340 Hello Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

Chart  entered : 10  March  1979

Chart  peak : 8

Number  of  hits : 17

This  is  the  second  single  we've  covered  that's  in  my  collection  and  still  adored  despite  my  coming  to  absolutely  loathe  the  band  just  a  few  years  later.

The  story  begins  in  1949  when  Mark  Knopfler  was  born  to  an  English  mother  and  Hungarian  Jewish  father  in  Glasgow.  Younger  brother  David  was  born  in  1952.  The  family  moved  to  Blyth  in  1956  and  Mark  was  inspired  to  learn  the  guitar  by  local  hero  Hank  Marvin  . He  played  in  school  bands  but  intended  to  become  a  journalist. In  1968  he  began  working   for  the  Yorkshire  Evening  Post . Two  years  later  he  enrolled  at  Leeds  University  to  study  English.  During  this  period  he  got  married  and  played  in  a  college  band  called  Silverheels. Upon  graduating  in  1973  he  joined   a  blues  band  called  Brewer's  Droop. Mark  played  on  their  second  album  The  Booze  Brothers   which  is  so  drearily  generic  it  didn't  get  released  until  1989. It  was  recorded  at  Rockfield  Studios  with  Dave  Edmunds  producing  and  also  utilised  the  services  of  the  house  drummer  David  "Pick"  Withers.

Pick  was  born  in  1948 in  Leicester  and  learned  the  drums  in  the  Boys  Brigade.  He  began playing  professionally  in  the  late  sixties  with  various  unsuccessful  bands   before  joining  a band  called  Spring  through  a  Melody  Maker  ad  in  1970.  They  secured  a  contract  with  RCA  and  recorded  one, eponymous,  album  at  Rockfield  in  1971.  It's  pretty  good  if  you  like  the  tuneful  end  of  prog  rock  like  the  Moody  Blues  but  didn't  get  off  the  blocks  and  the  band  split. Pick  stayed  put  at  Rockfield  playing  for  the  likes  of  Prelude, Foghat, Andy  Fairweatherlow  and  others.

By  this  time  separated  from  his  wife  ,Mark  quit  Brewer's  Droop  and  took  up  a  position  as  a  lecturer  at  Loughton  College  in  Essex. He  became  a  part  time  player  on  the  local  pub  circuit  particularly  in  a  band  called  the  Cafe  Racers.  Dire  Straits  started  to  come  together  when  David  moved  down  to  London  to  start  work  as  a  social  worker. He  moved  in  with  a  record  shop  manager  John  Illsley  who  played  guitar  and  bass  on  the  side . John  was  born  in  Leicester  in  1949  and  hadn't   been  in  any  bands  of  note. Mark  moved  in  with  them   after  his  divorce  and  they  started  making  music  together.

Pick  had  also  moved  to  London  by  this  time  and  got  involved  in  the  folk  rock  scene  playing  on  albums  by  Bert  Jansch  , Ralph  McTell  and  Magna  Carta. He  had  recently agreed  to  join  the  latter  band  but  when  Mark  invited  him  into  the  new  venture  he  chose  Dire  Straits  instead.

His  instincts  were  correct. The  band  recorded  a  five  song  demo   in  1977  and  took  it  to  London  DJ  Charlie  Gillett  for  his  opinion. Gillett  liked  it  so  much  he  started  playing  his  favourite  track  "Sultans  of  Swing"  on  his  show  immediately.  Phonogram  signed  the  band  at  the  beginning  of  1978  and  put  them  in  the  studio  with  Muff  Winwood  to  record  their  debut  LP.

"Sultans  of  Swing"  was  first  released  in  May  1978. The  Sultans  of  Swing  were  apparently  a  genuine  jazz  band  playing  the pub  scene  in  Deptford  and  Mark  wrote  the  song  after  watching  them  perform  to  a  meagre  audience. No  doubt  its  members  are  highly  amused  that  their  ephemeral  existence  is  commemorated  by  a  classic  rock  song. The  song  has  a  strong  foundation  in  the  crisp  taut  rhythm   playing  of  Pick , John  and  David   which  allows   Mark  to  finger  pick  his  way  around  the  melody  with  no  two  verses  the  same. So  when  he  tells  of  Guitar  George  - "he's  strictly  rhythm,, he  doesn't  want  to  make  it  cry  or  sing"  he  subverts  his  own  lyric  with  a  flashy  flourish  on  his  Stratocaster. Above  all  though,  it's  that  instantly  recognisable   guitar  hook  that  makes  the  record  irresistible. Even  Mark's  half-spoken  Dylan  drawl  which  I  would  find  intensely  irritating  on  later  material  seems  right  here, an  undemonstrative  narration  for  a  tale  set  in  a  shadowy  world  out  of  the  spotlight.

Radio  One  didn't  favour  it  first  time  round  deeming  it  over-wordy  for  the  daytime  schedule.  This  meant  the  release  of  the  album  in  October  1978  went  largely  unnoticed  but  steady  sales  below  the  radar  and  the  lack  of  an  alternative  single  on  the  album  persuaded  Phonogram  to  give  it another  push  in  January  1979. This  time  round  it  took  off  like  a  bomb  in  the  U.S.  ( eventually  reaching  number  4  )  and  an  entry  into  the  UK   chart  soon  followed.