Mark Knopfler (Mark Knopfler) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist of Jewish heritage, born in 1949. His full name is Mark Freuder Knopfler.
He is known for leading Dire Straits (Dire Straits). He and bassist John Illsley (John Illsley) are the two members who remained in the band throughout its existence.
After Dire Straits broke up, he pursued a solo career. Today, he is an independent artist.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow and grew up in Newcastle. His mother, Louisa Mary (née Laidler), was English, and his father, Erwin Knopfler, was Hungarian-born and Jewish.
His mother was a teacher. His father was an architect and chess player who left Hungary in 1939 to escape the Nazis. When Mark was seven, the family moved from Glasgow to Gosforth (Gosforth) in Newcastle upon Tyne, near Blyth, the town where his mother was born.
His first inspiration was the harmonica and his uncle Kingsley's boogie-woogie piano playing. He asked his father for a red Fender Stratocaster like Hank Marvin's (Hank Marvin). In the end, he bought a Höfner guitar.
In 1963, at the age of 13, he started working Saturdays at the Newcastle Evening Chronicle (Newcastle Evening Chronicle). There he met poet Basil Bunting, who worked at the newspaper as a copy editor. In 2015, Knopfler wrote a piece in his honor.
In the 60s, Knopfler formed several bands and joined others. Among others, he listened to Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, B.B. King and Django Reinhardt.
In 1968, after a year studying journalism at Harlow College (Harlow College), he got a job as a junior reporter at the Yorkshire Evening Post (Yorkshire Evening Post) in Leeds. With musician Steve Phillips, he formed a duo called The Duolian String Pickers, which performed at local acoustic folk and blues clubs. He later completed a degree in English at the University of Leeds.
In 1970, while living in Leeds, he recorded a demo of an original song he had written, Summer's Coming My Way. After graduating in 1973, he moved to London and joined the High Wycombe band Brewers Droop (Brewers Droop). After a short time with the band, he worked for three years as a lecturer at Loughton College in Essex. In the mid-70s, he devoted most of his musical energy to the Café Racers (Café Racers).
This artist currently has no event available to book on the TikTik website. TikTik has been selling tickets to concerts and games abroad since 1997, with service in Hebrew.
Dire Straits was Knopfler's band from 1977 to 1995. In the band, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter.
In 1977, Knopfler moved in with his brother David and John Illsley. That same year, he formed the band with his brother David, John Illsley on bass and drummer Pick Withers. A friend of Pick's suggested the name Dire Straits, meaning dire trouble. The name reflected their difficult financial situation.
The debut album, named after the band, was released in 1978. The single Sultans of Swing (Sultans of Swing) became a hit, and the album eventually sold around 15 million copies.
The band recorded six albums, including Brothers in Arms (Brothers in Arms) from 1985, one of the best-selling albums in history. With Dire Straits, Knopfler sold between 100 and 120 million records. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits.
After Dire Straits broke up in 1995, Knopfler began a solo career. To date, he has released ten solo albums.
He composed and produced soundtracks for nine films, including Local Hero (Local Hero) from 1983, Cal (Cal) from 1984, The Princess Bride (The Princess Bride) from 1987, Wag the Dog (Wag the Dog) from 1997 and Altamira (Altamira) from 2016.
He produced albums for Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and Randy Newman. He also wrote Tina Turner's song Private Dancer (Private Dancer). In the early 90s, he released a collaborative album with Chet Atkins, showcasing his love of country music.
Knopfler won four Grammy Awards. He is also a recipient of the Edison Award, the Steiger Award and the Ivor Novello Award. In addition, he holds three honorary doctorates in music from universities in the UK.
Knopfler fingerpicks rather than using a pick. This technique sets him apart from most rock guitarists.
One evening at a friend's place, the only guitar available was an old acoustic guitar with a very warped neck. To make it playable, they strung it with extra-light strings. Even then, he couldn't play it without fingerpicking, and that's how his signature playing style developed. In a later interview, he said: "That's where I found my 'voice' on the guitar."
Classic Rock magazine described him as a virtuoso. He was ranked 27th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
His distinctive hallmarks are the moving guitar sounds and his deep, soft, raspy voice.
There is currently no concert date or city listed for Mark Knopfler on the website.
No. There is currently no Mark Knopfler concert listed on the website.
With Dire Straits, Knopfler sold between 100 and 120 million records.
Four. Knopfler won four Grammy Awards.
He formed it with his younger brother, David Knopfler. In 1977, John Illsley on bass and drummer Pick Withers also played in the band with them.
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