For many years now I've marked this date by hoisting an extra pint to toast the man who is still (in my honest opinion) the best drummer Dire Straits ever had - Pick Withers.
David 'Pick' Withers was Mark's first choice when Dire Straits was being formed and Withers played drums on the bands' classic first 4 albums. In 1982, after the recording sessions for Love Over Gold, Withers left the group for personal and artistic reasons.
His style suits that early material so well that you'd almost think some of it was written partly with him in mind. Just listen to "Water of Love" from the debut album. The deft cross-stick and tom-tom rolls propel the rhythm in a way that is both subtle and inexorable. ....brilliant stuff!
Listen again to "In the Gallery", or "Wild West End" - just for Pick's drumming. And on "News" (from Communique) the way he helps Mark build the tension is exquisite, as are the lovely builds and releases in "Romeo and Juliet", and "Hand in Hand" from Making Movies.
Love Over Gold, his final album with DS opened with "Telegraph Road" and Pick created the template on which every subsequent drummer has based their performance. He can rock out with the best, but what distinguishes Pick's playing for me on this track is the subtlety of his cross-stick, high-hat, and tom-tom fills in the quieter sections.
Pick's playing on those four albums (as well as on Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming) is tasteful, solid, and always right in the pocket. No drummer since has quite managed to capture his superb feel, and Dire Straits' sound changed noticeably after his departure.
Pick's alleged quote to a reporter upon leaving - that there was nothing left in the music for him, and that he felt he was in danger of becoming a rock drummer - speaks volumes I think, about his artistic integrity and his passion for music. With the band already on the verge of super-stardom, not many would have been so committed, or so brave.
So Pick... wherever you are..... Happy 64th, mate!!
(*Disclaimer: I first posted this in a related forum a year ago today. Apologies to those for whom it may sound familiar......)
