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"Dire Straits" were a English rock band, founded in 1977 by Mark Knopfler on vocals and lead guitar, his younger brother David Knopfler who handled rhythm guitar and vocals, John Illsley on bass guitar and vocals, and Pick Withers on the drums and percussion. Throughout "Dire Straits'" career Mark Knopfler was the principal songwriter and also the driving force behind the group. "Dire Strait"s and Mark Knopfler have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date.
"Dire Straits," so named because of the band's poor financial situation, recorded a five-song demo tape which included their future single "Sultans of Swing" during 1977. The now famous demo tapes of five songs were "Wild West End", "Sultans of Swing", "Down To The Waterline", "Sacred Loving" and "Water of Love". They took the tape to DJ Charlie Gillett, who had a radio show called "Honky Tonk" on BBC Radio London. The band simply wanted advice, but Gillett liked the music so much that he played "Sultans of Swing" on his show. Two months later, "Dire Straits" signed a recording contract with Phonogram Records. The band's success came too late for original drummer Patrick Scott, who quit the band in the mid-1970s, believing that they would never break through.
The group's first album, the self-titled Dire Straits, was recorded at Basing Street studios in West London in February, 1978, at a cost of £12,500. Produced by Muff Winwood, the album had little promotion when initially released in the United Kingdom on Vertigo Records, a division of Phonogram, and was not well-received. This led to a United States recording contract with Warner Brothers Records and, before the end of 1978, "Dire Straits" had released the debut worldwide. The following year "Dire Straits" embarked on their first North American tour. "Sultans of Swing" scaled the charts to number four in the United States and number eight in the U.K.
Recording sessions for the group's second album, Communiqué, took place in December 1978 at Compass Point Studio in Nassau. Released in June 1979, Communiqué was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, and went to number one on the German album charts with Dire Straits simultaneously at number three.
