Mark Knopfler formed Dire Straits in England in 1977 by recruiting his little
brother and friends into the band. While Knopfler sang and played lead guitar, his
brother David played guitar. Other members were John Illsley on bass guitar and Pick
Withers on drums. Their music was embraced by the general public because they took a
different approach to music. While other bands were getting louder, Dire Straits
preferred to stay quieter and produce more mellow songs. The different members were living in relative poverty when they recorded five
songs. They based their name on their situation. One of those songs, "Sultans of
Swing" became such a hit that they were signed to a deal with Phonogram Records.
They released their first album in 1978 and went on tour with the Talking Heads
later that year. In 1978 Dire Straits toured the U.S. and released a second album. Their third
album was released in 1980 and David Knopfler decided to leave the group. Instead of
replacing him, they used another artist to play his part during their recording
sessions. After a fourth album, Pick Withers also left. Hal Lindes would leave a few
years later as well. Their 1985 album produced their biggest hits to date, "Money
for Nothing" and "Walk of Life." The group continued to tour the world for the next few years, but broke up in the
late 1980s, with Knopfler forming another band. Within three years though, Dire
Straits was back together. The group officially disbanded in 1995 after releasing a
live version of their music. As of 2007, the band has sold over 120 million albums
worldwide. Their best known songs are "Sultans of Swing", "Money for Nothing," and
"Romeo and Juliet." Former band members have expressed interest in reforming Dire
Straits, but the lone holdout remains Mark Knopfler. He claims to have no interest
in returning to those roots. Each of the members has their own official website including Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler, Hal Lindes, John Abbey and Guy Fletcher. MTV has
their own page devoted to Dire Straits. The website includes music videos, a
biography, and information on the Music Video Awards they were nominated for in the
past. Rolling Stone
has a similar page, with pictures and previous magazine covers on display. Mustafa Obadasi?s Dire Straits
Page is and unusual fan built page. This was the first fan page ever devoted to
the band in Turkey. The Dire
Straits Guitar Page was also created by a fan of the band. This fan lists
interviews with the band as well as in depth information relating to their specific
instruments. A full discography and listing of the songs arranged by album can be found at All Music. Fans
can also find lyrics to all their songs at A-Z Lyrics and fan photos at
BBC. Cover Browser is another
unique website in that this one lists all the album covers of the band over the
years.