Talk:Mark Knopfler

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Contents

[edit] Point of clarity proposal

In the article where it says "...Dire Straits went on a lengthy hiatus, with Knopfler concentrating mainly on film soundtracks. " I was confused as I don't know which Knopfler brother the article is talking about. I suppose the article is talking about Mark but since that is the focus but I think it would be more clear if the article referred to Mark Knopfler as Mark instead of Knopfler since there are two Knopfler brothers in Dire Straits. If i'm off base please let me know. :) MD (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 00:40, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nationality

I can't say that I've ever thought of Knopfler as Scottish. He was born in Scotland, granted, but as the article says his family moved to the North-East of England when he was very young, and he spent most of his youth there. Anybody who knows about English accents can just listen to him speak (or sing, for that matter) and know straight away that he's a Geordie! (I imagine that is how he would describe himself, too — tho' I can't be certain of that.) Anybody disagree? R Lowry 15:59, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Probably fair to call him British unless any interviews can be found where he claims to be either Scottish or English. Rod Stewart was born in England but claims to be Scottish, though his article says he is English. 13/08/05
Who says you have to think of him as Scottish?
I'd agree with calling him British. Much less confusing. Crimson Shadow 18:56, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Despite the fact that there is a reference next to the English description....

What on earth does Mark Knopfler's accent have to do with anything? Heritage and birth determine nationality, not an accent that has developed because of where his family moved to. Calling him British is more than fair to those who claim he is a Geordie. Personally, based on his music, I think he is proud of being both Scottish and a Geordie. 82.40.19.192 04:35, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Could we somehow find a solution to this? The constant back and forth is ridiculous and almost disgraceful. I have no idea about the politically correct solution and my search so far has brought up no real proof for either variant. So I have to admit that I'm not really helpful here :-/ Jenser 20:54, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Describing him as British seems most appropriate, to be honest. Clydey 15:30, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
I tend to agree (based on my poor knowledge of the situation), but after several weeks of calm with calling him "British", we had some back and forth recently :-/ Jenser 23:15, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
Must have missed that. I have a feeling it will still continue, in that case, regardless of how he is described. 77.102.8.117 08:51, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes, it's getting quite irritating. "British" seems to be the safest option. Andrew Spinner 12:42, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

Which passport does he use? Scottish or English? :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.29.232.191 (talk) 11:02, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Mark Knopfler should be described as British and recent edit calling him Scottish should be reverted in my opinion. Paul210 (talk) 05:50, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] about his guitars

While he usually plays strat type guitars, I don't think he usually played fender strats. And he also did some recordings with Gibson Les Paul guitars. +MATIA ☎ 10:46, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

I would suggest mention be made of his fondness for National steel guitars; he has in many interviews [1] mentioned that he developed an affinity for National resonator guitars early in his career, and they have been featured on some of his most popular songs, including "Romeo and Juliet", as well as being featured on the cover photo of "Brothers in Arms".

As far as I know, the origin of Knopfler's family is Hungarian. His ancestors have emigrated from Miskolc, Hungary, I really don't know when. Mark was already born in the UK, of course.

Peter 2005.11.01

The fact that Knopfler thinks of himself as a Geordie is strongly supported by the existence of titles referring to "Geordieland" - especially on "The Ragpicker's Dream" - as in "Why Aye Man" ("times were tough in Geordieland ... humped it up from Newcastle to here ... I miss my river Tyne") or in "Fare Thee Well Northumberland" ("Roll on, Geordieboy, roll on"). 195.140.122.22 16:13, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

If you're born in Scotland you are Scottish.

Eileen

What a silly comment. Gazh 20:23, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dave Edmunds?

I have on my computer an album where Knopfler played with Dave Edmunds (who had that one hit, "I Hear You Knockin" a cover of some 50s blues song). I do not see this on the discography. Can anyone enlighten me if this is not, in fact, a real album, or if the discography is missing the entry?

Thanks. --67.42.33.65 11:28, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Django Reinhardt as an influence

Possibly - the soundtrack to Metroland contains a historical recording of Django, along with MK's music. Zapiens 01:26, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Music?

Is it correct to have his children listed, and his degree mentioned under the section entitled "Music", which appears to be more about his guitars?

Also, the reference to 'going home' from the movie 'local hero, takes readers to the Rolling Stones song. This needs to be tidied up.

[edit] Improving the quality of this article - a concerted effort

Now that this article has been rate "start" on the assessment scale, I fel we now have something clear to work towards. Do you think we could make a concerted effort to improve this article and raise it to at least B standard, then Good article standard? What areas do you think need improving? I think perhaps these need attention:

  • section on musical style - at present restricted to pretty much a list of his guitars
  • more information about his personal life
  • better-flowing and more informative history of his position in Dire Straits

Those are just a few ideas I've had. Has anyone any more to add? Andrew Spinner 07:56, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Well I think the Mark Knopfler section is great.Compared to the ELO,section.This section has plenty of reference articles and from what I know,being a follower of his work it all seems just about as good as it gets,you could expand the detail. My worry is that we do not want opinion,we want some good evidence of actual real happenings,not 'I heard' this or that,as if told directly to the writer,unless he did and it can be proven. But I am very happy with what I have seen regarding Knopfler,the style and thought quality is very good,much could be learnt from this section. Eloidle

[edit] Rolling Stones' ranking...

... Knopfler any lower than #1 is a sick joke. Adding something to the article to reflect this. Feel free to revert. Chris 16:47, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Duly reverted. Please don't add unsourced, POV comments. -- Scientizzle 18:48, 7 November 2006 (UTC)
What if I were to suggest that what you just said is merely POV? Because it most assuredly is. Regardless, I'll try to add something less POV next time I critique Rolling Stone's decisions. -- Chris 21:34, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Broken weblink removed

There was a weblink to an unofficial fansite that did not work. If someone knows the correct url they can replace it. Anger22 (Talk 2 22) 17:26, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

The website is currently under reconstruction and should be back online very soon.

Sounds good the link can be replaced when the site is back online. Anger22 (Talk 2 22) 17:30, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Or, you could leave the link/reference until the site is working again.

[edit] Trivia

Is there really any benefit in listing 14 of the times Knopfler has drunk tea on stage? I'm thinking of perhaps cutting the list down to, say, two or three occasions, including the photo-documented occasion. Any thoughts? Andrew Spinner 22:11, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd be quite comfortable with getting rid of the entry altogether, or simply a statment that he drinks tea on stage (as opposed to water or vodka). I don't think even a short list of two or three occasions is at all useful, with the possible exception of the first time. Orpheus 03:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Duly trimmed. Andrew Spinner 14:04, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rating

Its length is appropriate for a B class, but I'm leaving its rating at "start" because it appears largely unreferenced. --Bookworm857158367 13:20, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] His Album

I think shoud be some people that improved his Discography, Cause I can't do it all by myself.

If anyone can help, please help me.

I've been wondering if it would be worthwhile making a completely separate discography page for Mark Knopfler, similar to that which Brian May has here: Brian May discography. Any thoughts? Andrew Spinner 07:45, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

the Template, I preferred. I think It would better.


[edit] Yankovic's parody

In trivia, the paragraph about Al Yankovic's parody reads: "...He also appeared in the music video, playing guitar and performing with Yankovic's backing band." As far as I know, that is not true - from what I remember Al has never met Mark (Mark simply recorded the riff in his own studio and sent it to Al), and after reviewing the video a moment ago I would swear that it is Al's guitarist Jim West in the backing band, not Mark (the other people are Al, Steve Jay, Bermuda and some long-haired keyboardist who is definitely not Mark). The rest of the paragraph is correct but maybe I'm missing something? - Zenith 22:53, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Why I Moved MK's use of Sprechgesang/Sprechstimme to "Money for Nothing" song article

Hi. I tightened up the lead and a few sections. First, let me laud everyone who created the article before I went and messed with it :) I found this to be a very informative and well-organized article, and further, I realized there were contributions I could make.

Aside from tightening up several sections (including the lead), I moved the reference to MK's use of Sprechgesang/Sprechstimme to the "Money for Nothing" song article. As I found it, the wording made it appear that Mr. Knopfler (who I've long been a fan of, and had the delightful honor of meeting -- he is incredibly smart and funny as you know if you've ever seen him perform -- but my point is not helped nor hindered by that bit of info, sorry, I digress!).... The original wording left the impression that Mr. Knopfler uses the NotQuiteTalking/NotQuiteSinging technique in most of his vocal work. This isn't the case. (I'm not even going to try to spell the German word for this, kudos to whomever it was who introduced the term to this article!) As interesting as the term is, it can certainly be applied to Mr. Knopfler, but only for two songs that come to mind. (And I know most of his work). The one applicable song here is the one that most of the general public are most familiar with, "Money for Nothing". I am familiar with most of Mr. Knopfler's work: Dire Straits, solo, collaborative, and film. Of all of his works, Mr. Knopfler uses the talking/singing technique in only 2 songs that I can recall ("Money for Nothing", and "Fade to Black"). Since Money for Nothing has a comprehensive article, I moved the reference to (that lovely German word) to the Money for Nothing article, and I believe it fits seamlessly in context there. (I actually used it to illustrate MK's reasons for using the technique in the song -- though I still give full credit to the editor who introduced the term).

Mr. Knopfler is a bass/tenor (I'm a musician, but I'm no expert in vocal classifications, I know he's one or both of those). Bottom line, he sings. In every song. However, he does use the (German technique) on the occasions I've mentioned above. That's why I moved it to what I believe is a more appropriate location on Wikipedia.

Thanks to the individual who introduced me to the term! I wanted to let you know that it's still here, I just moved it to what I firmly believe is a more appropriate location. It's always a learning experience editing on Wikipedia.

--

ManfrenjenStJohn 07:46, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Addressing most topics here and a link to You Tube

Hello! I agree, the page needs more work before changing it's status, but it could easily become a GA if we work together.

  • Flow- It doesn't completely flow from one paragraph to another. (I'm a professional editor- trying to work on that). If I change someone's wording, please, don't be upset, revert, or erase it, just leave me a note, we can work it out!
  • In the guitar section, I love the admission that MK does use a pick offstage, but whomever placed the link there- you need to email whomever uploaded the You Tube documentary- then you can track down the source in writing. Links to YouTube are forbidden since A)They are here today, and then "account closed" tomorrow, and B) it sounds like a copyright violation.
  • I think MK's notability is proven by the first paragraph. Why are all the collaboration details (names of far too many celebrities listed, and names of all the movies he scored) up top? Surely, they belong chronologically or else in a section of their own. What do you think? --leahtwosaints (talk) 06:57, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
I agree that they belong in a different paragraph. No need to use them to try and prove MK's notability - as if he needed such. Andrew Spinner (talk) 15:26, 6 March 2008 (UTC)