Dire Straits is an English rock band formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass guitar) and Pick Withers (drums). In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Dire Straits' music has been influenced by various genres, including jazz, folk and blues. The first years of the band's activity coincided with the era of a rapid increase in the popularity of punk rock, with which the spare, calm sound of Dire Straits, rather similar to roots rock, contrasted decisively. Many of their works were melancholic.
The band's most popular album, Brothers in Arms, sold over 30 million copies, and was one of the first CDs to sell more than 1 million copies (exceeding analogue sales). The total sales of all Dire Straits albums worldwide exceeded 120 million. The band has won four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and other awards. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Albums, the band's albums have spent a total of over 1,100 weeks on the UK Albums Chart.
The band's line-up changed many times, and of its founders, only Mark Knopfler and John Illsley remained in Dire Straits until its dissolution in 1995.
5 окт 2024
