' "

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for the American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been co ...

" 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 "Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the #1 position on the ''Billboard'' ...

" 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 successf ...

, 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