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INSANE: Mark knopfler | Vintage Vibes

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?

“There were no frets left on it. I’d never seen anything as horrible!” How a new recruit turned Swedish adventure rockers Hällas into a band of gearheads

The latest addition to the ever-quirky prog outfit's lineup, guitarist Rickard Swahn made an impact at his first rehearsal among worn-out frets, weird pickup choices, and crumbling amps – and saved a song that was too Mark Knopfler for them

Guitar World

“I’ve gone after three Soldanos. Eric Clapton’s, Mark Knopfler’s... and finally Gary’s came up”: Joe Bonamassa test drives Gary Moore’s iconic Soldano amp – which has been unplayed for 20 years

Bonamassa bought the historic amp head at auction last year

Guitar World

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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

“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

“At the Mark Knopfler sale, I remember seeing people in tears”: A-list guitar auctions are now a firm fixture, and the sums involved are eye-watering. But who is driving the boom – and is it sustainable?

The amount of money changing hands for artist-owned guitars at auction is eye-watering. Amelia Walker of Christie's London explains what sells and who's buying – and whether it will last

Guitar World

Rob Reiner Sneaking His Hat From Spinal Tap Into The Princess Bride Is My Favorite Story About The Beloved Director

As you wish, Mr. Knopfler

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“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

“She had scratches on the side of her face. I said, ‘What happened?’She said, ‘Oh nothing, Keith threw the cat at me’”: Bill Wyman on Jimi Hendrix’s brilliance, Keith Moon’s madness and Mick Jagger’s brutal reaction to him leaving the Rolling Stones

The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix – ex-Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has known them all

Louder

“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

“That song should have been finished on an Eagles record with Joe and I following up on Hotel California with some dazzling guitar solos”: The song that started life as an Eagles track – but ended up as the theme song for an animated film

Plans for a Hotel California sequel were in motion, but the track wouldn’t emerge from the Eagles archive until a few years later

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

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

Guitar World

"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

Louder

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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

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

“I get a lot more feeling when I play with my fingers. Wes Montgomery was my reference as a kid for not using a pick”: Championed by Fender and signed to Blue Note, Maya Delilah might just be the most melodic guitar soloist since John Mayer

After being named as a member of Fender’s Class of 2024 and lauded as a 2025 Spotify Artist to Watch, Maya Delilah makes good on those promises with her Blue Note debut, The Long Way Around

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Guitar World

“I could hardly believe it when James reached over to the guitar case sitting opposite and lifted out his Olson acoustic”: What I learned from interviewing folk-rock icon James Taylor

Neville Marten recalls interviews with one of his musical idols, the singer-songwriter supreme and total legend, the great JT himself

Evening Standard

'They saved my mental health': BBC Radio 2 host Shaun Keaveny calls on government to protect canals

The presenter says canal walks have become essential to managing his ADHD - and wants ministers to protect these spaces for the millions who rely on them

Guitar World

“Chet had such facility and knowledge, and yet what he wanted to do was play two chords all morning long. He’d say to me, ‘You’re pretty good, but you’re no Mark Knopfler’”: Mark Knopfler looks back on his jams with fellow fingerstyle legend Chet Atkins

The pair traded licks after the release of Brothers in Arms, and went on to release an album together

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

Guitar World

“I didn’t take it to the extreme of getting into trouble”: Mark Knopfler recorded this solo on a cheap guitar and did “everything wrong” with it – but it’s still his favorite

One iconic cut from his solo work sticks out for the right reasons, Knopfler believes

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