Mark Knopfler | |
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Background information | |
Born | 12 August 1949 Glasgow, Scotland | in
Origin | Newcastle, England |
Genre(s) | Rock, Celtic rock, Country, Blues |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, Vocals |
Years active | 1965[1]–present |
Label(s) | Vertigo, Mercury, Warner |
Associated acts | Dire Straits, The Notting Hillbillies |
Website | MarkKnopfler.com |
Notable instrument(s) | |
Mark Knopfler Stratocaster |
Mark Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter and film score composer.
Knopfler was originally best-known as the lead guitarist and vocalist for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler has continued to record and produce albums as a solo artist, under his own name. Occasionally, Knopfler has played in other groups, such as the The Notting Hillbillies; as well, he has guested on works by other artists, including The Dandy Warhols, Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, John Fogerty, Jools Holland, Steely Dan, Emmylou Harris and Chet Atkins. He has produced albums for artists such as Tina Turner, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan. In addition, he has scored the music to several films, including Metroland, Local Hero, Cal, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Wag the Dog, and Rob Reiner's classic, The Princess Bride.[2]
He is one of the most respected fingerstyle guitarists of the modern rock era. Knopfler was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."[3]
Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 118 million albums to date.[4][5]
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Mark Knopfler was born to an English mother and a Hungarian Jewish[6]father, an architect whose communist sympathies forced him to flee the fascist regime of his native Hungary. The family first moved to Scotland, but then settled in Knopfler's mother's home town of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England when he was 9-years-old. There, he and his younger brother David (also a musician) attended Gosforth Grammar School, where he was inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica and boogie-woogie piano playing. Later, in his teens, he wanted to buy an expensive flamingo-pink Fender Stratocaster just like Hank Marvin's, but had to settle for a £50 twin pickup Höfner Super Solid.[7] Like many other schoolboys of the 1960s, he served an early apprenticeship by forming and joining anonymous schoolboy bands and listening to singers like Elvis Presley and guitarists Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and James Burton. At age 16, he made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo along with a friend from school named Sue Hercombe.[7]
In 1967, having displayed a flair for English,[7] Knopfler studied journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College.[8] At the end of the course he secured a job in Leeds as a junior reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post.[9] Two years later, he decided to further his studies and graduated with a degree in English at the University of Leeds.[10] He worked as a lecturer at Loughton College during this period. It was while Knopfler was living in Leeds that he married Kathy White, his long-time girlfriend from school days; however, the marriage didn't last.[7]
After separating from his wife, he moved to London and joined a High Wycombe-based band called Brewers Droop, appearing on the album "The Booze Brothers". One night while spending some time with friends, the only guitar available was an old acoustic with a badly warped neck that had been strung with extra-light strings to make it playable. Even so, he found it impossible to play unless he finger-picked it. He said in a later interview, "That was where I found my 'voice' on guitar." Soon after he recorded a "demo" tape of an original (but unreleased) song; "Summer's Coming My Way", in a London studio.[7]
Dire Straits' first sessions were done under the name of Cafe Racers, with Knopfler's brother David writing and serving as front man on one of the five songs, with Pick Withers as drummer and John Illsley on bass guitar. Knopfler often wore a headband during performances.[7]
Dire Straits recorded and released their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits in 1978 initially to little fanfare in the UK, but a single release, "Sultans of Swing" became a chart hit in Holland and album sales took off across Europe and then in the United States and finally the UK. The group's second album, Communiqué, produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, followed in 1979, reaching number one in Germany while the first album was still at number three.
There were frequent personnel changes within Dire Straits after the release of their third album Making Movies, with Mark Knopfler increasingly the driving force behind the group. Released in 1980, Making Movies marked a move towards more complex arrangements and production which continued for the remainder of the group's career. The album contained many of Mark Knopfler's most personal compositions, with the song "Romeo and Juliet", about a failed love affair becoming what critics call his best loved song; with a trademark he developed keeping personal songs under fictitious names.[2] Dire Straits' fourth album, Love over Gold followed in 1982 and included the UK #2 hit "Private Investigations", "Telegraph Road" and "Industrial Disease", as well as the title track to that album.
With Love Over Gold still in the albums charts, the band released a four-song EP titled ExtendedancEPlay in early 1983. Featuring the hit single "Twisting By the Pool", this was the first output by the band that featured new drummer Terry Williams, (formerly of Rockpile), who replaced Withers in November 1982. A world tour called Alchemy: Dire Straits Live followed later in 1983, and a double-LP of the recordings of two live shows in Hammersmith Odeon in London was released in March 1984, selling over 500,000 albums.
At this time Mark Knopfler was also involved with other projects, including writing the music score for the film Local Hero, released in 1983. The soundtrack album Local Hero was a large success, and it was followed in 1984 by his scores for the films Cal and Comfort and Joy.
Knopfler got married for the second time in November 1983, to Lourdes Salamone. Their twin sons, Benji and Joseph, were born in 1987.
Dire Straits' biggest studio album by far was their fifth, Brothers in Arms, released in 1985. It became an international hit and spawned several chart singles including the US # 1 hit "Money for Nothing," which was the first video ever to be played on MTV in Britain. It was also the first compact disc to sell a million copies and is largely credited for launching the CD format. Other successful singles were "So Far Away", "Walk of Life", and the album's title track. The band's 1985–86 world tour of over 230[7] shows was immensely successful.
After the Brothers in Arms tour Dire Straits went on a lengthy hiatus, with Knopfler concentrating mainly on film soundtracks. Knopfler joined the charity ensemble Ferry Aid on "Let It Be" in the wake of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. The song reached #1 on the UK singles chart in March 1987. Additionally in 1987, over a meal at a Notting Hill wine bar,[7] Knopfler formed The Notting Hillbillies, a more country-focused band whose line-up featured keyboardist Guy Fletcher.
In 1988, Dire Straits regrouped for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act and were accompanied by Elton John and Eric Clapton, who by this time had developed a strong friendship with Knopfler.
1990 saw the release of the Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time. Knopfler then toured with the Notting Hillbillies for the remainder of 1990. He further emphasized his country music influences with his 1990s collaboration with Chet Atkins, Neck and Neck.
Knopfler reformed Dire Straits in 1991, and the band toured with Slowhand and Elton John during the Knebworth charity show during that same year. Drummer Terry Williams had left the group in 1989, and when Knopfler, John Illsley, Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher set about recording what turned out to be their final studio album, they were accompanied by several part-time sidesmen, including percussionist Danny Cummings and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro.
The eagerly awaited follow-up to the Brothers In Arms album was finally released in September 1991. On Every Street was nowhere near as popular as its predecessor, and met with a mixed critical reaction, with some reviewers regarding the album as an underwhelming comeback after a six year break. Nonetheless, the album sold well and reached #1 in the UK. A gruelling world tour to accompany the album followed, which lasted until the end of 1992. This was to be Dire Straits' final world tour; it was not as well received as the previous Brothers In Arms tour, and by this time Mark Knopfler had had enough of such massive operations. This drove the band into the ground, and ultimately led to the group's dissolution in 1995.[11]
Two live albums were released after On Every Street. Released in 1993, On The Night documented Dire Straits' final world tour. Knopfler's marriage to Lourdes Salamone ended in 1993[11] and in 1995, following the release Live at the BBC, a contractual album for Vertigo Records, he quietly laid Dire Straits to rest and launched his solo career.
Since the break up of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has shown no interest in reforming the group, however keyboardist Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost every piece of Knopfler's solo material to date, and Danny Cummings has made frequent appearances, including one on Knopfler's 2007 solo album, Kill To Get Crimson. In October 2008 Knopfler declined a suggestion by John Illsley that they should reform. Illsley said that a reunion would be "entirely up to Mark", while Knopfler is quoted as saying "Oh, I don't know whether to start getting all that stuff back together again", and that the global fame that came his way in the 1980s "just got too big". [12]
Mark Knopfler's first solo album, Golden Heart, featuring the UK single "Darling Pretty", was released in March 1996. During the recording sessions for the album the main line-up of Knopfler's backing band, also known as "The 96'ers," was formed, featuring Knopfler's old bandmate Guy Fletcher on keyboards, and has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up.
Knopfler's third marriage to actress Kitty Aldridge[13] has given him two daughters Isabella (born 1998) and Katya Ruby Rose (born 2003).[14] The family currently lives in Chelsea.
In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. During that same year Rolling Stone magazine listed "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing", Dire Straits' first hit. 2000 saw the release of Knopfler's next solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia.
In 2002 Mark Knopfler gave four charity concerts with former Dire Straits members John Illsley, Chris White, Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher, playing old material from the Dire Straits years and also The Notting Hillbillies. At the Shepherd's Bush concert they were joined by Jimmy Nail, who provided backing vocals for for Knopfler's 2002 composition "Why Aye Man".
Also in 2002 Knopfler released his third solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream. A keen motorcyclist, Knopfler was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosvenor Road, Belgravia, in March 2003. He suffered a broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade and seven broken ribs.[15] The planned Ragpicker's Dream tour was subsequently cancelled, but Knopfler recovered and was able to return to the stage in 2004 for his fourth album, Shangri-La.
Shangri-La was recorded at the Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California in 2004, where The Band made recordings years before for their documentary/movie, The Last Waltz. In the promo for "Shangri-La" on his official website he said that his current line-up of Glenn Worf (bass), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Chad Cromwell (drums), Richard Bennett (guitar) and Matt Rollings (piano) "play Dire Straits songs better than Dire Straits did." The "Shangri-La" tour took Mark to countries like India and the United Arab Emirates for the first time. In India, his concerts at Bombay and Bangalore were very well received, with over 20,000 fans gathering at each concert to listen to a legend many thought would never visit their country.
In November 2005 a third compilation, The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations was released, consisting of material from most of Dire Straits' studio albums and Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material. The album was made available in two editions: a single CD (with a grey cover) and also as double CD (with the cover in blue), and was well-received. The only previously unreleased track on the album is "All The Roadrunning", a duet with country music singer Emmylou Harris, which was followed in 2006 by an album of duets of the same name.
Released in April 2006, All the Roadrunning reached #1 in Denmark and Switzerland, #2 in Norway and Sweden, #3 in Germany, Holland and Italy, #8 in Austria and UK, #9 in Spain, #17 in the United States (Billboard Top 200 Chart), #25 in Ireland and #41 in Australia. All The Roadrunning was nominated for "Best Folk Rock/Americana Album" at the 49th Grammy Awards (11 February 2007) but lost out to Bob Dylan's nomination for Modern Times.
Joined by Emmylou Harris, Knopfler supported All the Roadrunning with a successful world tour. Selections from the duo's June performance at the Gibson Amphitheatre were released as a CD/DVD package entitled Real Live Roadrunning on 14 November 2006. In addition to several of the compositions that Harris and Knopfler recorded together in the studio, Real Live Roadrunning features solo hits from both members of the duo, as well as three tracks from Knopfler's days with Dire Straits.
A charity event in 2007 went wrong. A Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by Knopfler, Clapton, Brian May, and Jimmy Page was to be auctioned for £20,000 (or $40,000) to raise the money for a children's hospice, was lost in the shipping of the instrument. It "vanished after being posted from London to Leicestershire, England." Parcelforce, the company responsible, has agreed to pay $30,000 for its loss.[16]
Knopfler released his fifth solo studio-album Kill to Get Crimson on 14 September 2007 in Germany, 17 September in the UK and 18 September in the United States. Besides the standard CD edition, a special "Deluxe Edition" with an extra DVD was also released.
Knopfler wrapped up a world tour to support the album on 31 July 2008,[17] which started in Europe before moving on to North America. Continuing a pattern of high productivity through his solo career, Knopfler began work on his next studio album in September 2008 with long-time band mate Guy Fletcher, who will again be compiling a pictorial diary of the making of the album on his website.[18] According to Fletcher, Knopfler will be on tour in 2010.[19][20]
In addition to his work in Dire Straits and solo, Knopfler has made several contributions to country music. This includes writing and playing guitar on John Anderson's 1992 single "When It Comes to You" (from his album Seminole Wind). Mary Chapin Carpenter also released a cover of Dire Straits' "The Bug", which Knopfler co-wrote, in 1993. Randy Travis released another of Knopfler's songs, "Are We In Trouble Now", in 1996. Knopfler and Emmylou Harris made a country-esque album together titled All the Roadrunning in 2007.
Knopfler charted two singles on the Canadian country music singles chart. "Poor Boy Blues," a collaboration with Chet Atkins, peaked at #92 in 1990. Six years later, Knopfler's single "Darling Pretty" reached a peak of #87.
Mark Knopfler is noted for being left-handed, but playing right-handed, and for fingerpicking (using a personal variant of the clawhammer) style instead of using a plectrum (i.e., "pick"); fingerpicking is usually associated with the acoustic guitar, but Knopfler usually (though not always) plays an electric guitar.
Knopfler revealed during a French interview that he uses a pick for his rhythm work during recording sessions. Knopfler surprised the interviewer by pulling a pick out of his pocket and saying that he usually carries one.
He has around 70 guitars,[21] including:
His Artist Series Stratocaster can be viewed on the Fender website.
Golden Heart
Sailing to Philadelphia
The Ragpicker's Dream
Shangri-La
One Take Radio Sessions
The Trawlerman's Song EP
The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations
Kill to Get Crimson
Local Hero
Music from 'Cal'
Comfort and Joy
The Princess Bride
Last Exit to Brooklyn
Screenplaying
Metroland
Wag the Dog
A Shot at Glory
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Persondata | |
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NAME | Knopfler, Mark |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | English guitarist |
DATE OF BIRTH | 12 August 1949 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Glasgow, Scotland |
DATE OF DEATH | |
PLACE OF DEATH |