Great Moments in Vinyl plays Dire Straits

November 28, 2018 • Martyrs’ • Chicago, IL

Forty years ago, Mark Knopfler wrapped his fingers around a ’61 Fender Stratocaster and made music fans around the world sit up and take notice. With his band Dire Straits, Knopfler crafted a sound that was refreshingly pure in a music industry roiling with heavily produced rock, feisty punk, and the beginnings of the synth-driven sounds of new wave.

The band’s self-titled debut album cost a mere $22,000 to produce. But it shot to the top of the charts around the world thanks to the instant classic “Sultans of Swing.”

It was a powerful debut, and Dire Straits lived up to their promise on the records that followed. But in 1985, the band outdid themselves and reached the pinnacle of their career with the album Brothers in Arms which sold an astounding 30 million copies.

This set features Scott Tipping, Philip Roach, Scott Stevenson, Jonathan Reed, John Bowes, Jack Cassidy, and William Lindsey Cochran.