Why I Love Music

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Supertramp…

Numerous web sites, Supertramp Official Web Site, MSN Music - Supertramp, Google - Music & Lyrics Freak - Supertramp were quite helpful in preparing my tribute to Supertramp. Please click on the hyperlinks to enjoy these web sites.

Supertramp is an English progressive rock and pop band that had a series of top-selling albums in the 1970s. The name Supertramp, was taken from W. H. Davies' 1908 novel ''The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp''.

Their early music included ambitious concept albums, but they are best known for their later, somewhat Beatlesque pop songs including "Dreamer", "Goodbye Stranger", "Give A Little Bit", and "The Logical Song".

Once upon a time in 1969, a young Dutch millionaire by the name of Stanley August Miesegaes gave his acquaintance, vocalist and keyboardist Rick Davies, a "genuine opportunity" to form his own band; he could form the band of his dreams, and Miesegaes would pay for it. After placing an ad in Melody Maker, Davies assembled Supertramp alongside co-founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, piano, guitar, cello), Richard Palmer (vocals, guitar, balalaika), and former stage actor Robert Millar (percussion, harmonica).

Supertramp released two long-winded progressive rock albums before Miesegaes withdrew his support, and by early 1972, Davies and Hodgson were the only founding members remaining. The pair began an extensive search for replacements and soon pieced together the lineup that would be responsible for Supertramp's definitive sound, comprising new members Doug Thomson (bass), Bob Siebenberg (percussion), and John Helliwell (woodwinds, saxophone, keyboards).

Supertramp has had many members throughout the years, including Roger Hodgson (vocals, guitars, keyboard (to 1983), replaced by Carl Verheyen), Bob Benberg, Kevin Currie (percussion), Rick Davies (vocals, piano, harmonica), Frank Farrell (harmony vocals, bass, piano, accordion), Mark Hart (vocals, keyboards, guitars), John Helliwell (saxophone, woodwinds), Bob Miller, Richard Palmer (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, balalaika), Bob Siebenberg (drums, percussion), Carl Verheyen (guitars), Dave Winthrop (vocals flutes, saxophones), Dougie Thomson (bass replaced by Cliff Hugo), Robert Millar (musician) - percussion, harmonica, Cliff Hugo – (bass), Tom Walsh_(musician) - percussion, some drums; and Lee Thornburg – (background vocals, trombone, trumpet).

With no money or fan base to speak of, the expanded Supertramp was forced to redesign their sound. Coming up with a more pop-oriented form of progressive rock, the band had a hit with their third album, Crime Of The Century. Throughout the decade, Supertramp had a number of best-selling albums, culminating in their 1979 masterpiece Breakfast In America. Breakfast In America marked their first album that tipped the scale completely in the favor of pop songs; on the strength of the hit singles "Goodbye Stranger," "The Logical Song," and "Take The Long Way Home," it sold over 18 million copies worldwide. After that album, Supertramp continued to develop a more R&B-flavored style; the change in direction was successful on 1982's Famous Last Words. Hodgson left in 1983 to mount a solo career, and Supertramp continued to sporadically record and tour into the 21st century.

Discography:

Live, 1997 - 2006

Retrospectacle: The Supertramp Anthology – 2005

Inside Supertramp 1974-1978: An Independant Critical Review - 2004

Slow Motion - 2002

Is Everybody Listening? - 2001

The Very Best of Supertramp, Vol. 2 - 2000

It Was the Best of Times – 1999

Some Things Never Change - 1997

The Autobiography of Supertramp - 1994

The Very Best of Supertramp – 1992

Classics, Vol. 9 – 1987

Free as a Bird – 1987

Brother Where You Bound - 1985

...Famous Last Words... - 1982

Paris - 1980

Breakfast in America - 1979

Even in the Quietest Moments... – 1977

Crisis? What Crisis? - 1975

Crime of the Century – 1974

Indelibly Stamped – 1971

Supertramp - 1970

Supertramp has a lot of quality songs, such as Breakfast In America, Cannonball, Dreamer, Give A Little Bit, Goodbye Stranger, It's Raining Again, My Kind Of Lady, Oh, Darling, Take The Long Way Home and The Logical Song, among others…

Thank you, Supertramp, for some great music…

Eddie Money…

Numerous web sites, Eddie Money Official Web Site, All Access Magazine Interview With Eddie Money, Musician Guide - Eddie Money, Eddie Money At My Space, Internet Movie Data Base - Eddie Money, Yahoo ! Music - Eddie Money & Rolling Stone – Eddie Money Discography were quite helpful in preparing my tribute to Eddie Money. Please click on the hyperlinks to enjoy these web sites.

Eddie Money arrived in the late '70s at the height of album rock's popularity. Money had a knack for catchy, blue-collar rock & roll, which he delivered with a polished, radio-friendly finesse. Seeming to come out of nowhere with his 1977 self-titled debut, Money had actually been a fixture around the San Francisco rock scene for several years. With the assistance of a big name concert promoter, he attained major-label stardom.

In the early MTV era, he filmed a series of funny narrative videos, something his peers were reluctant to due. In the late '80s, hits like "Take Me Home Tonight" and "Walk On Water" reached the Top Ten.

Initially, Eddie Mahoney was going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Brooklyn cop. His brother is a retired Sergeant from the NYPD. He attended Island Trees High School in Levittown, Long Island, NY. He attended the New York Police Academy during the early '70s, as a New York City Police Dept. Patrolman, but at night, he sang in rock & roll bands under the name Eddie Money.

To the dismay of his parents, he began singing in rock bands while still in high school. He stayed out of the Vietnam War by enrolling in the New York Police Academy and continued to sing in local combos while serving as a police cadet. Soon, however, Money's antiestablishment philosophy and growing interest in the world of rock and roll clashed with the beliefs of his parents' generation. "I grew up with respect for the idea of preserving law and order, and then all of a sudden cops became pigs and it broke my heart," Money told Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore in 1978. "It was just a goddamn shame that getting high was illegal." One day he typed up a written defense of a certain unnamed drug on police stationery and found himself booted out of the academy.

Deciding to make a go of a career in music, Money relocated to the San Francisco Bay area, where he was finally free to grow his hair long. He sold blue jeans and got his first big break when he joined Big Brother And The Holding Company, singer Janis Joplin's backing band, shortly after her demise. In 1975, after singing for a number of years in different bands, and rearranging the Mahoney surname into "Money," he became involved with popular Bay Area concert promoter Bill Graham's management company. The two had met after Money performed in a battle of the bands at one of Graham's venues, and the elder statesman of rock quickly became a friend, manager, and mentor to Money. Graham helped him negotiate a recording contract with Columbia Records. The singer's first release, 1977's Eddie Money, catapulted him to overnight stardom.

His backing band featured musicians fresh from their work with the Steve Miller Band, best known for their hit "Keep On Rocking Me, Baby." The first two singles from Money's first record, "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets To Paradise" reached Number 11 and Number 22 on the 1978 charts respectively. Heavy touring followed, including opening dates for the legendary rock band Santana.

During the early '80s, Money began to make funny narrative videos, which became staples on early MTV and made "Shakin'" and "Think I'm In Love" hits. As only one example of his cross-generational influence, his hit single “Shakin'” is featured in the hit video game series Guitar Hero Encore on the “Rocks the 80s” edition.

Money released, in the summer of 1982, “No Control.” Of the album's best-known single, "Think I'm In Love," High Fidelity contributor Chuck Eddy opined that the song's "traction comes from how the initial mythological acoustica lures you siren-style toward the hard-boiled fuzz riff, which comes and goes."

Money recorded a series of albums for Columbia during the 1980s, including 1984's Where's The Party ?, the 1986 hit Can't Hold Back, and Nothing to Lose, which featured the Top Ten "Walk On Water," released in 1988. He had a hit, with Ronnie Spector, "Take Me Home Tonight," as well as the Top 20 "I Wanna Go Back." A greatest hits package, "Peace in Our Time," taken from the 1989 Greatest Hits: Sound Of Money, reached number 11 the next year.

This period of Money’s life was also marked by tragedy, however, when longtime friend Bill Graham died in a 1991 helicopter accident. An eighth studio album, Right Here, arrived in the same year, with the track "I'll Get By" dedicated to the late Graham. In 1992 Money released an acoustic effort entitled Unplug It In.

Money's career took an unexpected turn in 1995 when Graham's surviving namesake management company reactivated the Wolfgang Records label (a defunct imprint of Columbia originally started by Graham), and Money became the first artist in their repertoire. Issuing Love And Money in the spring of 1995 heralded a comeback of sorts for Money. The record's first single, "After This Love Is Gone," was lauded as "a chugging, rock-edged pop ballad" by Billboard magazine. Two other tracks, "Died a Thousand Times" and a cover of '70s soul singer Isaac Hayes's "Run Your Hurt Away," with its lyrics about resurrecting one's life, seemed to best reflect the renewal of Money's career and personal life.

If you would like to see him in concert, Eddie Money Currently On Tour - Click Here. His band consists of Randy Forester (keyboards), Tommy Girvin (guitar), Lee Beverly (bass), & Glenn Symmonds (drums).

Eddie is still going strong after all these years. He’s on tour, his daughter, Jesse, who also sings, on tour with him. His most recent album, “Wanna Go Back,” hit stores on March 13, 2007. The album’s music is influenced mainly by the music from the ‘60s, to include such classics as Jackie Wilson's "Higher & Higher," Sam & Dave's "Hold On I'm Comin," and The Foundations’ "Baby Now That I Found You."

He donates a portion of his merchandise proceeds to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and performs at fundraisers for local schools every year. In November 2007, Eddie teamed up with Warrior Custom Golf Clubs and UPS to present the Eddie Money Celebrity Shootout, which raised funds for multiple charities.

Discography…

Wanna Go Back - 2007

We Are The '80s - 2006

Let's Rock & Roll The Place - 2003

The Essential Eddie Money - 2003

Then And Now - 2003

The Best Of Eddie Money - 2001

The ABC Rarities - 1999

Ready Eddie - 1999

Demeter - 1998

Roy Rogers Tribute - 1998

Greatest Hits Live: The Encore Collection - 1998

Shakin' With The Money Man - 1997

Super Hits - 1997

Eddie Money/Life For The... - 1997

Good as Gold - 1996

Love and Money - 1995

Right Here - 1991

Greatest Hits: Sound Of Money - 1989

Can't Hold Back - 1986

Where's the Party - 1985

No Control - 1982

Playing For Keeps - 1980

Life For The Taking - 1978

Eddie Money - 1977

Eddie Money has a lot of quality songs, such as Baby Hold On, Shakin', Take Me Home Tonight, Think I'm In Love, Two Tickets To Paradise, Walk On Water, and Where's The Party ?, among others…

Thank you, Eddie, for some great music…

Monday, July 14, 2008

The Hollies…

Numerous web sites, The Hollies' Official Web Site, Rolling Stone - The Hollies, Song Facts - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Rolling Stone - The Hollies - Discography & Sing365 - The Hollies were quite helpful in preparing my tribute to The Hollies. Please click on the hyperlinks to enjoy these web sites.

The Hollies were formed in Manchester, England, in 1962, by childhood friends Allan Clarke (b. 15 April 1942, Salford, Lancashire, England; vocals), and Graham Nash (b. 2 February 1942, Blackpool, Lancashire, England; vocals/guitar). They had already been singing together locally for a number of years as a semi-professional duo under a number of names such as The Guytones, The Two Teens and Ricky And Dane. They enlarged the group by adding Eric Haydock (b. 3 February 1943, Burnley, Lancashire, England; bass) and Don Rathbone (drums), to became the Fourtones and then The Deltas.

Following the recruitment of local guitar hero Tony Hicks from the Dolphins (b. 16 December 1943, Nelson, Lancashire, England) they became The Hollies. Almost immediately they were signed to the same label as The Beatles, the prestigious Parlophone. The Hollies' mid-'60s hits were British Invasion pop of the cute school, sweet-voiced, upbeat, and ultra crafted. Their first two singles were covers of The Coasters' '(Ain't That) Just Like Me' and 'Searchin''. Both made the UK charts and the group set about recording their first album. At the same time Don Rathbone left to become their road manager and was replaced by Bobby Elliott (b. 8 December 1942) from Shane Fenton (Alvin Stardust) And The Fentones. The group's excellent live performances throughout Britain had already seasoned them for what was to become one of the longest beat group success stories in popular music.

They crooned about teenagers in love on hit singles including "Stop Stop Stop" and "Dear Eloise," in addition to songs by non-Hollies such as Graham Gouldman (later a founding member of 10CC), who provided such valentines as "Here I Go Again," "Look Through Any Window," and "Bus Stop."

Their first two albums contained the bulk of their live act and both albums became long-time residents in the UK charts. Meanwhile, the band was enjoying a train of singles hits that continued from 1963-74, and their popularity almost rivaled that of The Beatles and Rolling Stones. Infectious, well-produced hits such as Doris Troy's 'Just One Look', 'Here I Go Again' and the sublime 'Yes I Will' all contained their trademark soaring harmonies. The voices of Clarke, Hicks and Nash combined to make one of the most distinctive sounds to be heard in popular music.

As their career progressed the aforementioned trio developed into a strong songwriting team, and wrote most of their own b-sides (under the pseudonym 'L. Ransford'). On their superb third collection, Hollies in 1965, their talents blossomed with 'Too Many People', an early song about over-population. Their first UK number 1 came in 1965 with 'I'm Alive' and was followed within weeks by Graham Gouldman's uplifting yet simple take 'Look Through Any Window'. By Christmas 1965 their recording of George Harrison’s 'If I Needed Someone' just scraped the UK Top 20.

Early in 1966, the group enjoyed their second number 1, 'I Can't Let Go', which topped the New Musical Express chart jointly with the Walker Brothers ''The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore'. 'I Can't Let Go', co-written by Chip Taylor, had already appeared on the previous year's Hollies and was one of their finest recordings, combining soaring harmonies with some exceptionally strong, driving guitar work.

The enigmatic and troublesome Eric Haydock was sacked in April 1966 and was replaced by Hick's former colleague in the Dolphins, Bernie Calvert (b. 16 September 1942, Brierfield, Lancashire, England). The Hollies success continued unabated with Graham Gouldman's 'Bus Stop', the exotic 'Stop Stop Stop!' and the poppier 'On A Carousel', all UK Top 5 hits, and (at last) became major hits in the US charts. The Hollies were quick to join the 'flower power' bandwagon, as a more progressive feel had already pervaded their recent album, For Certain Because, but with Evolution, their beads and kaftans were everywhere. That same year (1967) they released the excellent Butterfly.

It marked two distinct types of songs from the previously united team of Nash/Clarke/Hicks. On one hand there was an Allan Clarke influenced song, 'Charlie And Fred', and on the other an obvious Graham Nash composition like 'Butterfly'. Graham Nash took a more ambitious route. His style was perfectly highlighted with the exemplary 'King Midas In Reverse', (UK number 18) an imaginative song complete with brass and strings. The following year during the proposals to make Hollies Sing Dylan, Graham Nash departed for Crosby, Stills & Nash, in 1968, but The Hollies, with ex-Swinging Blue Jean Terry Sylvester, of the Escorts, added on second lead vocal, persevered.

The '70s found them scoring big with "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress," "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," and "The Air That I Breathe."

Allan Clarke was devastated by the departure of his friend of more than 20 years and after seven further hits, Allan Clarke decided to leave for a solo career. The band soldiered on with the strange induction of Mickael Rickfors from Sweden. In the USA the million-selling 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress' narrowly missed the top spot, ironic also because Allan Clarke was the vocalist on this older number taken from the successful album Distant Light.

Allan Clarke returned after an abortive solo career which included two albums, My Real Name Is 'Arold and Headroom. The return was celebrated with the worldwide hit, 'The Air That I Breathe', composed by Albert Hammond. Over the next five years The Hollies pursued the supper-club and cabaret circuit as their chart appearances began to dwindle. In 1981, Terry Sylvester and Bernie Calvert left the group. Sensing major problems ahead, EMI suggested they put together a Stars On 45-type segued single. The ensuing 'Holliedaze' was a hit, and Graham Nash was flown over for the television promotion. This reunion prompted the album What Goes Around, which included a minor hit with the Supremes' 'Stop In The Name Of Love'.

Following this, The Hollies went back to the oldies path, until in 1988 a television beer commercial used 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', and once again they were at the top of the charts for the first time in over a dozen years. In 1993 they were given an Ivor Novello award in honor of their contribution to British music. The mid-90s lineup in addition to Clarke, Elliott and the amazingly youthful Hicks featured Alan Coates (guitar), Ray Stiles (bass) and Ian Parker (keyboards). The Hollies' catalogue of hits, like those of The Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Kinks will continue to be reissued for future generations. Their longevity is assured as their expertly crafted, harmonic songs represent some of the greatest music of all mid-60s pop.

Of the abundant compilations, Epic Anthology and Classic Masters are the strongest. Archive Alive ! features a fine 1983 concert: It's amazing that they could pull off those complex harmonies live. What Goes Around is a nice reunion album of almost all the original members on the 20th anniversary of The Hollies' founding.

The Hollies are currently on tour, world wide, click here for The Hollies' Tour Information.

The Hollies - Discography…

Main Releases

"Epic Anthology": From The Original Master Tapes! - 2008

Romany (Expanded Edition) - 2008

Buddy Holly (Expanded Edition) - 2008

Hollies/Would You Believe? - 2007

Reunion - 2004

Long Road Home-the 40th Anniversary Collection - 2003

Greatest Hits (2CD) - 2003

Best of the Hollies [Collectables] - 2003

Classic Masters - 2002

What Goes Around... [Bonus Track] - 2002

Greatest Hits (Epic) - 2002

Super Hits - 2001

Take Two - 2001

Best of the 70's - 2000

Best of the 60's - 2000

The Mikael Rickfors Years - 2000

Archive Alive! - 1997

The Midas Touch - 1995

30th Anniversary Collection 1963-1993 - 1993

All Time Greatest Hits - 1990

Epic Anthology - 1990

The EP Collection - 1987

The Best of the Hollies, Vol. 2 - 1983

Live Hits - 1977

Greatest Hits - 1973

Distant Light - 1972

Moving Finger - 1970

Confessions of the Mind - 1970

Dear Eloise/King Midas In Reverse - 1967

Evolution - 1967

Butterfly - 1967

In the Hollies Style - 1964

Stay with the Hollies - 1964

The Hollies have a lot of terrific songs, such as Bus Stop, He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Just One Look, Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress, and The Air That I Breathe, among others…

Thank you, to The Hollies, for some beautiful music…

I can’t think of a better way to close out this tribute, than to further explain their best song, He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. I’ve always loved the song, but, this song now has a deeper meaning. A dear friend of mine was in mourning, over the loss of his brother, who passed away, way too young. My friend, at his brother’s funeral service, explained how much his brother meant to him, then, as a beautiful, moving tribute, played this song, to show respect. Now, every time I hear this song, I think of his brother, and how proud I am of my friend, for such a touching tribute.

This song, He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, was the only songwriting collaboration between veteran songwriters Bobby Scott ("A Taste of Honey") and Bobby Russell ("Little Green Apples"). Bobby Russell, who wrote the lyrics, was married to Vicki Lawrence, and wrote her #1 hit "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia." He died of a heart attack in 1992. Bobby Scott was a piano player, singer, and producer. He did a lot of work with Mercury Records on sessions for artists like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Bobby Darin. In 1990, he died of cancer.

The title came from the motto for Boys Town, a community formed in 1917 by a Catholic priest named Father Edward Flanagan. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, it was a place where troubled or homeless boys could come for help. In 1941, Father Flanagan was looking at a magazine called The Messenger when he came across a drawing of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, with the caption, "He ain't heavy Mr., he's my brother." Father Flanagan thought the image and phrase captured the spirit of Boys Town, so he got permission and commissioned a statue of the drawing with the inscription, "He ain't heavy Father, he's my brother." The statue and phrase became the logo for Boys Town. In 1979, girls were allowed and the name was eventually changed to Girls And Boys Town. The logo was updated with a drawing of a girl carrying a younger girl added.

“He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother” (words by Bobby Scott and Bobby Russell)

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

R.I.P. Mark…

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Dire Straits…

Numerous web sites, VH1 - Dire Straits, & 8notes.com - Dire Straits were quite helpful in preparing my tribute to Dire Straits. Please click on the hyperlinks to enjoy these web sites.

Dire Straits are a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass) and Pick Withers (drums), and managed by Ed Bicknell. In an era when punk rock reigned, they played subdued, almost old-school rock and roll. Mark Knopfler (the band's front man) was heard to have asked pub managers to turn down the sound, so people could talk over the music, while they were still in their early days. Despite this complete antithesis to popular culture at the time, Dire Straits still became hugely successful.

If anything, the band was a direct outgrowth of the roots revivalism of pub rock, but where pub rock celebrated good times, Dire Straits were melancholy. Led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler, the group built their sound upon the laid-back blues-rock of J.J. Cale, but they also had jazz and country inflections, occasionally dipping into the epic song structures of progressive rock. The band's music was offset by Knopfler's lyrics, which approximated the winding, stream-of-conscious narratives of Bob Dylan. As their career progressed, Dire Straits became more refined and their new maturity happened to coincide with the rise of MTV and the compact disc. These two musical revolutions, from the mid-'80s, helped make Dire Straits' sixth album, Brothers in Arms, an international blockbuster. The band, along with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, and Steve Winwood, become one of the leaders of a group of self-consciously mature veteran rock & rollers in the late '80s that designed their music to appeal to aging baby boomers. Despite the band's international success, they couldn't sustain their stardom, waiting a full six years to deliver a follow-up to Brothers in Arms, by which time their audience had shrunk significantly.

Knopfler (born August 12, 1949) was always the main force behind Dire Straits. The son of an architect, Knopfler studied English literature at Leeds University and worked briefly as a rock critic for the Yorkshire Evening Post while at college. He began teaching English after his graduation, leading a pub rock band called Brewer's Droop at night. By 1977, Mark was playing with his brother David (guitar) and his roommate John Illsley (bass). During the summer of 1977, the trio cut a demo with drummer Pick Withers. A London DJ named Charlie Gillett heard the demo and began playing "Sultans of Swing" on his BBC show Honky Tonkin'. Following a tour opening for Talking Heads, the band began recording their debut for Vertigo Records with producer Muff Winwood in early 1978. By the summer, they had signed with Warner in America, releasing their eponymous debut in the fall. Thanks to the Top Ten hit "Sultans of Swing," Dire Straits was a major success in both Britain and America, with the single and album climbing into the Top Ten on both sides of the Atlantic.

Dire Straits established Dire Straits as a major force on album-oriented radio in America, and their second album, Communiqué (1979), consolidated their audience, selling three million copies worldwide. As the group was recording its third album, Knopfler left the band to pursue a solo career; he was replaced by former Darling member Hal Lindes.

The third album, Making Movies featured keyboardist Roy Bittan (from Bruce Springsteen's band) and marked a move towards more complex arrangements and production which would continue throughout the band's career. Making Movies was a sizable hit in America and Britain, even though the band was criticized for musically treading water. Nevertheless, the record went gold on the strength of the radio and MTV hits "Romeo and Juliet" and "Skateaway." Dire Straits followed the album two years later with Love Over Gold, an album filled with long, experimental passages, plus the single "Private Investigations," which became a number two hit in the U.K. The album went gold in America and spent four weeks at number one in Britain. Shortly after the release of Love Over Gold, former Rockpile drummer Terry Williams replaced Withers.

During 1982, Knopfler began exploring musical avenues outside of Dire Straits, scoring the Bill Forsyth film Local Hero and playing on Van Morrison's Beautiful Vision. Apart from releasing the Twisting by the Pool EP early in 1983, Dire Straits were quiet for the majority of 1983 and 1984, as Knopfler produced Bob Dylan's Infidels, as well as Aztec Camera and Willy DeVille; he also wrote "Private Dancer” for Tina Turner's comeback album. In the spring of 1984, the band released the double album Alchemy: Dire Straits Live and by the end of the year, they had begun recording their fifth studio album with their new keyboardist, Guy Fletcher.

Released in the summer of 1985, Brothers in Arms was Dire Straits' breakthrough album, making the band international stars. Supported by the groundbreaking computer-animated video for "Money for Nothing," a song which mocked music videos, the album became a blockbuster, spending nine weeks at the top of the American charts and selling over nine million copies; in England, the album became the biggest-selling album of the '80s. "Walk Of Life" and "So Far Away" kept Brothers in Arms in the charts through 1986, and Dire Straits played over 200 dates in support of the album.

Aiding the success of Brothers in Arms was the fact that it was one of the first fully digitally recorded and produced albums available in the (then) new Compact Disc format. This had the accidental side effect of making it one of the 'must buy' albums for consumers wishing to demonstrate the new technology. Equally, the new format was an excellent showcase for Knopfler's meticulous production values on the earlier albums, leading many existing fans to repurchase the whole back catalogue. Partly as a result of this (and a successful appearance in Live Aid), Dire Straits were the biggest selling band in the world in the mid 1980s. The popularity of the band extends beyond the UK and US: in many parts of the world including India, Southeast Asia and Africa, Dire Straits has been one of the most well-known and admired western bands.

Once the tour was completed, Dire Straits went on hiatus for several years, as Knopfler produced records by Randy Newman and Joan Armatrading, scored films, toured with Eric Clapton, and recorded a duet album with Chet Atkins (Neck and Neck, 1990). In 1989, he formed the country-rock group Notting Hillbillies, whose sole album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time, became a British hit upon its spring 1990 release. During the extended time off, John Illsley recorded his second album; the first appeared in 1984.

In 1990, Knopfler reconvened Dire Straits, which now featured Illsley, Clark, Fletcher, and various session musicians. The band released On Every Street in the fall of 1991 to great anticipation. However, the album failed to meet expectations -- it only went platinum in America and it didn't crack the U.K. Top 40 -- and failed to generate a hit single. Similarly, the tour was a disappointment, with many tickets going unsold in both the U.S. and Europe. Once the tour was completed, the live album On the Night was released in the spring of 1993 and the band again went on hiatus. In 1996, Knopfler launched his solo career with Golden Heart.

The band's line-up changed over the years, but one constant was Mark Knopfler, who wrote most of the band's songs and acted as clear leader of the band. (The Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits album contains only two songs not credited to Knopfler alone: 'Money for Nothing', which is credited as co-written with Sting, in fact Sting, at the behest of Knopfler, merely added the line 'I want my MTV' in the style of The Police hit, 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'. 'Tunnel of Love', which contains an instrumental section based on music from Carousel but is otherwise all Knopfler's own work.)