Dr Mark Freuder Knopfler, (born , , , ) is a , , and . His vocal style is best described by the German phrase — not quite singing, not quite speaking. His use of guitar has been compared to adding another 'voice' to his songs.
He is best-known as the lead guitarist and vocalist for the band , but has also made albums as a solo performer and played in other groups (such as The Notting Hillbillies). He has also performed on the work of other artists, including , , and the late (in ). He has produced albums for artists such as , , Bob Dylan and .
In addition, he has scored the music to several films, including , , , and .
He is widely regarded as one of the best guitarists of the modern era. Knopfler was ranked #27 on magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Mark Knopfler is the son of a Jewish whose sympathies forced him to flee the regime in his native . When Knopfler was about nine years old, the family moved to in the North-East of England. There, he and his younger brother (also a musician) attended .
He was inspired by his uncle Kingsley's and piano playing. Later, in his teens, he wished to buy the expensive flamingo-pink just like , but had to settle for a £50 twin Super Solid. Like many other schoolboys of the 1960s, he served an early apprenticeship by forming and joining anonymous schoolboy bands and listening to guitarists such as , , , and .
At sixteen he made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo along with school-friend Sue Hercombe.
At school Knopfler had demonstrated a flair for English and in 1967 he studied for a year at Harlow Technical College. At the end of the course he secured a job in as a junior reporter on the .
After two years he decided to further his studies and commenced a degree in English at . He also worked as a lecturer at during this period. It was whilst Knopfler was living in Leeds that he met a local singer/guitarist by the name of Steve Phillips.
He then moved (alone) to London and joined a band called . One night while spending some time with friends, the only guitar available was an old acoustic with a badly warped neck that had been strung with extra-light strings to make it playable. Even with that, he found it impossible to play unless he finger-picked it.
He said in a later interview, "That was where I found my 'voice' on guitar." Soon after he made his first record in a studio: an unreleased demo of an original song, "Summer's Coming My Way".
Dire Straits' first sessions were done with the name of Knopfler's earlier band called Cafe Racers, but after a short time, with a new drummer and bass player they changed their name to Dire Straits, due to their poor financial situation at the time.
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Dire Straits recorded and released their first album, the self-titled in to little fanfare, but five months later a single release, " " became a chart hit and album sales took off. The second album, , followed in and was considered to many to be a sophomore slump but eventually rose in stature. The band's third album, , was released in and marked a move towards more complex arrangements and production which would continue for the remainder of the group's career.
In Dire Straits released their fourth album, . Love over Gold showcased the epic soundscape " ", the humorous " ", and the #2 hit " ", which became a popular live song. Around this time Mark Knopfler was also involved with other projects, including writing the music score for the film , released in .
The was a large success, and it was followed in by the score for the film .
With the release of Love Over Gold there was a world tour called . A double-LP of the recordings of two live shows in Hammersmith Odeon in London sold over 500,000 albums.
Dire Straits' biggest-selling album was their fifth, , which became an international hit on its release in , and spawned several chart singles including the number one hit " ", which was the first video ever to be played on in Britain. The band's 1985–86 world tour was immensely successful.
After the Brothers in Arms tour Dire Straits went on a lengthy hiatus, with Knopfler concentrating on solo work, film soundtracks and work with The Notting Hillbillies.
Dire Straits regrouped in 1988 for the concert at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act and were accompanied by . 1990 saw the recording of Dire Straits' final original studio album, , which was released in 1991. The album met with a mixed critical reaction, regarded by some as an underwhelming follow up to Brothers in Arms.
But the fans loved the album in spite of the critics, citing "Calling Elvis", "Fade to Black", "You and Your Friend" and "Planet of New Orleans" as prime evidence.
After On Every Street, two live albums were released, the first of which, (1993), documented Dire Straits' final tour. This was followed two years later by .
Dire Straits' line-up changed over the band's career, but Knopfler was always the driving force behind the group. After expressing a desire to give up touring on a large scale, Mark Knopfler launched his solo career and quietly disbanded Dire Straits in 1995. The band's keyboardist has been associated with almost every piece of Knopfler's solo material following Dire Straits' dissolution.
However, in 2002 Mark Knopfler did four charity concerts with the band members , , Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher playing some old Dire Straits songs. The session also included The Notting Hillbillies.
In , the year after Dire Straits officially disbanded, Knopfler released his first solo album, .
Formed during the Golden Heart sessions, the main line-up of his solo band, also known as "The 96'ers", has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up. In August the same year, Brothers in Arms was certified nine times .
In magazine released a poll: "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing", Dire Straits' first hit, which remained significant throughout their entire career as a band.
In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie . In October a hits collection of Dire Straits was released: . It would, however, be three years before he was to release his next album, .
Knopfler released his third solo album, , in 2002. However, as a keen motorcyclist, in March 2003 Knopfler was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosevnor Road, . He suffered from a broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade and seven broken ribs.
The accident was caused by a South American woman who was in England illegally and was subsequently deported. The planned Ragpicker's Dream tour was subsequently cancelled, but Knopfler recovered and was able to return to the stage in 2004 for his fourth album, .
Shangri-La was recorded at the Shangri-La Studio in in 2004, where made recordings for .
In the promo for "Shangri-La" on his official website he said that his current line-up of Glenn Worf (bass), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Chad Cromwell (drums), Richard Bennett (guitar) and Matt Rollings (piano) play Dire Straits songs better than Dire Straits did. The "Shangri-La" tour took Mark to countries like India and the UAE for the first time. In India, his concerts at Bombay and Bangalore were very well received, with over 20,000 fans gathering at each concert to listen to a legend who many thought would never visit their country.
In late 2005 a third compilation, was released, and consisted of material from most of Dire Straits' studio albums and Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material.
Knopfler recorded an album of duets with singer , entitled , which was released on April 24 2006. It reached #1 in Denmark and Switzerland, #2 in Norway and Sweden, #3 in Germany, Holland and Italy, #8 in Austria and UK, #9 in Spain, #17 in the United States (Billboard Top 200 Chart), #25 in Ireland and #41 in Australia.
Joined by Emmylou Harris, Knopfler supported with a successful world tour. Selections from the duo's June performance at the Gibson Ampitheatre were released as a CD/DVD package entitled on Nov. 14, 2006.
In addition to several of the compositions that Harris and Knopfler recorded together in the studio, Real Live Roadrunning features solo hits from both members of the duo, as well as three tracks from Knopfler's days with Dire Straits.
All The Roadrunning was nominated for "Best Folk Rock/Americana Album" at the (Feb 11, 2007) but lost out to Bob Dylan's nomination for .
Mark has already begun work on his next solo album in London.
Guy Fletcher maintains a studio diary on his web site. The link to his diary is on
Mark Knopfler is noted for being left-handed, but playing right-handed, and for (using a personal variant of the "claw-hammer") style instead of using a (i.e.
, "pick"); fingerpicking is usually associated with the , but Knopfler usually (though not always) plays an .
Knopfler was the guitar hero of the 80's and played some of the decade's definitive riffs/solos. Mark's tone evolved from the simple and clean (or slightly overdriven) guitar sound of the Straits' first two albums to the "rocky" overdriven sounds on Brothers In Arms and on to the warm tube sounds on his solo albums.
He has around 70 guitars, including:
Knopfler used to live in the London district . During his time there, he formed a band named The Notting Hillbillies over a meal at a local .
Knopfler has been married three times.
His second marriage to Lourdes Salamone from 1983-1993 gave him twin sons, Benji and Joseph (born 1987); and his third marriage to actress has given him daughters Isabella (born 1998) and Katya Ruby Rose (born 2003). The family currently lives in , a neighbourhood of London, England.
Knopfler's guitar classic "Going Home" from the to is used before kick-off at home matches at .
Knopfler makes a few appearances at St James' to watch his favourite side, and did a at Shearer's Bar at St James' Park.
Knopfler holds a degree in from , as well as an honorary music degree given to him by in . In May , Knopfler became a Doctor of Music (DMus) at Newcastle University.
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, The Telegraph, March 19, 2003
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