A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Rolo on March 26, 2025, 11:33:07 PM
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Just popped on YT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFz65pHXODk
great to see PF :D
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Thank you :)
Touring with Mark Knopfler was the greatest thing for me
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This one is much better. About working with Mark/DS from 12:20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTo0iRDB4Rs&
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Curious that he talks about the Pedabro and playing it in sessions but he does't have it there to play it and show it.
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Thank you :)
Touring with Mark Knopfler was the greatest thing for me
For me too! :wave
The collaboration of Mark and Paul during the OES era was and still is a musical highlight for me and is one reason why the OES album (next to Communique) is one of my favorites of Mark's amazing work.
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Great on the album, mixed feeling for the tour.
He was a nice addition but at some point Mark did turn overusing him on the live stuff.
Another reason why I wish I could do my own mix from the multitracks live tapes for my own taste and pleasure....
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Thank you :)
Touring with Mark Knopfler was the greatest thing for me
Really?? No complains, no regrets, no memories of Mark's bad behaviour, or of his marriage, or whatever?
What a pity, so this is going to be a very short thread... :think :lol
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That sounds a bit back-handed! Come on... you are better than that!
It proves the point more-so from the perspective of those that didn't enjoy it for whatever reason. Choosing fall-guys etc. I've seen that behaviour before.
Quite often in a group with a leader who is deemed extremely talented but flawed in some departments, in this case the flaws wouldn't be
the ability to play the guitar or make the audience happy (which for a fan is the only important factor especially those who are also flawed in terms of lacking empathy or just being able to seperate the human from the music.) If the leader lacks tact or cannot deal with things fairly and patiently when the going gets tough (so if his personal life is in some turmoil which then boils over to the crew) then he will need allies. I cannot recall any situation ever where there has been someone who may be behaving badly who didn't have an ally, whether it be their partner, girlfriend/boyfriend or group of supporters/friends etc. Used to happen as far back to the school playground.
Franklin was admired by Knopfler, big time. Like he admired his trusty right-hand man Illsley and even Guy Fletcher. I bet his treatment to them would have been different than to others. Similar to if Jeff Porcaro had joined on tour. No way does he get the same treatment as CW. It happens actually quite often in the industry I work in. Certain people are valued a lot more than others. Or it could even be in vain to try not to look bad in front of female collegues etc. These people will never be crappy with them or certain collegues but would be pretty awful to others. I've seen this on countless occasions. It might not even be very bad face to face behaviour as such. Just ignoring certain people etc. It's a character flaw. I suppose these people in the industry I work in must have had some talent as they are earning more than triple than you are or have so much more power etc. Sometimes these people are like that because they are naturally absolute sh*ts or sometimes they cannot handle the heat or when things are out of their control. They might have their own insecurities and issues. The thing is the latter is what I genuinely believe happened to MK. Not the former. Even though that's me taking a kind view.
So i'm not sure why you are trying to belittle other posters comments, those that were also amongst the crew for best part of 14 months who would gain nothing from being unfairly biased or negative. In fact as a freelancer you want to be on everyones good books. But sadly it happens. It shouldn't have happened. It's happened to me but you try and move on. However what I wouldn't like is for others to try and re-write history especially when they were not even there. Not even close. You can say you are / were close to the artist's music/work spiritually but you are /were a million miles away from ever being close physically. That's a fact. Unless you lived near his studio ;D. I used to work for many years about 800 metres from MK's studio in Chiswick! Doesn't make me spiritually closer. I still love Telegraph Road though!
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That sounds a bit back-handed! Come on... you are better than that!
It proves the point more-so from the perspective of those that didn't enjoy it for whatever reason. Choosing fall-guys etc. I've seen that behaviour before.
Quite often in a group with a leader who is deemed extremely talented but flawed in some departments, in this case the flaws wouldn't be
the ability to play the guitar or make the audience happy (which for a fan is the only important factor especially those who are also flawed in terms of lacking empathy or just being able to seperate the human from the music.) If the leader lacks tact or cannot deal with things fairly and patiently when the going gets tough (so if his personal life is in some turmoil which then boils over to the crew) then he will need allies. I cannot recall any situation ever where there has been someone who may be behaving badly who didn't have an ally, whether it be their partner, girlfriend/boyfriend or group of supporters/friends etc. Used to happen as far back to the school playground.
Franklin was admired by Knopfler, big time. Like he admired his trusty right-hand man Illsley and even Guy Fletcher. I bet his treatment to them would have been different than to others. Similar to if Jeff Porcaro had joined on tour. No way does he get the same treatment as CW. It happens actually quite often in the industry I work in. Certain people are valued a lot more than others. Or it could even be in vain to try not to look bad in front of female collegues etc. These people will never be crappy with them or certain collegues but would be pretty awful to others. I've seen this on countless occasions. It might not even be very bad face to face behaviour as such. Just ignoring certain people etc. It's a character flaw. I suppose these people in the industry I work in must have had some talent as they are earning more than triple than you are or have so much more power etc. Sometimes these people are like that because they are naturally absolute sh*ts or sometimes they cannot handle the heat or when things are out of their control. They might have their own insecurities and issues. The thing is the latter is what I genuinely believe happened to MK. Not the former. Even though that's me taking a kind view.
So i'm not sure why you are trying to belittle other posters comments, those that were also amongst the crew for best part of 14 months who would gain nothing from being unfairly biased or negative. In fact as a freelancer you want to be on everyones good books. But sadly it happens. It shouldn't have happened. It's happened to me but you try and move on. However what I wouldn't like is for others to try and re-write history especially when they were not even there. Not even close. You can say you are / were close to the artist's music/work spiritually but you are /were a million miles away from ever being close physically. That's a fact. Unless you lived near his studio ;D. I used to work for many years about 800 metres from MK's studio in Chiswick! Doesn't make me spiritually closer. I still love Telegraph Road though!
"...rewrite history"?
No idea what you are talking about but I guess your favourite movie is "Over the Top"?
It was just all fun, no need to take out the big guns from my point of view.
LE
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Seemed to me that K-Alberto's comment was indeed made in jest.
However it is interesting that PF's comments don't really tie in with Chris' description of what PF experienced on the OES tour. Could be rose tinted glasses after 35 years, or maybe just choosing to let sleeping dogs lie. Or maybe he was just talking about the Hillbillies tour :)
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I remember Chris saying that MK was pretty much into Paul's contribution, and Paul was one of the people Chris highlighted because of his contributions to the show.
Also Paul played on Mark's solo albums (RPD, STP and SL from the top of my head) which was remarkable if you look at any other DS members apart from Guy (and later Chris and Danny). So it seems indeed Paul and Mark clicked immediately or were on the same level from day one.
Apart from that, Paul always seemed like a friendly, uncomplicated easy-going guy with not too much ego standing in the way.
LE
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Paul Franklin also played on Golden Heart and Privateering.
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Seemed to me that K-Alberto's comment was indeed made in jest.
However it is interesting that PF's comments don't really tie in with Chris' description of what PF experienced on the OES tour. Could be rose tinted glasses after 35 years, or maybe just choosing to let sleeping dogs lie. Or maybe he was just talking about the Hillbillies tour :)
Of course! it was just a joke :-)
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Seemed to me that K-Alberto's comment was indeed made in jest.
However it is interesting that PF's comments don't really tie in with Chris' description of what PF experienced on the OES tour. Could be rose tinted glasses after 35 years, or maybe just choosing to let sleeping dogs lie. Or maybe he was just talking about the Hillbillies tour :)
Or maybe his point of view is completely different.
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Jokes apart, this is a really interesting interview.
He talks about MUSIC, which is all this is about.
There are just 12 notes, and he let us listen how a few ones can turn from country to something completely different. "Playing for the world", as Mark said to him.
Hilarious when he recalls the way Calling Elvis turned its style :lol
Worth to watch it!
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Thank you :)
Touring with Mark Knopfler was the greatest thing for me
Really?? No complains, no regrets, no memories of Mark's bad behaviour, or of his marriage, or whatever?
What a pity, so this is going to be a very short thread... :think :lol
1) You brought it up, not me. If people tire of the dark tales, stop raising the topic.
2) I spent almost the entire tour hanging out with Paul F and Chris White. I know exactly how Paul felt about the tour.
Hint - we never spent much time with Mark and John.
3) Some people value their loyalty and their professional reputations so generally speak in positives about every job. Paul's a nice guy and an in-demand professional, so I'm not surprised he mainly said positive things about the tour. As others have already said, Paul was just about Mark's favourite musician on the tour. Paul is an uber positive guy and easy going. He has no need to dredge up horror stories, although as Ed Bicknell has pointed out, both at the time and since, the tour was widely regarded as a major drag by all those involved, from the crew to the management.
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or maybe just choosing to let sleeping dogs lie.
^^ This ^^
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OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.
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Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.
Hmm, you left out the bit where I spent almost ALL my time on the tour with Paul and Chris. Of course you know what he was saying in thinking better than me.
Also the way you paint it is very black and white. The vast majority of people in the creative industries do not wash their dirty laundry in public. It just isn't the done thing. People would rather focus on the positives. That's fine. So do I 95% of the time.
If people ask me about the tour in detail however, I'm just honest.
This is NO slight on Paul. As I said, he is a super nice, easy going guy, and I'm not surprised at all he hasn't repeated any negatives about the tour.
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Seemed to me that K-Alberto's comment was indeed made in jest.
Sure, I get it.
I really don't know why it had to come up again. It seems people don't want me to post about the tour, but reserve the right to make a point about me. Just enjoy Paul's tales, his take on music and life.....and leave me out of the discussion. That's to everyone btw.
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Hilarious when he recalls the way Calling Elvis turned its style :lol
Worth to watch it!
what minute is that ? Can't find it
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Hilarious when he recalls the way Calling Elvis turned its style :lol
Worth to watch it!
what minute is that ? Can't find it
Sorry vape, it's from the hunter video link (same page 1 in this same topic). You can find it from around minute 18:30 ;)
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I have no doubt Mark's dream team was Paul Franklin and Jeff Porcaro. Chris White and Danny C were also around for the album.
In the guitar stakes I think Mark saw Paul as an equal. Anything Mark played, or asked Paul to play, Paul could achieve. Paul taking the pedal steel way beyond its country origins, performing rock style guitar solos on the tour, sometimes verging on complex be-bop jazz.
Paul would never have played huge outdoor shows, before or since, being mostly a studio musician. He says 'it was an eye opener'.
You can see in the videos, he is passionate about pedal steel as an instrument and it wasn't lost on him he was showcasing the best pedal steel can be to 60,000 people a night for over a year, as he says to something like 5 million people.
I think he regretted turning down so many album sessions while out on tour, and every time we had a couple of weeks off, he would fly back to Nashville and spend the whole time in the studio playing on sessions.
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At the time being, before the declining of CD sales, a session man could be a comfortable seat from a business perspective.
I know session men that continuoulsy refused to tour for that exact reason.
Because they feared if they became unavailable that someone else on the agenda's producers will take their position.
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Exactly right.
I think this was Paul's dilemma. Especially in the Nashville system. He regularly worked with all the top producers and artists. If someone turned up and took his place while he was on tour, he'd likely never get back in again.
Nashville is just about the only place still with consistent studio work since streaming.
If you are based in London or LA, you are probably on tour most of the year.
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I have no doubt Mark's dream team was Paul Franklin and Jeff Porcaro. Chris White and Danny C were also around for the album.
In the guitar stakes I think Mark saw Paul as an equal. Anything Mark played, or asked Paul to play, Paul could achieve. Paul taking the pedal steel way beyond its country origins, performing rock style guitar solos on the tour, sometimes verging on complex be-bop jazz.
Paul would never have played huge outdoor shows, before or since, being mostly a studio musician. He says 'it was an eye opener'.
You can see in the videos, he is passionate about pedal steel as an instrument and it wasn't lost on him he was showcasing the best pedal steel can be to 60,000 people a night for over a year, as he says to something like 5 million people.
I think he regretted turning down so many album sessions while out on tour, and every time we had a couple of weeks off, he would fly back to Nashville and spend the whole time in the studio playing on sessions.
This insight is really helpful!
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OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.
oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses
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:disbelief
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OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.
oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses
Just bored by 200 posts all about the same thing. Time to move on, as you see in this topic (and in the videos) MUSIC gives us so much more to talk about...
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OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.
oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses
Just bored by 200 posts all about the same thing. Time to move on, as you see in this topic (and in the videos) MUSIC gives us so much more to talk about...
Yes, so boring hearing about what it was like to be in Dire Straits from an actual member of Dire Straits.
I for one am much more interested in reading random speculation from nerdy middle aged men posting from their bedroom.
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OMG, this is worrying enough.
So if someone speaks in positive terms of MK, it's only because he wants to show "loyalty" and has to protect his professional reputation.
Otherwise, the only way to speak about the 91/92 tour is "horror stories".
Honestly, Chris, I have read your point of view many times, but let people share their thoughts. Freedom is a good thing.
oopsie someone dredge your god through the mud?
Chris is just recanting his memories and giving us some insights on others (PF) as he WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.
take of the pink glasses
Just bored by 200 posts all about the same thing. Time to move on, as you see in this topic (and in the videos) MUSIC gives us so much more to talk about...
Yes, so boring hearing about what it was like to be in Dire Straits from an actual member of Dire Straits.
I for one am much more interested in reading random speculation from nerdy middle aged men posting from their bedroom.
word.
bring it on Chris W.!