Ed Bicknell end of contract with MK

[quizzaciously]

My though is the actual end of Dire Straits happened 26 April 1986 in Sydney. OES, despite being a fantastic release,  was just a try to make the story going on.

Absolutely, On Every Street might as well be the first MK solo album, but the history is history.

....all  DS records, and even more from Making Movies, are essentially Mark Knopfler's albums. Exemplary is the fact that in BIA John does not play in some pieces. With OES Ed will have urged him to return to the recording studio as his marriage had gone  at that time ...

I'd like to live in the parallel universe where Mark never had Dire Straits and went full solo mode from day 1 like Chris Rea and people like that.

To me it's ridiculously funny that his solo band actually is more consistent than Dire Straits ever was, and DS was a "band", now solo MK is "alone". It's funny.

[straitsway75]

My though is the actual end of Dire Straits happened 26 April 1986 in Sydney. OES, despite being a fantastic release,  was just a try to make the story going on.

Absolutely, On Every Street might as well be the first MK solo album, but the history is history.

....all  DS records, and even more from Making Movies, are essentially Mark Knopfler's albums. Exemplary is the fact that in BIA John does not play in some pieces. With OES Ed will have urged him to return to the recording studio as his marriage had gone  at that time ...

I'd like to live in the parallel universe where Mark never had Dire Straits and went full solo mode from day 1 like Chris Rea and people like that.

To me it's ridiculously funny that his solo band actually is more consistent than Dire Straits ever was, and DS was a "band", now solo MK is "alone". It's funny.

the fact that at a certain point in Mark was no longer enough to decide everything about the band, he wanted to continue playing but freer than the boundaries that the DS could have. In fact songs like ANISLA or DWB could not have found space in a rock album. The consequent step was to have a more normal man approach instead of a superstar, and always returning to the subject of the discussion, he had to break with Ed....

[straitsway75]

....on the musical coherence of the band that the soloist can have compared to the 77-91 period in my opinion is given by the fact that in the early years he was more open to changes and experiments than today. Mark in a few years 77-86 from being a complete unknow person has literally climbed the world, obtained recognitions and satisfactions that few have had in such a short space of time. After the tour BIA has reaped the fruits of its success by taking away satisfaction and in part exhausting the 'hunger' it could have previously had...

[qjamesfloyd]

Ed is the man who helped Dire Straits to become and stay huge.

Paul is the man who helps Mark to do what he wants.

Mark was the one who helped Dire Straits to become and stay huge!! without Mark there is no Dire Straits.

[Jules]

Ed is the man who helped Dire Straits to become and stay huge.

Paul is the man who helps Mark to do what he wants.

Mark was the one who helped Dire Straits to become and stay huge!! without Mark there is no Dire Straits.

Without Ed and his great talent as a manager, MK wouldn't had arrived that far that soon... It's easy to check, the places where the band played before Ed and the ones after...

[qjamesfloyd]

But I am sure any manager would have done pretty much the same thing, but Mark had the huge talent that also enabled Dire Straits to move forward.

[Jules]

But I am sure any manager would have done pretty much the same thing, but Mark had the huge talent that also enabled Dire Straits to move forward.

It's true that without the MK talent, Ed won't had made any miracle with the band, but it's also true that Ed strategies as a manager was crucial to raise the band from small pubs around the UK to tour in medium / big venues around the world. With another manager they could had go further, or could had failed, that's something we'll never know, but to be honest, Ed role has to be properly considered.

[straitsway75]

But I am sure any manager would have done pretty much the same thing, but Mark had the huge talent that also enabled Dire Straits to move forward.

It's true that without the MK talent, Ed won't had made any miracle with the band, but it's also true that Ed strategies as a manager was crucial to raise the band from small pubs around the UK to tour in medium / big venues around the world. With another manager they could had go further, or could had failed, that's something we'll never know, but to be honest, Ed role has to be properly considered, and it was considered because the "Dire Straits Company" had five people from the start, MK, DK, JI, Pick and Ed. And in 1995 when DS oficially disbanded, the DS company was MK, JI and Ed.

Ed was great no doubt, the move to go to States to sign with WB was a real stroke of genius, when the album still didn't take off...

[ds1984]

This was a collective journey and success, Mark was the core diamond.

[Knut]

MK wrote the songs, played lead guitar and did the singing. That's a big part of it, but it is FAR from everything. The band members and management deserve their share of credit from the results. A band is a band, not a one man show. That includes the current lineup as well.

[hunter]

A genius product mean nothing without proper management and a great sales and marketing team.

[Jules]

I just found in google that there is a book about Peter Grant, with lots of mentions to Ed Bicknell, and also to Paul Crockford, which is a funny story...

The book is "Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin" and I made screen captures of that part: