Something that has bothered me for a number of years now, is that commentators, reviewers, announcers, and the like always refer to him as "former frontman of Dire Straits" Or something similar. I still listen to DS--Communique being my favorite album/cd--but Mark Knopfler is nearly 20 years out from Dire Straits. I admit that here in the US, I have to add . . . "Dire Straits?" when explaining my favorite singer/songrwriter to people. Only then do many of them recognize the name, well, not even the name, just the group. And it is so nice to talk to someone who recognizes the name and knows some fairly recent music of his.
Still, I wish that the reviewers, etc, would let him and his music of the past 17 years stand under the name Mark Knopfler, rather than a past incarnation. Just my dollar's worth. Inflation, you know.
I don't think that is only a problem in US,,,,,,,,,,,,,,when I say "I am a fan of Mark Knopfler" (offcourse Dutch spoken), a lot of people
pull up their eye-brows (frown) .............than I only say "Dire Straits"........and they understand with mostly the kind response "Dire Straits..........yeahhh that's a great band"
And when I add to it that the band DS doesn't exists anymore since 1992, they feel sorry for me.
But when I go on and say....after that Mark Knopfler went solo.........I see the same WHO, YOU SAY
on their face.
In pubs and bars only DS hits come along , and when they know me, the one who put up the song tries to get eye contact for a thumb up,
which I always kindly give offcourse.
But visa verse , not long ago I run into a guy who did audition as guitarist for a band in Holland ,
he ended up in my local pub his acoustic guitar with him , after some blabla bla we started to strum some songs on his guitar,
which most of the people in knew.
When the guitar was put in my hands again I choose to play a John Prine song "Angel from Montgomery"
nobody sung along except for the American guy , after the song he asked me if I knew john prine's "All the best" ,
I said yes and I start playing and he sung.......we both were flabbergasted ,he for the fact that somebody in Holland knew John Prine,
and I that john Prine is so well known in the US. because I had never met somebody in person who knew John Prine before and there was somebody who knew at least two songs