New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On November 3, 2023 UMC/Mercury will release Dire Straits - Live 1978-1992, an 12 LP/8 CD box set of live performances by Dire Straits, a band that straddled the globe in the eighties and nineties with their sophisticated rootsy guitar rock wedded to literate story-telling lyrics.
Emerging on the club and pub circuit in 1977, Dire Straits were led by charismatic Geordie singer-songwriter, record producer and composer Mark Knopfler, one of the most successful musicians the UK has ever produced, who is often cited as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Dire Straits' sound defined the late 70s/early 80s with huge hits such as "Sultans Of Swing", "Romeo And Juliet", "Money For Nothing" and "Walk Of Life". Dire Straits' 1985 album Brothers In Arms, a global No 1 and double Grammy Award winner, is one of the world's best selling albums. After releasing their final album 'On Every Street' in '91 and touring in '92, Knopfler called time on Dire Straits in 1995 and set off on a new path as a solo artist.
Dire Straits Live 1978-1992 features newly remastered versions of the classic Dire Straits' live albums Alchemy ('84) and On The Night ('93), '93's Encores EP, '95's Live At The BBC, and the previously unreleased Live From The Rainbow Theatre show from '79, and captures the band's thrilling heartland rock played with breath taking virtuosity from their first live recordings at the BBC in '78, through to their final shows in '92 in On The Night.
The expanded version of the original double album Alchemy will include unreleased songs from the performance - "Industrial Disease" and "Twisting By The Pool" - as well as "Love Over Gold", and the extended versions of "Telegraph Road", "Solid Rock", "Going Home" and "Portobello Belle".
An expanded version of the original On The Night will include tracks performed during the tour which have never been released, taken from multitrack recordings of shows in Nimes, Rotterdam and Paris: "Tunnel Of Love," "Telegraph Road," "Sultans Of Swing," "Two Young Lovers," "When it Comes To You," and "I Think I Love You Too Much."
Says Mark Knopfler: 'People will always want you to play songs from the songbook; that's part of what you're doing playing live. You've got to please yourself but at the same time it's a celebration. You're all there to have a good time together. I enjoyed writing the songs, I enjoyed recording them, so I'm going to enjoy playing them. I don't play anything I don't want to play, so if I get up there and play 'Romeo And Juliet' or 'Brothers In Arms', it's because I want to play them. It's important to me that it's important to people, that you've created milestones in people's lives." [Mark was speaking to journalist and broadcaster Paul Sexton, author of the box set sleeve notes.]
TRACKLISTINGS:
LP
ALCHEMY
SIDE ONE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
INDUSTRIAL DISEASE
SIDE TWO
EXPRESSO LOVE
ROMEO AND JULIET
LOVE OVER GOLD
SIDE THREE
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
TWISTING BY THE POOL
SIDE FOUR
TWO YOUNG LOVERS
PORTOBELLO BELLE
SIDE FIVE
TUNNEL OF LOVE
SOLID ROCK
SIDE SIX
TELEGRAPH ROAD
GOING HOME - THEME FROM 'LOCAL HERO'
ON THE NIGHT
SIDE ONE
CALLING ELVIS
WALK OF LIFE
SIDE TWO
HEAVY FUEL
ROMEO AND JULIET
SIDE THREE
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
SIDE FOUR
FADE TO BLACK
YOUR LATEST TRICK
WHEN IT COMES TO YOU
I THINK I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH
SIDE FIVE
YOU AND YOUR FRIEND
ON EVERY STREET
TWO YOUNG LOVERS
SIDE SIX
TUNNEL OF LOVE
SIDE SEVEN
TELEGRAPH ROAD
SIDE EIGHT
MONEY FOR NOTHING
BROTHERS IN ARMS
ENCORES
SIDE ONE
YOUR LATEST TRICK
THE BUG
SIDE TWO
SOLID ROCK
LOCAL HERO - WILD THEME
LIVE AT THE BBC
SIDE ONE
DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
SIX BLADE KNIFE
WATER OF LOVE
WILD WEST END
SULTANS OF SWING
SIDE TWO
LIONS
WHAT'S THE MATTER BABY?
TUNNEL OF LOVE
LIVE AT THE RAINBOW
SIDE ONE
DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
SIX BLADE KNIFE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
LADY WRITER
SIDE TWO
LIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
LES BOYS
PORTOBELLO BELLE
SIDE THREE
NEWS
WHAT'S THE MATTER BABY?
SETTING ME UP
IN THE GALLERY
SIDE FOUR
SOLID ROCK
SOUTHBOUND AGAIN
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?
SIDE FIVE
WILD WEST END
TWISTING BY THE POOL
GOOD MORNING LITTLE SCHOOLGIRL*
SIDE SIX
THAT'S ALRIGHT MAMA*
NADINE*
KEEP ON KNOCKING*
* WITH PHIL LYNOTT AND TONY DE MEUR
CD
ALCHEMY
DISC1
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
INDUSTRIAL DISEASE
EXPRESSO LOVE
ROMEO AND JULIET
LOVE OVER GOLD
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
DISC2
TWISTING BY THE POOL
TWO YOUNG LOVERS
PORTOBELLO BELLE
TUNNEL OF LOVE
SOLID ROCK
TELEGRAPH ROAD
GOING HOME - THEME FROM 'LOCAL HERO'
ON THE NIGHT
DISC1
CALLING ELVIS
WALK OF LIFE
HEAVY FUEL
ROMEO AND JULIET
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
FADE TO BLACK
YOUR LATEST TRICK
WHEN IT COMES TO YOU
I THINK I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH
DISC2
YOU AND YOUR FRIEND
ON EVERY STREET
TWO YOUNG LOVERS
TUNNEL OF LOVE
TELEGRAPH ROAD
MONEY FOR NOTHING
BROTHERS IN ARMS
ENCORES
YOUR LATEST TRICK
THE BUG
SOLID ROCK
LOCAL HERO - WILD THEME
LIVE AT THE BBC
DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
SIX BLADE KNIFE
WATER OF LOVE
WILD WEST END
SULTANS OF SWING
LIONS
WHAT'S THE MATTER BABY?
TUNNEL OF LOVE
LIVE AT THE RAINBOW
DISC1
DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
SIX BLADE KNIFE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
LADY WRITER
LIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
LES BOYS
PORTOBELLO BELLE
NEWS
WHAT'S THE MATTER BABY?
DISC2
SETTING ME UP
IN THE GALLERY
SOLID ROCK
SOUTHBOUND AGAIN
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?
WILD WEST END
TWISTING BY THE POOL
GOOD MORNING LITTLE SCHOOLGIRL*
THAT'S ALRIGHT MAMA*
NADINE*
KEEP ON KNOCKING*
* WITH PHIL LYNOTT AND TONY DE MEUR
DIGITAL
ALCHEMY
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
INDUSTRIAL DISEASE
EXPRESSO LOVE
ROMEO AND JULIET
LOVE OVER GOLD
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
TWISTING BY THE POOL
TWO YOUNG LOVERS
PORTOBELLO BELLE
TUNNEL OF LOVE
SOLID ROCK
TELEGRAPH ROAD
GOING HOME - THEME FROM 'LOCAL HERO'
ON THE NIGHT
CALLING ELVIS
WALK OF LIFE
HEAVY FUEL
ROMEO AND JULIET
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
FADE TO BLACK
YOUR LATEST TRICK
WHEN IT COMES TO YOU
I THINK I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH
YOU AND YOUR FRIEND
ON EVERY STREET
TWO YOUNG LOVERS
TUNNEL OF LOVE
TELEGRAPH ROAD
MONEY FOR NOTHING
BROTHERS IN ARMS
ENCORES
YOUR LATEST TRICK
THE BUG
SOLID ROCK
LOCAL HERO - WILD THEME
LIVE AT THE BBC
DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
SIX BLADE KNIFE
WATER OF LOVE
WILD WEST END
SULTANS OF SWING
LIONS
WHAT'S THE MATTER BABY?
TUNNEL OF LOVE
LIVE AT THE RAINBOW
DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
SIX BLADE KNIFE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
LADY WRITER
LIONS
SULTANS OF SWING
LES BOYS
PORTOBELLO BELLE
NEWS
WHAT'S THE MATTER BABY?
SETTING ME UP
IN THE GALLERY
SOLID ROCK
SOUTHBOUND AGAIN
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?
WILD WEST END
TWISTING BY THE POOL
GOOD MORNING LITTLE SCHOOLGIRL*
THAT'S ALRIGHT MAMA*
NADINE*
KEEP ON KNOCKING*
* WITH PHIL LYNOTT AND TONY DE MEUR
DIRE STRAITS LIVE 1978-1992
RELEASE DATE 3rd Nov 2023.