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UNBELIEVABLE: Dire straits | History Defined

‘Our rivalry with Take That was always tongue in cheek’: Tony Mortimer’s honest playlist

The East 17 man knows his 90s bangers but once inadvertently cleared a dancefloor. And what song gets him on the exercise bike in a morning?

The Guardian - UK

“Mark Knopfler, he's soloing kind of all through the record. And that's what I did, too”: Bruce Hornsby explains why a classic Dire Straits song is a “kindred spirit” to his biggest hit

He also reveals which hip-hop interpolation of The Way It Is he likes the best

MusicRadar

This album was the 1980s poster-boy for CD – but I massively prefer it on vinyl

A digital masterpiece intended to be heard on compact disc; but how does Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms compare to vinyl forty years on?

What Hi-Fi?

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
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Dire Straits: This ETF Is a Must-Watch As Rare Earths Become the Real Boondoggle of the Iran War

All eyes have been on the energy and defense sectors amid the Iran war, but rare earths should be investors' focus. Here's why.

Barchart

Starmer mocked for ‘copying Trump’ with dramatic TikTok on Britain’s response to war in Iran

The prime minister posted a clip showing Britain’s military response to the war in the Middle East, accompanied by the song ‘Money for Nothing’ by Dire Straits

The Independent UK

Keir Starmer accused of ‘mimicking Trump’ with Middle East crisis TikTok post

PM justifies position on US-Israel war on Iran in social media post using the Dire Straits song Money for Nothing

The Guardian - UK

I tested the Edifier M60 — they’re teeny-tiny but have major big-speaker energy

Edifier M60 are super-compact bookshelf speakers ideal for small spaces. The M60 pack a major sonic punch without sacrificing the most important thing: size.

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"Sprawling. Atmospheric. Cinematic. Enthralling": Chris Rea finds friends among fans of Mark Knopfler and J.J. Cale on The Road To Hell

The Road To Hell fuses Chris Rea's weather-beaten blues instincts with serious songwriting smarts and a sharp-eyed sense of social unease

Louder

Key London bus routes to be cut as passenger numbers fall

38, 259, 279 and 349 routes all at risk - as well as the 19 bus immortalised in classic Dire Straits song

Evening Standard

“He thought that the band should be a democracy, and it was more like a brutal dictatorship”: The tangled story of Dire Straits, the million-selling band who quit at the height of their fame

How Dire Straits went from the pubs of London to become one of the biggest bands of the 1980s

Louder

“I argued very strongly that we shouldn’t play Another Brick In The Wall at the school fête, as it was disrespectful. Oh God! That was me”: Slow Horses showrunner Will Smith’s record collection

Stand-up, actor, novelist and producer on how much Marillion means to him, the four lines of Jon Anderson lyrics that bring him to tears, his favourite Vangelis soundtrack and his claim that Dire Straits are a prog band

Louder

“What Dire Straits would sound like if Mark Knopfler grew up in the deserts of Algeria rather than the streets of Newcastle”: October 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks

Liven up your Halloween with six-string (and five-string) sorcery from Alter Bridge, Mei Semones, Whitney, Karma Sheen, Jacob Collier, Unprocessed, and many more

Guitar World

“I pushed him towards the Les Paul. I can see him now, holding those notes. I don’t think he could have played those parts on any other guitar”: Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits’ inner circle look back on Brothers in Arms – their world conquering “fluke”

Brothers In Arms reinvented Knopfler and gave him more fame than he could handle. 40 years on, in a rare interview, the band look back on thebiggest rock album of the '80s

Guitar World

“I confess I pushed him more towards the Les Paul sound. I felt a resistance early on. But I persevered”: Why Mark Knopfler’s guitar tech convinced him to play Les Pauls – and how they impacted his tone and playing

Knopfler is forever linked to the Fender Strat – however, to successfully convey the emotional weight required on Brothers in Arms, his tech pushed him towards Gibsons

Guitar World

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Guitar World

A rare 12-string guitar that Mark Knopfler “borrowed” for 50 years is now up for auction

The guitar was originally owned by his friend, Lindisfarne's Jeff Sadler – and was played on the Dire Straits' sophomore album, Communiqué

Louder

"The fallout was much bigger than anything we could ever have foreseen": Dire Straits and the adventure of Brothers In Arms

Everything changed for Dire Straits when they made Brothers In Arms: Mark Knopfler, John Illsley and Guy Fletcher look back

Guitar World

“People have bought tickets and you can see them thinking, ‘That’s not ‘Brothers in Arms’”: Mark Knopfler on why one of the Dire Straits’ most iconic tracks hinges on this four-note guitar intro

The Dire Straits guitarist reflects on the songwriting process of some of the band’s classic tracks

MusicRadar

"Once I’ve played those four notes, then I can start to improvise”: Mark Knopfler on the Dire Straits song he's come to accept that he has to start in the same way every time

"People have bought tickets," he says

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Guitar World

“Being called a guitar hero was just awkward. Whether I’ve written a good song or not, that’s what counts to me”: Mark Knopfler on 40 years of Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms – the guitars, the riffs… the pressure of learning to play in time

From his lucky ’83 Les Paul and Fleetwood Mac-inspired soloing to “getting away with murder” at the sessions, the Dire Straits legend opens up in his most revealing interview in years

Guitar World

“He reached under the sofa and pulled out this dusty old case. And he says, ‘Mark, I want you to have this guitar. I don’t play it anymore’”: Mark Knopfler on the treasured Gibson he received as a gift from a rock hero – which became his studio go-to

Last year, Knopfler parted ways with 120 of his prized instruments for charity, including much of the Brothers in Arms gear

Louder

This iconic guitar appeared on the cover of one of the most successful albums ever – but what’s the story behind it?

It’s one of the most famous guitars in music – and its picture is in more than 30 million homes

Guitar World

“I gave up trying to be a great guitar player. I have enough to get by in the studio – I got away with murder”: Mark Knopfler on why he doesn’t consider himself a “guitar god” – and the ones in the industry who deserve that title

40 years after the release of the Dire Straits’ seminal album, Brothers in Arms, Knopfler reflects on that game-changing period and why he was always a reluctant rock star

MusicRadar

“It’s a cheap guitar, it sounds very direct, I did everything wrong, but I think they’re perfect notes”: Mark Knopfler names his favourite guitar solo

“I just said what I had to say. I didn’t go too far”

Louder

How Dire Straits outsold everyone, hijacked MTV, and accidentally made a classic: Only in the new issue of Classic Rock

Also in this issue: Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Mike Peters, Buckcherry, Adam Duritz, Battlesnake, Eureka Machines, H.E.A.T, Steve Lillywhite, Live Aid USA and more

What Hi-Fi?

A Dolby Atmos-ready rival to the Sonos Arc Ultra, iFi hi-fi travel gadgets, top end streamer and more

Our hi-fi and home cinema experts detail the top stories to break over the past week

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