The Straits sullying dIRE sTRIATS legacy?

[Millionaire Blues]

Have just seen this on Alan's website...am fairly shocked.......Alan strikes me as a bit of a cock to be honest!!

"While the vast majority of people support what I'm doing with The Straits, there's been one person who's written some quite aggresive emails etc to my and other websites, Guy Fletcher's for one, saying how disgusted he was that we were sullying the legacy of Dire Straits etc. Of course, he hadn't actually seen The Straits, so, I wrote back to him and invited him to a gig. Well, he came along, loved the gig, we met backstage and hugged each other, and now he's a friend of mine"

Apologies is this is old news!!!


MB

[Love Expresso]

Hey MB, this was not posted before, thank you! But another quote from Alan Clark's site was, and both of them give a very good picture of this man.

LE

[Millionaire Blues]

Hi LE, glad i aint repeated anything.....after a few beers asnd contemplation i am actually stunned by Alans comments........

MK and DS stand for modesty, humbleness and dignity.....Alans comments fly in the face of this...why make such a comment public....i am astonsihed!!!

x

[Banjo99uk]

It seems John Illsley wanted to join The Straits but was turned down. How the fuck does that happen. The worlds been turned on its head.

[Fletch]

So this was someone who wrote to GFs site, not GF himself. Well good on you Alan, winning your fans one by one..'haha!

Banjo, as I mentioned on the other Alan thread, I'd bet my old guitar strings that the rejection went the other way!

[Pottel]

Lol, at first I also read it as being about guy, but now I assume it is about a fan, also writing to guy

[twm]

Is it really true that Illsley wanted in THE STRAITS but was turned down? I had understood that PCM were unhappy about the formation of THE STRAITS (for which read MK, I guess) on the basis that they were trading on the Dire Straits name. Also, that some people attending might have thought that it was Dire Straits and that MK would be playing. As Illsley was (is?) a "co-owner" of the Dire Straits name, I had assumed that he was of the same view.  Maybe I was wrong.

As for Alan Clark (and you folk know much more about this than I do), was he not of the opinion that he had contributed more to the DS sound and to some of the arrangements than he was given credit for?

Finally, I think I've attended three concerts by THE STRAITS (it was to have been four but the house move obviated our attendance at the Newcastle City Hall show, which could have been interesting). I thought they made a very good fist of it, all in all. I'd've said that it would have been impossible to find someone who could replicate the MK sound (and most of you would say it still is, I'm sure) but I thought the guy they found does pretty well. As I've said before, this is not really my favourite style of MK's music but those attending who do like it really responded well. That first major show at the RAH brought an audience response that surprised me (and, I suspect, THE STRAITS themselves). I was close to the front and probably the only person still sitting at the end. OK, it cannot ever be the "original" sound of DS (or even one of the later incarnations of that band) but, with three, and sometimes four, members of one or other of Mark's touring bands in the line-up, that sets them apart from most tribute acts. One could therefore aver that THE STRAITS are a more than a tribute act - more "authentic" in a way.
To be even more contentious on this subject, "The principal may not be there but the musical principles are. Discuss."

[Banjo99uk]

Alans words about John Illsley - "yes, I did briefly consider using former DS people when I put this band together - John Illsley told me he would "dearly love" to join our band - but I wanted to make the best noise possible and have a nice time while doing so, so I handpicked these guys". 
Maybe he felt John being a founder member and I think co owner of the name Dire Straits would be a threat and distraction.  Who knows, but if he was part of it could they have used the proper name?

[Jackal]

My guess is that both Mark and John must consent to the use of the name Dire Straits.

[xxFordiexx]

Alans words about John Illsley - "yes, I did briefly consider using former DS people when I put this band together - John Illsley told me he would "dearly love" to join our band - but I wanted to make the best noise possible and have a nice time while doing so, so I handpicked these guys". 
Maybe he felt John being a founder member and I think co owner of the name Dire Straits would be a threat and distraction.  Who knows, but if he was part of it could they have used the proper name?

If this was actually to have been quoted by John Illsley himself, then Alan Clark's response has proven once again what god damn numpty he really is...

[xxFordiexx]

In fact for a while I could just let them get on with their little project but when you hear such rubbish as this, it really starts to grind on me. Let's remember everyone, DS is nowhere near the same without Mark Knopfler or John Illsley. I hope these guys are happy pretending to be something they are not.

[superval99]

TWM,  As we all know you are a huge fan of Bob Dylan, it would be interesting to hear how you would feel if some well-known ex members of Bob's band did the same thing that The Straits have done, ie formed a band, played Bob's songs, with BD replaced by a kind of soundalike/lookalike and then hear them state publicly that they can do it better than Bob, etc.....?    Would you be comfortable about that?   Would you attend their concerts and be as enthusiastic about them as you are about Bob and his current band? 

[xxFordiexx]

TWM,  As we all know you are a huge fan of Bob Dylan, it would be interesting to hear how you would feel if some well-known ex members of Bob's band did the same thing that The Straits have done, ie formed a band, played Bob's songs, with BD replaced by a kind of soundalike/lookalike and then hear them state publicly that they can do it better than Bob, etc.....?    Would you be comfortable about that?   Would you attend their concerts and be as enthusiastic about them as you are about Bob and his current band? 

Could not have put it better myself

[Pottel]

TWM,  As we all know you are a huge fan of Bob Dylan, it would be interesting to hear how you would feel if some well-known ex members of Bob's band did the same thing that The Straits have done, ie formed a band, played Bob's songs, with BD replaced by a kind of soundalike/lookalike and then hear them state publicly that they can do it better than Bob, etc.....?    Would you be comfortable about that?   Would you attend their concerts and be as enthusiastic about them as you are about Bob and his current band? 

imagine Freddy Koella forming a "Rolling Thunder Never Ending Tour band", together with say,....Jim Keltner, Leon Russel, GE Smith, Kenny Aaronson, Christopher Parker, and then some nobody from the Fiji islands (just as an example) doing the singing...and they would announce to go on a never ending Rolling thunder review, playing all those songs and stating they are as good as the original had ever been, if not even....

[twm]

Before I start, a few preliminary notes:

  1. I had anticipated this response
  2. I did not exhibit "enthusiasm" (making a "good fist of it" is a bit short of "enthusiasm")
  3. Indeed, I have said, in this thread and others, that I do not much care for the DS sound/approach
  4. The same therefore applies to THE STRAITS
  5. This is not the same as saying that I don't like the songs ...
  6. ... nor that I do not appreciate the musicianship involved

Moving now to the comments made, the questions raised and my own response to those.

  3. THE STRAITS have not covered MK material post-DS (hence their name, I suppose)
  4. Therefore, the comparison is between THE STRAITS and DS, not what followed
  5. For simplicity's sake (and at risk of sounding like a journalist), I'll call this the "classic" MK period
  6. This classic period was when MK came to fame and acheived his greatest general popularity
  7. The comparison should not be with the whole of Dylan's career but with his "classic" period
  8. Some would disagree with me but the 1960s is probably the comparable period

  9. I have not kept up with THE STRAITS website (maybe once, early on, to check concert times)
10. I was simply unaware of Alan Clark's views
11. I do not intend to look at them now, so will accept the extracts you've cited at face value
12. On that basis, Clark's comments seem pretty foolish to me
13. And unnecessary
14. And also offensive
15. THE STRAITS hold up musically and this is the aspect he should emphasise
16. Infighting and rivalry (if those are the right nouns) will not bolster his case

17. In terms of the music, material performed and the sound, of DS, MK was obviously pivotal
18. John Illsley, in my opinion, was not
19. Perhaps indirectly (organisation, business skills, personal relationship with MK) but not pivotal

20. There are several Dylan tribute acts
21. Unlike THE STRAITS, they do not play large venues or large-scale festivals
22. Some of these acts are well-received by Dylan fans, some are not
23. In terms of Dylan's classic period (see comments above), I have seen several tribute performers
24. Most are not a patch on Dylan but some I have enjoyed greatly
25. Often, it is not the Dylan clone I like but the person who manages to put on their own twist
26. Someone who manages to find something different, or even new, in a song I know well
27. There is a guy called Joel Gilbert who puts on a tribute show called "Highway 61 Revisited"
28. Often, there are former Dylan sidemen (and a sidewoman) in the band
29. No, I've never seen them but, then, they've never played close to me
30. Moreover, on the one occasion I met Mr Gilbert, I was not much taken with him
31. This was before he formed this tribute act
32. Since then, he has produced several DVDs on Dylan's life
33. I bought the first but have bought no others (enough said)

Finally, on attending shows by THE STRAITS, I certainly clapped their performances (as I enjoyed the shows) but not enough to get up and cheer - and certainly not to cheer wildly. Many, many others who attended did, though. You may feel that those people are misguided. They may feel that you're being too purist.

These guys are jobbing musicians. They have not made the sort of money that MK has made. They have to earn a living. If audiences will turn out for shows by THE STRAITS, why would they not go out on stage. In my view, tribute acts are inherently self-limiting and this is true of THE STRAITS. How will they develop, I wonder?

Finally, perhaps the title of this thread should be corrected.