Tο ραδιόφωνο μας με την καλύτερη μουσική από τον Ελληνικό και διεθνή χώρο προσφέρει ένα μοναδικό πρόγραμμα ποιοτικής μουσικής, επιλεγμένο με μεράκι και αγάπη για τους καλούς φίλους του ραδιοφώνου και της μουσικής γενικότερα! Το πρόγραμμα μεταδίδεται μέσα από την ιστοσελίδα μας, δίνοντας την δυνατότητα σε όλους, από κάθε γωνιά του πλανήτη να έχουν πρόσβαση σ'αυτό. Eίναι ένας μη κερδοσκοπικός σταθμός μουσικής αναζήτησης που εκπέμπει ζωντανά, με βασικά κριτήρια την ποιότητα, τον ποιητικό στίχο και την προσεγμένη ροή με στόχο την προσπάθεια για τη δημιουργία ενός μαγικού ατμοσφαιρικού ακουστικού περιβάλλοντος που θα αγκαλιάζει και θα ταξιδεύει τον ακροατή .
After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late '70s, their first albums got somewhat lost in the shuffle, although they were fairly popular in Europe and Japan. During 1982, Coverdale took some time off so he could take care of his sick daughter.
When he re-emerged with a new version of Whitesnake in 1984, the band sounded revitalized and energetic. Slide It In may have relied on Led Zeppelin's and Deep Purple's old tricks, but the band had a knack for writing hooks; the record became their first platinum album. Three years later, Whitesnake released an eponymous album (titled 1987 in Europe) that was even better. Portions of the album were blatantly derivative -- "Still of the Night" was a dead ringer for early Zeppelin -- but the group could write powerful, heavy rockers like "Here I Go Again" that were driven as much by melody as riffs, as well as hit power ballads like "Is This Love." Whitesnake was an enormous international success, selling over six million copies in the U.S. alone.
Before they recorded their follow-up, 1989's Slip of the Tongue, Coverdale again assembled a completely new version of the band, featuring guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Although the record went platinum, it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of Whitesnake. Coverdale put Whitesnake on hiatus after that album. In 1993, he released a collaboration with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page that was surprisingly lackluster. The following year, Whitesnake issued a greatest-hits album in the U.S. and Canada focusing solely on material from their final three albums (as well as containing a few unreleased tracks).
In 1997, Coverdale resurrected Whitesnake (guitarist Adrian Vandenberg was the only remaining member of the group's latter-day lineup), issuing Restless Heart the same year. Surprisingly, the album wasn't even issued in the United States. On the ensuing tour, Coverdale and Vandenberg performed an "unplugged" show in Japan that was recorded and issued the following year under the title Starkers in Tokyo. By the late '90s, however, Coverdale once again put Whitesnake on hold, as he concentrated on recording his first solo album in nearly 22 years. Coverdale's Into the Light was issued in September 2000, featuring journeyman guitarist Earl Slick. After a lengthy hiatus that saw the release of countless "greatest-hits" and "live" collections, the band returned in 2008 with the impressive Good to Be Bad. Coverdale and Whitesnake toured the album throughout Europe and Japan. The band returned to the recording studio in 2010 with new members bassist Michael Devin (formerly of Lynch Mob) and drummer Brian Tichy, who appeared alongside guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, and guest keyboardist Timothy Drury (as well as Coverdale's son Jasper on backing vocals on various tracks). The band's 11th album, Forevermore, was preceded by the issue of the single, "Love Will Set You Free," and released in the spring of 2011. Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, Rovi
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His mother, Lucille, was only 17 years old when Hendrix was born. She had a stormy relationship with his father, Al, and eventually left the family after the couple had two more children together, sons Leon and Joseph. Hendrix would only see his mother sporadically before her death in 1958.
In many ways, music became a sanctuary for Hendrix. He was a fan of blues music and taught himself to play guitar. At the age of 14, Hendrix saw Elvis Presley perform. He got his first electric guitar the following year and eventually played with two bands—the Rocking Kings and the Tomcats. In 1959, Hendrix dropped out of high school. He worked odd jobs while continuing to follow his musical aspirations.
Hendrix enlisted in the United States Army in 1961 and trained at Fort Ord in California to become a paratrooper. Even as a soldier, he found time for music, creating a band named The King Casuals. Hendrix served in the army until 1962 when he was discharged due to an injury.
After leaving the military, Hendrix pursued his music, working as a session musician and playing backup for such performers as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and the Isley Brothers. He also formed a group of his own called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, which played gigs around New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood.
In mid-1966, Hendrix met Chas Chandler, a former member of the Animals, a successful rock group, who became his manager. Chandler convinced Hendrix to go to London where he joined forces with musicians Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience. While there, Hendrix built up quite a following among England's rock royalty. Members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Eric Clapton were all great admirers of Hendrix's work. One critic for the British music magazine Melody Maker said that he "had great stage presence" and looked at times as if he was playing "with no hands at all."
Released in 1967, the band's first single, "Hey Joe" was an instant smash in Britain, and was soon followed by other hits such as "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cried Mary." On tour to support his first album, Are You Experienced? (1967), Hendrix delighted audiences with his outrageous guitar-playing skills and his innovative, experimental sound. He won over American music fans with his stunning performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, which ended with Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire.
Quickly becoming a rock music superstar, Hendrix scored again with his second album, Axis: Bold as Love (1968). His final album as part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Ladyland (1968), was released and featured the hit "All Along the Watchtower," which was written by Bob Dylan. The band continued to tour until it split up in 1969.
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With a line-up comprising: Steve Jones(guitar), Paul Cook (drums), Glen Matlock (bass) and Johnny Rotten (vocals).
The group signed to EMI Records which released their first single, 'Anarchy In The UK'.
From Rotten's sneering laugh at the opening of the song to the final seconds of feedback, it was a riveting debut. Soon afterwards, the group was dropped from EMI in a blaze of publicity.
By February 1977, Matlock was replaced by punk caricature Sid Vicious. The following month, the group was signed to A&M Records outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. One week later, A&M cancelled the contract. After reluctantly signing to Virgin Records, the group issued 'God Save The Queen'. The single coincided with the Queen's Jubilee. It rose to number 1 in the New Musical Express chart. A third single, the melodic 'Pretty Vacant' proved their most accessible to date. They hit again with 'Holidays In The Sun' and the UK chart-topping Never Mind The Bollocks - Here's The Sex Pistols.
A troubled tour of America fractured the Pistols' already strained relationship. In early 1978, Rotten announced that he was leaving after a gig in San Francisco. The group then went to Rio to be filmed playing alongside train robber Ronnie Biggs.
Vicious, incapacitated by heroin addiction, could not make the trip, but Jones and Cook were happy to indulge in the publicity stunt. Another controversial single 'Cosh The Driver' was backed with Vicious's rendition of 'My Way'.
McLaren's movie titled The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle continued the mythology. Vicious recorded a lame version Of Eddie Cochran's 'C'mon Everybody' before returning to New York.
On 12 October 1978, Sid's girlfriend Nancy Spungen was found stabbed in his hotel room and Vicious was charged with murder. While released on bail, he suffered a fatal overdose of heroin and died in his sleep on the morning of 2 February 1979.
Virgin Records continued to issue the desultory fragments of Pistols work that they had on catalogue. The unholy saga ended in the High Court a decade later in 1986 when Rotten and his fellow ex-Pistols won substantial damages against their former manager. In 1996, the original line-up reformed and toured.
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In the summer of 1964, teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, and Gary Rossington, formed the band "The Noble Five", which then changed in 1965 to "My Backyard", when Larry Junstrom and Bob Burns joined in Jacksonville, Florida. Their early influences included British Invasion bands such as Free, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, as well as Southern blues and country & western music. In 1968, the group won a local Battle of the Bands contest and the opening slot on several Southeast shows for the California-based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock.
In 1970, roadie Billy Powell became the keyboardist for the band, and Van Zant sought a new name. "One Percent" and "The Noble Five" were each considered before the group settled on Leonard Skinnerd, a mocking tribute to a physical-education teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, Leonard Skinner, who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair. The more distinctive spelling was adopted before they released their first album. Despite their high school acrimony, the band developed a more friendly relationship with Skinner in later years, and invited him to introduce them at a concert in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum.
The band continued to perform throughout the South in the early 1970s, further developing their hard-driving, blues-rock sound and image. In 1972, Leon Wilkeson replaced Larry Junstrom on bass, but left just before the band was to record its first album (Wilkeson rejoined the band shortly thereafter at Van Zant's invitation). Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King filled in as bass player, later switching to guitar after the album's release, allowing the band to replicate the three-guitar mix used in the studio.
In 1970, the band auditioned for Alan Walden, who would later become their manager on the newly formed Hustler's Inc. Walden worked with the band until 1974, when management was turned over to Pete Rudge.
Peak years (1973?1977)
In 1972 the band was discovered by musician, songwriter, and producer Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, who had attended one of their shows at a club in Atlanta. They changed the spelling of their name to "Lynyrd Skynyrd", (pronounced 'l?h-'n?rd 'skin-'n?rd) and Kooper signed them to MCA Records, producing their first album "Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd". Released January 1st, 1973, the album featured the hit song "Free Bird", which received national airplay, eventually reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and is still considered a rock and roll anthem today.
Lynyrd Skynyrd's fan base continued to grow rapidly throughout 1973, largely due to their opening slot on The Who's Quadrophenia tour in the United States. Their 1974 follow-up, Second Helping, was the band's breakthrough hit, and featured their most popular single, "Sweet Home Alabama" (#8 on the charts in August 1974), a response to Neil Young's "Alabama" and "Southern Man." (Young and Van Zant were not rivals, but fans of each other's music and good friends; Young even wrote the song "Powderfinger" for the band, but they never recorded it. Van Zant, meanwhile, can be seen on the cover of Street Survivors wearing a Neil Young t-shirt.) The album reached #12 in 1974, eventually going multi-platinum. In July of that year, Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the headline acts at The Ozark Music Festival at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri.
In 1974, Burns left the band and was replaced by Kentucky native Artimus Pyle on drums. Lynyrd Skynyrd's third album, Nuthin' Fancy, was released the same year, though guitarist Ed King left midway through the tour. The album has the lowest sales and Kooper was eventually fired. In January 1976, backup singers Leslie Hawkins, Cassie Gaines and JoJo Billingsley (collectively known as The Honkettes) were added to the band. Lynyrd Skynyrd's fourth album Gimme Back My Bullets was released in the new year, but did not achieve the same success as the previous two albums. Van Zant and Collins both felt that the band was seriously missing the three-guitar attack that had been one of its early hallmarks. Although Skynyrd auditioned several guitarists, including such high-profile names as Leslie West, the solution was closer than they realized.
Soon after joining Skynyrd, Cassie Gaines began touting the guitar and songwriting prowess of her younger brother, Steve. The junior Gaines, who led his own band, Crawdad (which occasionally would perform Skynyrd's "Saturday Night Special" in their set), was invited to audition onstage with Skynyrd at a concert in Kansas City on May 11, 1976. Liking what they heard, the group also jammed informally with the Oklahoma native several times, then invited him into the group in June. With Gaines on board, the newly-reconstituted band recorded the double-live album One More From the Road in Atlanta, Georgia, and performed at the Knebworth festival, which also featured The Rolling Stones.
Both Collins and Rossington had serious car accidents over Labor Day weekend in 1976 which slowed the recording of the follow-up album and forced the band to cancel some concert dates. Rossington's accident inspired the ominous "That Smell" - a cautionary tale about drug abuse that was clearly aimed towards him and at least one other band member. Rossington has admitted repeatedly that he's the "Prince Charming" of the song who crashed his car into an oak tree while drunk and stoned on Quaaludes. Van Zant, at least, was making a serious attempt to clean up his act and curtail the cycle of boozed-up brawling that was part of Skynyrd's reputation.
1977's Street Survivors turned out to be a showcase for guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, who had joined the band just a year earlier and was making his studio debut with them. Publicly and privately, Ronnie Van Zant marveled at the multiple talents of Skynyrd's newest member, claiming that the band would "all be in his shadow one day." Gaines' contributions included his co-lead vocal with Van Zant on the co-written "You Got That Right" and the rousing guitar boogie "I Know A Little" which he had written before he joined Skynyrd. So confident was Skynyrd's leader of Gaines' abilities that the album (and some concerts) featured Gaines delivering his self-penned bluesy "Ain't No Good Life" - the only song in the pre-crash Skynyrd catalog to feature a lead vocalist other than Ronnie Van Zant. The album also included the hit singles "What's Your Name" and "That Smell". The band was poised for their biggest tour yet, including fulfilling Van Zant's lifelong dream of headlining New York's Madison Square Garden.
Plane crash (1977)
Main article: Convair 240 N55VM crash
On Thursday, October 20, 1977, just three days after the release of Street Survivors, and five shows into their most successful headlining tour to date, Lynyrd Skynyrd's chartered Convair 240 ran out of fuel near the end of their flight from Greenville, South Carolina, where they had just performed at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though the pilots attempted an emergency landing on a small airstrip, the plane crashed in a forest in Gillsburg, Mississippi. Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray were all killed on impact; the other bandmembers suffered serious injuries.
Lynyrd Skynyrd disbanded after the tragedy, reuniting just once to perform an instrumental version of "Free Bird" at Charlie Daniels' Volunteer Jam in January 1979. Collins, Rossington, Powell and Pyle performed the song with Charlie Daniels and members of his band. Leon Wilkeson, who was still undergoing physical therapy for his badly broken left arm, was in attendance, along with Judy Van Zant, Teresa Gaines, JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins.
Rossington, Collins, Wilkeson and Powell formed The Rossington-Collins Band, which released two albums between 1980 and 1982. Deliberately avoiding comparisons with Ronnie Van Zant as well as suggestions that this band was Lynyrd Skynyrd reborn, Rossington and Collins chose a woman, Dale Krantz, as lead vocalist. However, as an acknowledgment of their past, the band's concert encore would always be an instrumental version of "Free Bird." Rossington and Collins eventually had a falling out over the affections of Dale Krantz, whom Rossington married and with whom he formed the Rossington Band, which released two albums in the late 1980s and opened for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour in 1987-1988.
The other former members of Lynyrd Skynyrd continued to make music during the hiatus era. Billy Powell played keyboards in a Christian Rock band named Vision, touring with established Christian rocker Mylon LeFevre (who, like Skynyrd, had once opened for The Who). During Vision concerts, Powell's trademark keyboard talent was often spotlighted and he spoke about his conversion to Christianity after the near-fatal plane crash. Pyle formed The Artimus Pyle Band in 1982, which occasionally featured former Honkettes JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins.
In 1980 Allen Collins' wife Kathy died of a massive hemorrhage while miscarrying their third child. He formed the Allen Collins Band in 1983 from the remnants of the Rossington-Collins Band, releasing one tepidly-received album, but many around him believed that the guitarist's heart just wasn't in it anymore. Most point to his wife's death as the moment that Collins' life began to spin out of control; he spent several years bingeing on drugs and alcohol. In 1986 Collins crashed his car while driving drunk near his home in Jacksonville, killing his girlfriend and leaving him permanently paralyzed from the chest down. Collins eventually pled no contest to DUI manslaughter, but was not given a prison sentence since his injuries made it obvious that he would never drive or be a danger to society again.
Reunion years (1987?present)
In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for a full-scale tour with crash survivors Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson and Artimus Pyle and former guitarist Ed King. Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, took over as the new lead singer and primary songwriter. Due to Collins' paralysis from the 1986 car accident, he was only able to participate as the musical director, choosing Randall Hall, his former bandmate in the Allen Collins Band, as his stand-in. As part of his plea deal, Collins would be wheeled out onstage each night to explain to the audience why he could no longer perform (usually before the performance of "That Smell," which had been partially directed at him). Collins was stricken with pneumonia in 1989 and died on January 23, 1990.
The reunited band was meant to be a one-time tribute to the original lineup, captured on the double-live album Southern By The Grace Of God/Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour - 1987. The fact that the band chose to continue after the 1987 tribute tour caused legal problems for the survivors, as Judy Van Zant Jenness and Teresa Gaines Rapp (widows of Ronnie and Steve, respectively) sued the others for violating an agreement made shortly after the plane crash, stating that they would not "exploit" the Skynyrd name for profit. As part of the settlement, Jenness and Rapp collect nearly 30% of the band's touring revenues (representing the shares their husbands would have earned had they lived), and hold a proviso which forces any band touring as "Lynyrd Skynyrd" to contain at least two members of the pre-crash lineup. Since Collins, Wilkeson and Powell are now dead, Ed King unable to tour due to ongoing heart problems, and Pyle on the outs with the others leaves Gary Rossington as the Skynyrd standard-bearer.
Wilkeson's long time friend Byron "Red" Glover, was Skynyrd's fill-in guitarist and functioned as a substitute when needed. During several concerts, Red was dragged up on stage by Wilkeson to play with the band.
The reconstituted Lynyrd Skynyrd has gone through several lineup changes and continues to record and tour today. Leon Wilkeson, Skynyrd's bassist since 1972, was found dead in his hotel room on July 27, 2001; his death was found to be due to emphysema and chronic liver disease. He was replaced in 2001 by Ean Evans. The remaining members released a double album called Thyrty which had songs from the original line up to the present. Lynyrd Skynyrd also released a live DVD of their Vicious Cycle Tour and on June 22, 2004, Lynyrd Skynyrd released the album Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour. On December 10, 2004, Lynyrd Skynyrd did a show for CMT, Crossroads, a concert featuring country duo Montgomery Gentry and other genres of music.
In the beginning of 2005 Hughie Thomasson left the band to reform his disbanded Southern Rock band Outlaws. On February 5, 2005, Lynyrd Skynyrd did a Super Bowl party back in Jacksonville with special guests 3 Doors Down, Jo Dee Messina, Charlie Daniels and Ronnie and Johnny Van Zant's brother Donnie Van Zant of .38 Special. On February 13 of that year Lynyrd Skynyrd did a tribute to Southern Rock on the Grammy Awards with Gretchen Wilson, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. On May 10, 2005, Johnny and Donnie Van Zant released a country album called Get Right with the Man which featured the hit single "Help Somebody". In the summer of 2005, lead singer Johnny Van Zant had to have surgery on his vocal cord to have a polyp removed. He was told not to sing for three months. On September 10, 2005, Lynyrd Skynyrd performed without Johnny Van Zant at the Music Relief Concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, with Kid Rock standing in for Johnny. In December 2005, Johnny Van Zant returned to sing for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band performed live at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, as a part of their 2007 tour. The concert was recorded in high definition for HDNet and premiered on December 1, 2007.
On September 9, 2007, former Skynyrd guitarist Hughie Thomasson died of a heart attack at his home in Florida. Mark "Sparky" Matejka, formerly of the country music band Hot Apple Pie, joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 2006.
The band in 2008
On November 2, 2007, the band performed at Gator Growl, the world's largest student-run pep rally, in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - also known as "The Swamp." The event's 50,000 person attendance marked the largest crowd that Lynyrd Skynyrd had ever played in front of in the United States, until the July 2008 Bama Jam in Enterprise, Alabama where more than 111,000 people were in attendance.
On January 28, 2009, keyboardist Billy Powell died at age 56 at his home near Jacksonville, Florida. Powell called 911 at 12:55 a.m., complaining of shortness of breath. He had previously missed his doctor's appointment on the day before his death; the appointment was for a checkup on his heart. The EMS responders found Powell unconscious and unresponsive, with the telephone still in his hand. Rescue crews performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m. Although a heart attack was suspected, and it was originally reported that an autopsy was to be performed, none in fact was ever done.
On March 17, 2009, it was announced that Skynyrd had signed a worldwide deal with Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records and will release their new album God & Guns September 29 of that year. They will tour Europe and the United States in 2009 with Peter Keys of the 420 Funk Mob on keyboards and Robert Kearns of The Bottle Rockets on bass in place of Ean Evans who died at age 48 on Wednesday, May 6, 2009, at his home in Columbus, Mississippi, succumbing to the cancer.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the group #95 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
On November 28, 2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that Lynyrd Skynyrd would be inducted alongside Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, and the Sex Pistols. They were inducted in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan on March 13, 2006. Lynyrd Skynyrd had been nominated 7 times.
On March 13, 2006, Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 21st annual induction ceremony. The inductees included Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington, Ed King, Steve Gaines, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, Bob Burns, and Artimus Pyle (no post-crash members of the band were inducted, nor were any of the Honkettes). The current version of Skynyrd, augmented by King, Pyle, Burns and former Honkettes JoJo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins, performed "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird" at the ceremony, which was also attended by Judy Van Zant Jenness and Ronnie's two daughters, Teresa Gaines Rapp and her daughter Corinna, Allen Collins' daughters, and Leon Wilkeson's mother.
In 1994, various country music artists united to record a Skynyrd tribute album titled Skynyrd Frynds.
Ronnie Van Zant's widow, Judy Van Zant Jenness, operates a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute website for the educational purpose of sharing the original Lynyrd Skynyrd band's history, as well as Freebird Live, a live music venue in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
The Drive By Truckers dedicated their album Southern Rock Opera to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Progressive metal band Dream Theater pay tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd on their live album Once in a LIVEtime, whereby the song "Take the Time" is modified to include the solo from "Free Bird".
Main article: List of Lynyrd Skynyrd band members
Johnny Van Zant ? lead vocals (1987?present)
Gary Rossington ? guitars (1964?1977, 1987?present)
Rickey Medlocke ? drums, guitars, backing vocals (1970?1971, 1996?present)
Mark Matejka ? guitars, backing vocals (2006?present)
Robert Kearns ? bass, backing vocals (2009?present)
Michael Cartellone ? drums (1999?present)
Peter Keys ? keyboards (2009?present)
Dale Krantz-Rossington ? backing vocals (1987?present)
Carol Chase ? backing vocals (1987?present)
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Guitarists James “JY” Young- who was performing with a rival band in Chicago-joins the quartet. The new line-up begins taking a different direction with more musical experiments, with classical/rock fusions and electronic trickeries.
The band’s demo is heard by the Wooden Nickel label, who would subsequently offer the band a recording contract the following year.
The band is renamed STYX after a mythological river if the dead-a decision made by the band members. STYX I is released. The single, “Best Thing” (written by DeYoung and “JY”), reaches the Top 100 on the charts by the end of the year.
STYX II is released, and although it doesn’t chart immediately, the Dennis DeYoung penned ballad, “Lady”, gets considerable airplay on Chicago radio. The band concentrates on their touring efforts in support of the single’s success, and creates a vast following of fans. The band will release The Serpent Is Rising toward the end of the year.
The Serpent is Rising cracks the Top 200 Albums Chart in February, followed up by Man of Miracles, which reaches even higher position in November. “Lady” would be re-released as a single with national promotion, and the song would be propelled to #6 on the U.S. charts.
STYX II rockets up the charts as a result of the success of “Lady.” It would reach #20, and sell over 500,000 units. In September, after searching for a larger and more supportive label, STYX would sign with powerhouse A&M Records. Two months later, Equinox, featuring the single “Lorelei”-would be the first A&M release, immediately reaching gold status (and eventually going platinum). At the end of the year, guitarist John Curulewski would leave the band. The band’s road manager recommends 23-year-old Tommy Shaw-then guitarist for Chicago based band “MS Funk”-as a replacement. A week after auditioning, Tommy Shaw joined the band.
On July 7th (7/7/77), the band released The Grand Illusion.
In January, A&M Records releases the single “Come Sail Away,” which would enter the Top 10. The parent album, The Grand Illusion, hits #6 as a result of the single’s success, and eventually becomes the first album from STYX to go platinum. The singles, “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” and “Miss America” contribute to the success of the album. Later in the year, the band would follow up with another platinum-selling album (reaching #6) titled, Pieces of Eight, featuring the hit singles, “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” “Renegade,” and “Sing for the Day.”
A national Gallup poll would reveal that STYX is the most popular rock band with teenagers (13-19 year olds). By December, the band’s newest album release, Cornerstone, would hit #2 on the U.S. charts, earning the band it’s third consecutive platinum album. The singles, “Babe” (reaching #1 on the charts and becoming their highest-selling single of their career), “Why Me,” and “Borrowed Time” generate mass sales.
Beginning early in the year, STYX would embark on an ambitious 110 date, six-month North American tour. In April, the album Paradise Theatre would be released, soon reaching platinum success (STYX would now have four consecutive platinum albums under their belt), and remaining at #1 on the U.S. charts for three weeks. Two hit singles-“The Best of Times” and “Too Much Time on My Hands”-reach #3 and #9, respectively, on the U.S. charts. The band would become the first in the history of rock ‘n’ roll to have four consecutive triple-platinum albums.
STYX releases concept album, Kilroy Was Here, and will tour in support of it most of the year. A stage act is built around the album, in which costumed band members have roles and dialogue in addition to performing songs. It would become one of the most ambitious rock ‘n’ roll tours ever. The single “Mr. Roboto,” reaches #3, and becomes the second million-selling single in the band’s history (“Babe” being the first). Another single, “Don’t Let It End,” also goes Top 10.
The band releases a double live album titled, Caught in the Act. Although the album is well received by the record buying public, both Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw decide to pursue solo projects (also on A&M records). Subsequently, the band is put on hold. Dennis DeYoung’s Desert Moon and Tommy Shaw’s Girls With Guns both enter top 50.
In December, Tommy Shaw releases What If, which enters the Top 100, and spawns a single, “Ever Since the World Began.”
Dennis DeYoung releases second solo album, Back to the World, and will also contribute a single (not from album), “This Is the Time,” to the movie, “The Karate Kid Part II.” James Young released his first solo effort, City Slicker, a collaboration with Jan Hammer.
Dennis DeYoung releases another solo album, entitled Bloomchild (on MCA)
Tommy Shaw forms a new band, Damn Yankees, with former Night Ranger vocalist/bassist Jack Blades, guitar virtuoso Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone. The self-titled debut album will produce two hit singles, “High Enough” and “Coming of Age,” and will eventually sell over 2 million copies on Warner Bros. Records. The band tours extensively with Bad Company, and the album reaches #26. Toward the end of the year, STYX will reunite without Shaw (replaced by Glen Burtnik), and will release the album, Edge of the Century, which begins to garner acclaim.
A single from Edge of the Century titled, “Show Me the Way,” begins chart ascension into the Top 10 during the Gulf War. With the success of the single, STYX joins an elite group of acts who have had Top 10 hits under each of the last four United States Presidents (and Top 10 hits in three different decades).
Damn Yankees release their second effort, Don’t Tread, on Warner Bros. Records. The album, which features the singles “ Don’t Tread” and “Where Are You Goin’ Now?, would eventually reach platinum status. The video for the title track would be aired throughout the 1992 Olympics.
In addition to playing the roll of Pontius Pilate in the national company of Jesus Christ Superstar (to rave reviews), Dennis DeYoung cuts an album of show tunes for Atlantic Records entitled 10 on Broadway.
STYX release Greatest Hits: Volume 1, featuring a re-recorded version of “Lady” with Tommy Shaw (who had not yet joined the band when it was originally recorded). Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades release an album, Hallucination, as Shaw*Blades (Warner Bros. Records). The album would be co-produced by Don Gehman of REM/John Mellencamp fame. James Young forms the James Young Group, with other Chicago musicians and tours in support of their album, Raised by Wolves (Absolute/Whitehouse).
In May, the classic (and most successful) line-up returns with “The Return to the Paradise Theatre” tour, which was seen in over 50 cities. Greatest Hits: Volume II was released in the summer featuring a few new songs. For the first time in thirteen years, Dennis DeYoung, James Young, Tommy Shaw, and Chuck Panozzo were “Rockin’ The Paradise.” Again…
1997: In May, CMC International Records, a division of BMG Entertainment, releases a double album of new studio tracks plus live recording of Greatest Hits from the ’96 tour, appropriately titled, Return to Paradise. Due to popular demand, STYX embarks on a 50-city North American tour in support of the release.
1998: Tommy Shaw releases a solo album in CMC, 7 Deadly Zens and hits the road opening shows for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Dennis DeYoung returns to his theatrical calling as his “Hunchback of Notre Dame” enjoys a successful run in Nashville. The band starts making plans for a new studio album-the classic line-up’s first in 16 years.
1999: The band goes in to the studio in Chicago and Los Angeles to record Brave New World which is released on June 29th. A tour begins in July, which will run through the end of the year.
2000: The band embarks on a 40 city co-headline tour with REO Speedwagon. The tour is so successful that the two bands record and release a double live album and DVD, “Arch Allies – Live at Riverport”. They then extend the tour (to date, Styx and REO have played over 90 shows together, consistently generating hugely successful box office numbers.)
2001: Styxworld Live 2001 is released, containing tracks recorded in Canada, Japan and Germany. The band continues its heavy touring schedule, playing 121 shows, including a 40 city tour with Bad Company that donates over $100,000 to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Education Fund, marking the first time in history that the Rock Hall attaches its name to a tour.
2002: Styx plays over 90 shows and records a new studio album, set for release in the winter of 2003.
2003: Styx releases Cyclorama on February 18, 2003. The band tours extensively throughout the year in support of the record.
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The title of being the first punk rock band definitely belongs to the Ramones.
Although bands like the Stooges and the New York Dolls came before them and introduced the new punk aesthetic and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, unveiled the latent violence of the music and made it more explicit, contribution of the Ramones was somewhat different. They managed to crystallize the musical ideals of the genre by dissolving rock & roll down to its bare essentials - four chords, catchy melody endorsed by seductively fatuous lyrics. While relying on the sound rooted deeply in the early ‘60s that belonged to pre-Beatles mixture of rock & roll and pop, the Ramones considerably speeded up the tempo and thus created a revolutionary sound.
Their breakthrough that was both theoretical and musical quickly put them on the map of the emerging New York punk rock scene. Despite their peers such as Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell were more intellectual and self-consciously artistic than the Ramones, it never endangered their position of scene leaders because they appealed to different mentality. They shamelessly turned rock conventions inside out and celebrated bathetic pop culture with stylized stupidity. Their first four albums established a new pattern for American punk and hardcore for the following twenty years.
And for the next two decades the Ramones themselves were major figures, playing basically the same music without significantly changing their style much. There were some punk diehards, including several of their colleagues, that claimed the band's lasting career wound up overthrowing the ideals the band originally stood for. However, the Ramones always celebrated not just the punk aesthetic, but the music itself.
The Ramones’ intriguing story began in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York back in 1974. The band was originally a trio consisting of Joey Ramone (vocals, drums; born Jeffrey Hyman, May 19, 1951), Johnny Ramone (guitar; born John Cummings, Oct. 8, 1951), and Dee Dee Ramone (bass; born Douglas Colvin, Sept. 18, 1952). Tommy Ramone (born Tom Erdelyi, Jan. 29, 1952) was also there from the start, acting as the group's manager. All of the band members adopted the last name "Ramone" and dressed in torn blue jeans and leather jackets, which was their homage to '50s greaser rockers. Band made their first appearance on March 30, 1974, at New York's Performance Studio. Two months later, Tommy became the band's drummer and Joey switched to vocals. By the end of that summer, the Ramones were residents at CBGB's. For the next year, they had regular shows at the nightclub, which attracted many fans that will later turn to dedicated cult and inspired other artists to form bands with similar ideals. Although their sets lasted no more than approximately 20 minutes, they featured a brutal barrage of short, barely two-minute songs that made them legendary. Their uncompromising style secured them a recording contract with Sire by the end of 1975. Discounting Patti Smith, the Ramones were the first NY punk band to sign a contract.
The debut album simply named "Ramones" was released early in 1976 on a limited budget of 6,000 dollars. Resulting material was released in the spring and apart from gaining some critical attention, it also managed to climb to 111 on the U.S. album charts. On July 4, the Ramones made their debut appearance in Britain, where their popularity was rapidly increasing. Their powerful records made significant influence on a new generation of bands. All throughout 1976, the Ramones toured constantly in search for new followers, inaugurating nearly 20 years of relentless touring. As the year ended, the band released their second album, again with a simplified title "Ramones Leave Home". Even though the album itself just scraped the U.S. charts, it became a genuine hit in England in the spring of 1977, peaking at number 48. By the summer of 1977, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were seen as the two key bands in the punk rock (r)evolution. The difference was that at one point Pistols imploded and the Ramones kept on rolling. After the great success of hit "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker that climbed to U.K. Top 40, the band released their third album “Rocket to Russia” in the fall of 1977.
Despite leaving the band in the spring of 1977, Tommy Ramone produced the group's subsequent album. Former Voidoid’s Marc Bee took his place and immediately changed his name to Marky Ramone. With the new drummer in place, the Ramones recorded their fourth album “Road to Ruin” and released it in the fall. It marked the band's first attempt to soften their sound by pursuing bubblegum, girl group, surf, and '60s pop influences. Besides, it was the first of their albums to run over half an hour. The sound was more accessible, but it didn't gain the band a noticeably larger following. Same goes to “Rock N' Roll High School”, a film from 1977 directed by Roger Corman in which the Ramones had a pivotal part. It caused a noticeable creative intermission, thus the soundtrack to “Rock N' Roll High School” and the U.K.-only live album “It's Alive” were the band's only releases of 1979. They spent most of the year in the studio recording their fifth album with legendary '60s pop producer Phil Spector. He remixed a number of older Ramones songs and was also responsible for the title song to Corman’s movie, which was the first track released from their joint sessions. The final result of their collaboration saw light in January of 1980 under the name of “End of the Century” and earned assorted reviews. The reception of the album was rather lukewarm, since the record's cover of the Ronettes' "Baby I Love You" became the only Top Ten British hit and in America none of the singles made an impact. However, the record ironically became their biggest hit, peaking at number 44.
Their attempts at crossover success continued with their sixth album called “Pleasant Dreams”, which was released in 1981. Former Hollies and 10cc member Graham Gouldman was responsible for the production, still the record was a commercial disappointment in both America and England. During 1982 the Ramones were relatively quiet, spending most of their time on tour. The band’s alleged great return was planned with the album called “Subterranean Jungle”, which was released in the spring of 1983. This time the production was entrusted to Ritchie Cordell and Glen Koltkin, who were heads of the American indie label Beserkley Records. However, the results were disappointing again. Not only did “Subterranean Jungle” fail to gain the larger audience the band desired, it continued the decline of their diehard fan base, as well as their downfall in the eyes of many rock critics. Not long after the album's release, Marky Ramone left the band and was replaced by Richard Beau, who was a former member of the Velveteens. According to the custom of the band, he changed his name to Richie Ramone.
After the line-up refreshment, the Ramones released “Too Tough to Die” in 1984. It was their belated response to America's sprouting hardcore punk scene that was produced by Tommy Erdelyi to a large extent. Along with restoring their artistic reputation, the album provided a hit single "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," which was a cynical critic of President Ronald Reagan's 1985 visit to Germany. Although the sound of “Too Tough to Die” was widely accepted, the Ramones introduced a more simplified, stylized and conventional approach to their songwriting formula with their 1986's “Animal Boy”. It set a blueprint that group followed for the remaining ten years of their career. Following the release of 1987's “Halfway to Sanity”, Richie Ramone left the band and Marky Ramone re-joined the group. One year later, the band released “Ramones Mania”, a certain career retrospective. In 1989, the Ramones wrote the theme song for the Stephen King’s movie Pet Semetary. The track was also included on “Brain Drain”, released in the summer of the same year. After its release, the group's bassist Dee Dee Ramone left the band to pursue a career as a rapper called Dee Dee King. His debut rap recording failed miserably however, so he formed the band Chinese Dragons. Dee Dee was replaced by Christopher John Ward who took the name C.J. Ramone.
In the early '90s, the Ramones decided it’s time to sober up, with both Joey and Marky undergoing alcoholism treatment. The band returned to studio in 1992, first releasing the “Loco Live” and then “Mondo Bizarro”, which was their first studio album in three years. The latter turned out to be a commercial failure, as did their 1994 covers album, “Acid Eaters”.
On the other hand, the release of “Acid Eaters” earned them respect of the mainstream guitar rock audience in America who finally embraced punk rock in the form of young bands like Green Day and the Offspring. Since they felt the climate wasn’t quite right for the crossover success they had longed for over decades, the Ramones quickly composed and released “Adios Amigos”, claiming that unless the new album sold in substantial figures, they will disband after a final farewell tour. Although the album spent only two weeks in the charts,the Ramones embarked on a long farewell tour that was set throughout the rest of 1995. Just when they reached the verge of splitting, they got an offer to play at the sixth Lollapalooza. They accepted and toured with the festival that summer. As the tour drew to its end, the Ramones parted ways, two decades after the release of their first album. Only a few years later, Joey Ramone passed away at age 49 on April 15, 2001, as the victim of lymphoma. No longer than a year after Joey's death, Dee Dee Ramone was found dead in his home in Los Angeles on June 5, 2002. A for Johnny Ramone, he passed away two years later on September 15, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.
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In September of 1974 Judas Priest released its long-awaited debut album, "Rocka Rolla", to little attention.
Hinch left the crew shortly before the band started to work on their next album, 1976's "Sad Wings Of Destiny", which was recorded with re-enlisted drummer Alan Moore.
A year later, the group lost Moore for the second and final time; Judas Priest enlisted the help of a new drummer, Simon Philips and returned to the studio to record their third LP, "Sin After Sin", which was issued on CBS Records with Deep Purple's Roger Glover producing; this was the band's first U.K. top 40 album. With Les Binks settled behind the drum kit, the band departed for their first American tour where they played as an opening act for Led Zeppelin.
In the spring of 1978 the band released "Stained Class" which cracked the Pop Albums chart in the United States.
The next album, "Killing Machine", generated two British hit singles: "Take On The World" and "Evening Star"; in America their fifth studio-LP was issued in 1979 under the name of "Hell Bent For Leather" as the record company considered the British title too violent; the U.S. edition included an extra-track, the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi"; the disc eventually reached the #128 position on The Official U.S. Pop Albums chart. Before the year's end Judas Priest released the live-album "Unleashed In The East" and replaced Binks with drummer Dave Holland; the live-set hit #70 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart and went platinum.
The following year the band released "British Steel", which crashed into the top 5 of the Official U.K. Albums chart and reached the #34 spot on the U.S. Pop chart; the record yielded two British smash singles, "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight"; most of 1980 was spent on the road touring with acts like Def Leppard, Scorpions and Rainbow.
In the spring of the following year the quintet recorded "Point Of Entry", in America the album duplicate the chart performance of its predecessor and its single "Heading Out To The Highway" hit #10 on The Mainstream Rock chart; another single, "Hot Rockin", found more success in Britain.
The year 1982 saw the release of "Screaming For Vengeance", the record rose to #17 in the United States, the band's highest charting album to date, it included the minor hit "Electric Eye" and the Mainstream Rock top 5 hit "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" helped pump album sales to over a million copies; the record was an huge hit in Europe where reached the #11 spot in their native England.
The follow-up, "Defenders Of The Faith", appeared two years later, the album went on to rise to the top 20 of both The Billboard Top 200 and the National U.K. charts.
"Turbo" followed, trailed in 1986 by the Mainstream Rock top 30 hit single "Locked In"; the full-length disc hit #17 on The Billboard 200 Albums chart and went on to sell over a million units. During the year Judas Priest toured America several times, they decided to release "Priest...Live!", the set climbed into the top 40 of The Billboard 200.
With their next album, "Ram It Down", they returned to the harsh Metal sound but failed to retain their original fans, the record hit #31 on The Billboard Top 200 chart and inched into the top 30 in Britan.
In 1989 Holland left the group and was replaced by drummer Scott Travis who joined in time to record "Painkiller"; this album was issued in autumn of 1990 and reached the #26 position on Billboard's Top 200 spawning the Active Rock top 30 hit "A Touch Of Evil".
That same year, the parents of two fans who committed suicide after listening "Better By You, Better Than Me" from the 1978's "Stained Class" album, dragged Judas Priest into court to defend themselves in a multi-million dollar lawsuit; after three-years court battle the band was declared not guilty.
Rob Halford left the group in 1991, thus began a collaboration with Pantera and later fronted Black Sabbath, finally embarked full-time on his solo project.
In 1997, the veteran Heavy-Metal group resurfaced with 29-year-old vocalist Tim 'Ripper' Owens; their new effort, "Jugulator", reached #82 on The Billboard Top 200 and ascended into the top 50 of the British Albums chart.
Another three and a half years passed before the quintet returned with their next release, "Demolition", but the album was a commercial failure.
Rumors of Halford's return to the group began circulating, the reunion was officially announced during 2003.
Halford, Tipton, Downing, Hill and Travis released "Angel Of Retribution", in March of 2005, the album achieved a career-best peak of #13 in U.S. and included the Active Rock top 30 hit single "Revolution".
Judas Priest's long-delayed new disc will be released in mid-June; their upcoming first conceptual album is based upon the life and predictions of the 16th century French prophet Nostradamus.
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They are joined by Pick Withers, (born April 4th 1948). Under the name of Mark's previous band, Café Racers, the line up debuts at a punk festival, headlined by Squeeze, on waste ground behind Farrar House. A friend of Pick's - seeing their financial plight - suggests the name Dire Straits, which they do for their second gig - supporting Squeeze at the local legendary Albany Theatre.
The band scrapes together ￡120 and records a demo tape at Pathway Studios, North London, Mark and John take the tape round to Charlie Gillett, a DJ with Radio London, and, unknown to the band, Charlie plays the tape on his "Honky Tonk" show. Oct 1977. Phonogram Records' A and R man, John Stainze, one of many impressed by the broadcast demos, tracks down the band, and after strong competition, signs it to Phonogram's Vertigo label for the world, excluding The USA.
Nov 1977. Billed as Dire Straights, the band plays London's Hope and Anchor pub.
Dec 1977. Ed Bicknell, (former drummer in Jess Conrad's band), then an agent at NEMS Agency, hears the band's tape when Stainze enquires about an agency deal for it and, after seeing the group perform at Dingwalls club in London, asks to manage them. An informal agreement is reached, and Ed puts the band on as support on the forthcoming Talking Heads UK tour, where Dire Straits get an encore every night.
Feb 14 1978 - Mar 8 1978. Dire Straits record their first LP at Basing Street Studios in London, with producer Muff Winwood (The project will cost ￡12,500 including artwork to complete).
Mar/Apr 1978. Residency at the Marquee Club, London. Shows sold out to great reviews
May 1978. Dire Straits tour the UK supporting Climax Blues Band, and also make their first visit to Europe where they support Styx (Paris, Hamburg and the Hague). "Sultans Of Swing" is released in the UK. It enters the charts in the lower thirties, and drops out the following week.
June 8 1978. The bands first album is released in the UK, it enters the Top 50, gets to 37 then drops out. The band's first headlining UK tour ends with two sold out shows at the Marquee. Meanwhile, a deal has been concluded for the group's record to be released on Warner Brothers in The USA.
July 1978. The first album is released in Belgium and Holland.
Sept 1978. Mark visits the Muscle Shoals Studios, AL, meeting producer Jerry Wexler and playing on a Mavis Staples' session. A deal is struck with Wexler and Muscle Shoals keyboard player Barry Beckett, for them to produce Dire Straits' second album.
Oct 1978. Album sales increase in Europe, and "Sultans Of Swing" is released as a single there and does well. The band tour Holland, Belgium and W. Germany to sell-out crowds.
Nov 1 - 18 1978. Sell-out British university tour - new material played for the first time.
Nov 1978. The band's debut album, having been released in The USA on Oct 20, is receiving widespread initial airplay reaction.
Nov 27 1978. Band departs for Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, to record second album, "Communiqué". Meanwhile a debut US tour is set up for the following
Dec 1978. First album reaches number 1 in Australia, and goes gold in New Zealand. It is also developing into a massive hit in The USA, Canada, Germany, Holland, Belgium and France.
Jan 1 - 10 1979. Mixing of "Communiqué" album at Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Feb 1979. First album goes to number 1 in France. Goes platinum in Australia and New Zealand, (where it is number 3). "Sultans Of Swing" is at number 4 in Australia. Band decide that "Communiqué" should be released world-wide in June.
Feb 23 - Apr 3 1979. Dire Straits debut US tour. 51 sold out shows in 38 days, over 300 interviews, and dozens of radio studio visits. When the band get to New York, they are told the album has just gone gold, and as they get to Los Angeles, it goes platinum. Bob Dylan sees the band and invites Mark and Pick to play on his next LP. Meanwhile the first album goes to number 2 on the American Billboard Charts (41 weeks), and the single goes to number 5 in Canada.At the same time, things are going well in Europe: "Dire Straits" goes gold in Germany, and takes off in Denmark and Sweden.
April 7 1979. Phonogram UK decide to re-activate "Sultans Of Swing", and it hits UK #8 and US #4.
Apr 21 1979. Boosted by the success of "Sultans Of Swing", the album "Dire Straits" hits UK #5 (The album will eventually be a million seller in both the UK and US, and will spend 132 weeks on the UK survey).
May 1 - 12 1979. Mark and Pick work with Bob Dylan in Muscle Shoals on his forthcoming album "Slow Train Coming"
June 5 1979. Release of "Communiqué".
June 1979. Sold out UK tour. The group are presented with gold albums for "Dire Straits" and for the pre-sales of "Communiqué".
"Communiqué" becomes the first LP EVER to enter the German charts at number 1 in it's first week of release (and the first LP is still at number 3 in that country)
June 30 1979. The album "Communiqué", once again entirely written by Mark and released to coincide with another sell-out UK and European tour hits UK #5.
Aug 4 1979. The album "Communiqué" makes US #11.
Aug 11 1979. The extracted "Lady Writer" peaks at UK #51.
Aug 25 1979. "Lady Writer" makes US #45.
Sept 1979. Second USA tour. "Communiqué" is now a world-wide hit, while in many countries, the first album is still in the top 10. Both albums have now gone gold and platinum in South Africa, the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, the UK, USA and Canada. "Communiqué" enters the New Zealand chart at number 1.
Nov 1979. Sold out tour of Holland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Dire Straits become only the third act ever to sell out the 14,000 seat Scandinavian Hall in Gothenburg.
Apr 1980. Phil Lynott's Album "Solo in Soho", featuring Mark's distinctive fret-work, makes UK #28.
July 25 1980. After a month's recording sessions for the next album with new producer Jimmy Iovine, (He has been engineer/mixer on Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" LP and producer on Patti Smith's "Easter" LP). David Knopfler quits the band to pursue a solo career, which will yield the albums "Release" (UK #82, 1983), "Behind The Lines"
(1985), "Cut The Wire" (1987) and "Lips Against The Steel" (1988). New York session man Sid McGinnis replaces him temporarily.
Sep 1980. Following auditions, Hal Lindes (born June 30th 1953, Monterey, CA), ex-darling, and Alan Clark (born Mar. 5th 1952, Durham, England) are recruited on guitar and keyboard respectively.
Oct 17 1980. Release of "Making Movies" and Mark sets off on a short press tour of Europe to promote it.
Oct 20 - Nov 3 1980. Sold out North American tour including appearances by band on TV shows "Fridays" and "Solid Gold".
Dec 1 - Dec 24 1980. Sold out UK tour. Group interrupt tour on December 19 and 20 to do two dates in Dortmund, Germany, with Roxy Music and Talking Heads. The shows are titled "Rock Pop" and are televised throughout Europe in January 1981. One of the largest music show television audiences in history.
Dec 6 1980. Steely Dan's Album "Gaucho", featuring Mark on guest guitar, enters the US chart.
Jan 1981. "Making Movies", with assistant from E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan, reaches US #19.
Jan 31 1981. The single "Skateaway" peaks at US #58.
Feb 14 1981. "Making Movies", assisted by the still climbing single "Romeo And Juliet" hits a belated UK chart peak of #4.
Feb 21 1981. "Romeo And Juliet" hits UK #8.
Mar/Apr 1981. Recently returned from a successful appearance at the San Remo Song Festival in Italy, the band embarks on its debut tour of Australia and New Zealand. Five sold out shows in Melbourne, four in Adelaide and seven in Sidney. The concert in Auckland turns out to be the highest-grossing show in the group's history so far…
Apr 11 1981. "Skateaway" makes UK #37.
May/Jun 1981. Tour of Northern Europe. All shows sold out and in Stockholm, band out-draws Wings and even local heroes Abba!
June/July 1981. Tour of Southern Europe, again all sold out. Over a quarter of a million people see the band at the Italian shows alone.
Oct 17 1981. "Tunnel Of Love" single peaks at UK #54.
Feb 1982. Mark is invited by film producer David Puttnam to compose and perform the soundtrack score to Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero" movie. (He is also currently featured on Van Morrison's latest album, "Beautiful Vision".)
Mar 1 1982. The band begins recording it's fourth album. Immediately afterwards, Pick Withers leaves the band.
Apr 1982. Phil Lynott's album, "The Phil Lynott Album", including Mark's lead guitar on the track "Ode To Liberty" (which he also co-produced), is released.
Jul 1982. "Local Hero" soundtrack music is recorded, after Mark visits location shooting in Scotland.
Aug 1982. UK release of "Private Investigations" which goes on to become the band's most successful British single to date.. reached number 2 in the UK charts, behind Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger", after only two weeks. Even though it was extremely long for a single, most radio DJ's actually played the entire song and didn't even speak over
Sep 24 1982. World-wide release of "Love Over Gold". Band set off on TV and press tour of Europe.. On their return, they audition drummers, and select Terry Williams, ex-Man and Dave Edmunds band Rockpile, to replace Pick.
Oct 1982. Mark suddenly decides he wants to do a rock 'n' roll EP. "Twisting By The Pool" is recorded very quickly in London, and is Terry's first work with the band.
Oct 2 1982. The album "Love Over Gold", featuring the 14 minute opus "Telegraph Road", hits UK #1, where it stays for four weeks.
Nov 2 1982. Mark and Terry record with Phil Everly in London.
Nov 13 1982. "Love Over Gold" reaches US #19.
Nov 30 - Dec 21 1982. 22-date sold out UK tour. Tommy Mandel has joined the band for touring purposes on additional keyboards - Alan hasn't enough fingers to play all the parts! The four Wembley Arena shows are oversubscribed tenfold…..Meanwhile "Love Over Gold" has sold over 2 million copies and has reached number 1 in 16 countries, and number 2 in another four.
Jan 1983. Mark and Alan go to New York to put the finishing touches to the "Local Hero" LP.
Jan 14 1983. "Twisting By The Pool" released world-wide, goes on to reach number 14 in the UK, and charts in several other countries too.
Jan 22 1983. The single "Industrial Disease" peaks at US #75.
Feb 8 1983. Dire Straits wins Best British Group at the second BRIT awards, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Feb 13 1983. Band go to Australia for the biggest-grossing tour ever undertaken in that territory. "Twisting By The Pool" goes to number 1 in Australia and number 2 in New Zealand.
Mar 12 1983. Mark's solo single, "Going Home", the theme from "Local Hero", debuts at its UK #56 peak.
Mar 26 1983. In Auckland, New Zealand, Dire Straits draw the largest public gathering ever in the history of New Zealand (62,000) and play to a further 36,000 in Wellington.
Apr 1983. Marketed in the US as a mini album, "Twisting By The Pool" makes US #53.
Apr 2 - 5 1983. Debut tour of Japan.
Apr 11 - May 8 1983. Mark in New York, co-producing and performing on Bob Dylan's "Infidels" album. He's assisted by Alan Clark, Mick Taylor (ex-Stones), Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
May 1983. Mark's "Local Hero" soundtrack album reaches UK #14.
May 5 1983. "Private Investigations" wins the Outstanding British Lyric category at the 28th annual Novello Awards, at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
May July 1983. Sold out tour of Europe. During this tour, 12 shows are recorded for a possible live album. ("We decided subsequently to use a later recording made in London" - see July).
July 12 1983. Dire Straits play the first ever open air concert in Yugoslavia, at Zagreb. It is the largest rock concert in that country to date. They all fly back to the UK the next day, and leave immediately for an open air show in Dublin.
July 20 1983. Dire Straits headline a charity show for the Prince of Wales' Trust, at the Dominion Theatre, London, in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Duran Duran are the opening act.
July 22/23 1983. Two special shows at Hammersmith Odeon, London, which are filmed for the forthcoming live LP/cassette/compact disc/video. Probably two of the best live shows the band have done to date. When Mark is mixing the shows for the "Alchemy" release, he decides not to have any overdubs or re-recording done at all, thus "Alchemy" is a truly live album (mistakes and all), unlike most so-called live albums which are heavily re-recorded and edited.
Summer/Autumn 1983. After mixing "Alchemy", Mark and John play on David Knopfler's solo LP "Release". Mark goes on to act as musical director and composer for David Putnam's next film "Cal" starring John Lynch and Helen Mirren, and also Bill Forsyth's next film "Comfort And Joy" starring Bill Patterson. John Illsley goes on to record his first solo album "Never Told A Soul", which includes session from Mark and Terry.
Nov 1983. Mark Marries Lourdes Salomon at Kensington Register Office, London.
Feb 25 1984. Double A side single, "Love Over Gold/Solid Rock" (both live versions), makes UK #50.
Mar 1984. The album "Alchemy - Dire Straits Live" hits UK #3.
Spring 1984. "Alchemy" subsequently goes platinum in the UK, Eire, and Portugal, and double platinum in Australia and New Zealand. It reached number 1 in Greece and New Zealand, and reached the Top Ten in other countries, not bad going for a double live album.
Apr 19 1984. "Going Home" wins the Best Film Theme Or Song category at the 29th annual Ivor Novello Awards, again held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
May 1984. "Alchemy" makes US #46.
June 1984. Mark Knopfler produces "The Knife" LP by Aztec Camera. John Illsley releases the solo album "Never Told A Soul" on vertigo.
Autumn 1984. Mark's music for "Comfort And Joy" (his second score for director Bill Forsyth),released on three-track 12" EP, and his music for "Cal" released on LP/cassette/CD to coincide with the release of the film.
Oct 1984. Mark's soundtrack album "Cal" reaches UK #65. The album "Knife", by Aztec Camera and produced by Mark reaches UK #14 and US #175.
Late 1984. Recording commences for "Brothers In Arms", the album is recorded using the band's own digital 24-track machine at Air Studios, Monserrat, West Indies, throughout the winter and is finished at the Power Station Studios, New York. Hal Lindes leaves the band halfway through recording. Mark subsequently plays all guitar parts on
Mar 23 1985. Tina Turner hits US #7 with the Knopfler-penned "Private Dancer" single (a left over from material written for the album "Love Over Gold").
Apr 1985. Single "So Far Away" released.
Band have replaced Hal Lindes - the new guitarist is Jack Sonni, a friend of Mark's who worked at Rudy's Music Stop, 48th Street, New York. They also add Guy Fletcher (born May 25 1960), formerly with Roxy Music and many sessions, on additional keyboards, and later, Chris White on sax ,late of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.
New seven piece band rehearse for tour, in Yugoslavia.
The start of the "Live In '85" mega-tour, which went on to visit 23 different countries, 117 cities, and consisted of about 250 shows seen between two and a half and three million people. The tour commenced in Split, Yugoslavia, and ended over a year later in Sydney, Australia. In Australia alone, the group travelled 22,000 miles, and played to 810,000
fans. At various stages along the way, trucks were added or taken off, depending on the venue sizes, and at one point there were 11 trucks of equipment on the road, carrying 52 tonnes of gear. There were nearly 50 people travelling on the road (band, crew, office staff, catering staff, etc).
May 4 1985. The single "So Far Away" reaches UK #20.
May 17 1985.. World-wide release of "Brothers In Arms". Recorded with the Line-up of Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, Alan Clark, Terry Williams and Guy Fletcher, the album ships platinum in the UK (i.e. it is platinum on advance orders before coming out), and the project is the largest-ever ship of compact discs in history. LP enters UK charts at Number 1 on May 25, and holds the top slot for three weeks. Two tracks from the album eventually get used in episodes of "Miami Vice". "Brothers In Arms" is used in the
episode entitled "Out Where The Buses Don't Run", and "Ride Across The River" is used in "Knock Knock...Who's There".
June 15 1985. Bryan Ferry's Album "Boys And Girls" , featuring session fret-work by Mark hits UK #1.
June 27 1985. Dire Straits is awarded the 1985 Silver Clef for Outstanding Services to British Music by the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre.
Summer 1985. "Brothers In Arms" is at number 1 in Canada, USA, Brazil, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Eire, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Israel, and South Africa. It is in the top ten in every country it was released in, and
is also selling well in countries, which have no charts (e.g. Bolivia, Colombia, Uruguay, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and most African countries).
July 1985. On UK section of tour, band sell out an unprecedented 13 nights at Wembley Arena (and could probably have done another 13 judging by ticket applications). On July 4th, one of the hottest days of the year, Prince Charles and Princess Diana attend the show. A week later, band appear at Live Aid on July 13th at Wembley Stadium in the afternoon
(another scorching hot day) and also play the Arena in the evening. Live Aid goes out live to over 80% of the total number of television sets in existence throughout the world. Over a billion people watched it - making it the biggest rock and TV event in history.
Alan Clark leaves the band, and Guy Fletcher joins on keyboards, for the tour.
Immediately after the last show at Wembley, band leave for tour of Canada and The USA, the Shows sell out one after the other, dates are added, and the band hardly get a day off.
Aug 10 1985. The single "Money For Nothing", featuring co-writer Sting on lead-in vocals (the immortal "I want my MTV") and taken from the album "Brothers In Arms" hits UK #4.
Aug 31 1985. The album "Brothers In Arms" begins a nine-week tenure at US #1. It will top charts in 25 countries and eventually sell over 20 million albums world-wide.
Sept 21 1985. Aided by an innovative animated Steve Barron-directed promo video which gets heavy MTV and other US TV exposure, the single "Money For Nothing" tops the charts for the first of three weeks, the band's biggest US hit, and its first million-selling single.
Oct 1985. Last US show October 13th. Band fly direct to Europe for tour till November 30th.
Dec 1985. Band fly home to UK and immediately start second leg of UK tour, starting with 21 shows back-to-back, including 7 nights at Hammersmith Odeon, which they play in preference to the larger Wembley Arena for the sake of the fans. A few days break over Christmas, then Scottish shows over the New Year.
The title track, "Brothers In Arms" is released as a single, and reaches UK #16. (It is notable as the first ever commercially issued CD-single in the UK, a limited pressing of 400 copies).
Jan 1986. Band leaves for Sydney to start rehearsals.
Jan 25 1986. The single "Walk Of Life" hits US #7.
Feb 1986 "Walk Of Life" hits UK #2.
Feb 10 1986. Dire Straits is named Best British Group, for the second time, at the fifth annual BRIT awards, at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.
Feb 25 1986. They win the Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group with vocal category for "Money For Nothing", while the album "Brothers In Arms" is named Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical) and Mark snares the Best Country Instrumental Performance category with one of his original guitar heroes, Chet Atkins, for the song "Cosmic Square Dance" from the album "Stay Tuned", at the 28th annual Grammy Awards.
Feb - Apr 1986. Tour of Australia and New Zealand. Includes a 13-night stint in Melbourne and 21 night at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The final show of the tour is April 26th, and is screened live on TV throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Apr 26 1986. Single "So Far Away" reaches US #19.
May 1986. The single "Your Latest Trick" reaches UK #26.
Mark, his acoustic guitar-maker Steve Phillips and Brendan Croker play at the Grove, a small folk club in Leeds, England, as a prelude to a more formal forthcoming collaboration.
Mid 1986. By now "Brothers In Arms" has gone 6 times platinum in the UK, 10 times platinum in Canada, 5 times platinum in the USA, 10 times platinum in Australia and a staggering 15 times platinum in New Zealand. It held the number 1 slot in Australia longer than any other LP, and has now become the best-selling compact disc ever to be released in the world.
June 1986. Mark races in the Mille Miglia car race in Italy, then produces two tracks for Tina Turner's "break every Rule" album ("Overnight Sensation" which he wrote himself, and "Paradise Is Here" by Paul Brady).
June 20 1986.Mark and John appear at Wembley Arena for a special Prince's Trust 10th Anniversary concert, attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. They play as part of a "super-group" also features Elton John, Mark King, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins and a host of others. Later screened on TV in the UK and subsequently in many other countries throughout the world.
Summer 1986. Mark records a short piece of music for inclusion in the Martin Scorsese film "Color Of Money" (starring Tom Cruise and Paul Newman) and also records the music for a television documentary on Prince Charles and Princess Diana, titled "In Private In Public", shown on ITN in the UK and subsequently all over the world..
Sep 15 1986. "Money For Nothing" wins the Best Video and Best Group Video categories at the third annual MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast simultaneously from the Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City, CA, and The Palladium, New York. (The song lyric "I want my MTV" has become the cable station's catch-phrase).
Oct 24 1986. The group's sound engineer, Peter Grange, is killed in a road accident in Gloucestershire, England.
Oct 25 1986. In a celebrity car race before the Australian Grand Prix, Mark breaks his collarbone in an accident.
Jan 1987. Mark guests at one of Eric Clapton's annual concert marathons at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Feb 9 1987. "Brothers In Arms" is named Best British Album at the sixth annual BRIT Awards, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Feb 24 1987. "Dire Straits Brothers In Arms" wins the Best Music Video, Long Form category at the 29th annual Grammy Awards.
March - May 1987. Mark joins a host of artists (Including Paul McCartney, Boy George and Mark King) to record a version of "Let It Be" to raise money for the families of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster victims - the single reached number 1 and stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks.
Mark joins Chet Atkins to do a short set at the Secret Policeman's Ball at the London Palladium, with all proceeds going to Amnesty International and subsequently flies to Nashville at the beginning of May to appear in a TV special "Tribute to Chet Atkins".
June 1987. John releases a single under the name "K. Wallis B and the Dark Shades of Night".
Aug 1 1987. "Money For Nothing" is the first music video broadcast on MTV Europe.
Sep 1987. Mark wins three Ascap Awards for "So Far Away", Money For Nothing" and "Walk of Life".
Nov 1987. Benefiting from the advent of compact disc, The album "Brothers In Arms" sells its three-millionth copy in the UK, becoming Britain's all-time best-selling album, and its second biggest selling recording of any kind. (Only the Band Aid's single "Do They Know Its Christmas" has a higher UK sales total.)
Nov 9 1987. Mark's wife Lourdes gives birth to twin boys - Benji and Joseph, who will inspire their daddy's composition, "I Love You Too Much", (which is subsequently recorded by Jeff Healey).
Nov 9 1987. "The Princess Bride" film soundtrack album is released.
Feb 1988. Willy De Ville's album "Miracles", produced by Mark, is released by Polydor.
Apr 1988. Mark works with Bob Dylan on Dylan's album "Down In The Groove".
Spring/Summer 1988. Mark works on Randy Newman's new album scheduled for a September 1988 release.
May 1988. John's second solo album entitled "Glass" is released on Vertigo.
June 5/6 1988. Mark and Alan perform with Eric Clapton's band at the Prince's Trust shows at London's Royal Albert Hall.
June 8/9 1988. Dire Straits perform two warm up shows (Fan Club only) at Hammersmith Odeon.
June 11 1988. The group Headline the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday concert at London's Wembley Arena appearing with Simple Minds, Whitney Houston, Sting and others. Televised world-wide, with Eric Clapton guesting as second guitarist, the show helps the album "Brothers In Arms" back into the Top 20 after 162 weeks on the chart.
July 1988. Mark guests on Joan Armatrading's album "The Shouting Stage".
Sep/Oct 1988. Mark and Alan Join Eric Clapton for his US tour.
Sep 15 1988. After much speculation, Mark announces the official end of Dire Straits.
Oct 17 1988. The group release "Money For Nothing" Simultaneously on album, cassette and compact disc. Spanning 10 years of the groups career. It includes live versions of "Twisting By The Pool" and "Telegraph Road", goes straight to the top, on week of release. A multi-platinum success in the UK, in the US it peaks at #62, although the track listing is criticised.
Nov 5 1988. The extracted re-issue, "Sultans Of Swing", peaks at UK #62.
Mar 1989. Dire Straits are featured on the Greenpeace supporting album "Rainbow Warriors", initially launched in Russia. (US country act Highway 101 hits US Country #2 with the single "Setting Me Up", originally written by Mark for Waylon Jennings in 1984, while the Judds' album "River Of Time", featuring their version of Mark's "Water Of Love", with the artist on guest guitar, is released the following month.)
Apr 1989. Mark and John (as Dire Straits) are honoured with the Outstanding Contribution To British Music at the 34th annual Ivor Novello Awards lunch, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Sep 11 1989. Jim Henson's "The Ghost Of Faffner Hall", on which Mark is one of many guests, airs on HBO-TV.
Mar 17 1990. The Notting Hillbillies' album "Missing - Presumed Having A Good Time" debuts at UK #2. Mark has formed the band in a deliberate attempt to return to a more low-key performing act, with old friends Steve Phillips, Brendan Croker, (who teamed with Steve Phillips in 1976 in Nev and Norris), and Guy Fletcher, with whom Mark has been producing Croker and Phillips at his Notting Hill, London, Home Studio. Ed Bicknell, Dire Straits manager, is appointed drummer
Apr 2 1990. They embark on a UK tour, taking in 41 gigs in 43 days around Britain through April and May.
Apr 19 1990. Mark appears alongside David Gilmour, Mark King, Lemmy and Gary Moore, as witnesses in a comedy drama courthouse sketch on BBC-TV's "French and Saunders", and they end the sketch jamming together.
Apr 21 1990. The album "Missing - Presumed Having A Good Time" makes US #52.
May 19 1990. A modest venue Notting Hillbillies UK tour ends. They then appear on NBC-TV's "Saturday Night Live" with the line-up augmented by Nashville based Paul Franklin on pedal steel and Marcus Cliff (of Croker's Five O'clock Shadows) on bass.
June 30 1990. Mark joins Phil Collins and Genesis, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Status Quo, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Tears For Fears, all previously Silver Clef winners, on a star-studded bill at Knebworth Park, Knebworth, Herts, England, in aid of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre.
Jul 1 1990. Mark and John, and the bands manager, Ed Bicknell, decide, over lunch at the Halcyon Hotel, Holland Park, to reconvene Dire Straits to record their sixth studio album and plan a parallel world tour.
Nov 24 1990. "Neck And Neck", a Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins guitar-laden duet album, debuts at its UK #41 peak.
Dec 1 1990. "Neck And Neck" peaks at US #127. (During the year, Mark has also released his soundtrack score to "Last Exit To Brooklyn").
Feb 1991. While recording for a New Dire Straits album project at London's Air Studios, Mark contributes a guitar solo to "Voices That Care", a David Foster and Linda Thompson Jenner-composed and organised charity record to benefit the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund.
Feb 20 1991. Mark and Chet Atkins win the Best Country Vocal Collaboration category for "Poor Boy Blues" and Best Country Instrumental Performance for "So Soft, Your Goodbye" at the 33rd annual Grammy Awards, at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
Aug 23 1991. The first date of a two year, 300-gig world tour begins in Dublin, with the line-up comprising Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, Guy Fletcher, Alan Clarke, Phil Palmer (guitar), Chris White (sax), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Chris Whitten (drums) and Danny Cummings (percussion). They will play to 7.1 million paying fans.
Aug 31 1991. The single "Calling Elvis" debuts at its UK #21 peak.
Sep 21 1991. Dire Straits' first new album in over six years, "On Every Street" enters at UK #1. Engineers for the album were Bill Schnee and Chuck Ainley, with production credited to Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, and mixed by Neil Dorfsman. Bob Clearmountain mixes one track "Heavy Fuel"
Oct 5 1991. The album "On Every Street" reaches US #12.
Oct 29 1991. The band plays five sell-out shows at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, grossing AUS $2,078,830 from a combined audience of 45,573.
Nov 2 1991. The single "Heavy Fuel" bows out at it's UK #55 peak.
Feb26 1992. The group plays to a sell-out crowd of 16,000 at New York's Madison Square Garden, during the North American Leg of its tour.
Feb 29 1992. The single "On Every Street" debuts at its UK #42 peak.
June 3 - 8 1992. Dire Straits performs at London's Earls Court, during a UK trek which includes stadium dates at Cardiff Arms Park, Gateshead Athletic Stadium, Maine Road Manchester and Woburm Abbey.
June 27 1992. The single "The Bug" charts for a week at UK # 67.
June 30 1992. German leg of the tour opens at the Schleyerhalle, Stuttgart.
Sep 29 1992. "Dire Straits Live : Rendezvous With The Sultans Of Swing" pay-per-view broadcast airs from Arenes De N?mes, Provence, France.
Oct 6 - 7 1992. Their world tour now reaches the Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas in Madrid, Spain.
May 8 1993. Mark receives an honorary music doctorate from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England.
May 22 1993. The EP "Encores" and album "On The Night", a 76 minute live album recorded at Les Arenes, N?mes, and the Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Netherlands, debut at their respective UK #31 and #4 peaks.
June 5 1993. The album "On The Night" makes US #116.
Sep 1994. A tribute album to Arthur Alexander, "Adios Amigo", including Mark's pairing with Chuck Jackson on the track "You Better Move On" is released in the US.
Oct 14 1994. Mark's "The Bug" is honoured at the 14th ASCAP dinner at London's Park Lane Hotel.
July 8 1995. The album "Live At The BBC", released by Windsong Records, featuring six tracks from the group's debut album, and "What's The Matter Baby" recorded at the Paris Theatre in July 1978 and "Tunnel Of Love" from a 1981 edition of The "Old Grey Whistle Test", peaks at UK #71.
Jan 2 1996. A tribute album "Notfadeaway: Remembering Buddy Holly", including Mark's version of "Learning The Game" with Waylon Jennings, is released in the US.
Mar 16 1996. Mark's single "Darling Pretty" reaches UK #33 in its week of entry. It is a taster for his solo album "Golden Heart", released on Vertigo on the 25th. Recorded over the past two years in Dublin, Eire and Nashville, TN, it includes guest appearances by former Dire Straits Colleague Guy Fletcher, Vince Gill, Paul Brady and the Chieftains'.
May 25 1996. The single "Cannibals" hits UK #42.
Jun 15 1996. Four albums re-enter the UK chart after being digitally re-mastered. "Brothers In Arms" re-enters the UK album chart at #19, "Love Over Gold" at #68, (now 199 weeks on the chart), "Dire Straits" at #69 (131 weeks), and "Making Movies" at #70 (250 weeks).
Dec 21 1996. The single "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Dunblane featuring Mark Knopfler, debuts at UK #1.
Sep 1997 Mark was one of the artists who performed for Sir George Martin's "Music For Montserrat Concert" at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
April/May 1998. Mark's debut solo UK tour backed by a five-piece band.
Apr 6 1998. The album "Golden Heart" enters at its UK #9 peak.
Sep 26 1998. The album "Brothers In Arms" clocks up it's 222nd week on the UK album chart, already certified 13 times platinum in the UK, that's 3.9 million copies.
Oct 31 1998. The greatest hits album "Sultans Of Swing" debuts at its UK #6 peak.
1998. Mark also releases soundtracks for "Metroland" and "Wag The Dog".Mark's third wife, Kitty Aldridge, gives birth to daughter Isabella.
April 2000. The greatest hits compilation "Sultans Of Swing" is released on DVD.
Mark's soundtrack album to the film "Road To Glory" is due for release in September, 2000.
September 22. Mark appears on the Michael Parkinson Show at 21:30 on UK's BBC1. He plays his new Solo single "What It Is" and talks briefly of his childhood and his inspirations
September 23. UK's "Music Week" reports. Mark Knopfler's first solo project in four years is also already winning friends at radio and retail, including in Italy where his
single "What It Is" has just entered the sales chart at number seven and in Spain where it debuted at four. Knopfler recently performed the track on the very first
Italian Top Of The Pops in Rome and will be further embarking over the next few months on a number of key TV appearances across Europe. These will include
Germany's Geld Oder Liebe and Harold Schmidt Show and Italy's Quelli Che 11 Calcio. On September 27 he will also appear on David Letterman in the US, where
he is handled by Warner. He will visit Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in November, and South Africa and Australasia next February after which he is contemplating
going out on tour.
October 7 "Sailing To Philadelphia" enters the UK album charts at #4.
December 2001 Virgin Radio UK, issues a Top 500 compiled from listeners votes, and
Dire Straits are listed at:-
66…Romeo And Juliet
83…Money For Nothing
103…Sultans Of Swing
457…Walk Of Life
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