Nice words from David Knopfler about brother MK

[Knopflerfan]

At the end of the day - Time is a great healer.....

[Mona Dee]

I hope that you won`t throw me out of this forum  but... ...can it be, that M still is an alpha male , maybe a little selfish and his brother is right when he is talking about M in a not so nice way? No question, M is a great musician and songwriter, but we don`t know him personally. Maybe he isn`t so friendly as we all think? It is just a thought that came into my mind  while reading the comments

[dmg]

I hope that you won`t throw me out of this forum  but... ...can it be, that M still is an alpha male , maybe a little selfish and his brother is right when he is talking about M in a not so nice way? No question, M is a great musician and songwriter, but we don`t know him personally. Maybe he isn`t so friendly as we all think? It is just a thought that came into my mind  while reading the comments

Yes, I think we all want to believe he's a nice kindly, friendly man but none of us actually know him.  Some of us have met him but that is just the public side of the man - none of us really know him personally as you say Mona.

[JF]

I hope that you won`t throw me out of this forum  but... ...can it be, that M still is an alpha male , maybe a little selfish and his brother is right when he is talking about M in a not so nice way? No question, M is a great musician and songwriter, but we don`t know him personally. Maybe he isn`t so friendly as we all think? It is just a thought that came into my mind  while reading the comments

Yes, I think we all want to believe he's a nice kindly, friendly man but none of us actually know him.  Some of us have met him but that is just the public side of the man - none of us really know him personally as you say Mona.

totally agree

I think you can't really know somebody only by reading itw, or meeting him in a "public" place


And the paradox is that many fans (including me) are more found of his work when he was known as a "tyran", than his solo carreer, that could be called "more mellow",so to say, just like his personnal evolution, maybe ? 

[Lestroid]

I think there could be a hint of the man in his songs - particularly in Hard Shoulder and Hill Farmer's Blues.  Not that I think those songs are necessarily autobiographical, but he seems to have an extraordinary amount of empathy for the type of man who is hard on the surface and holds his feelings inside.  MK may be one of those types who can show his emotions in his songs, but is quiet and hard to understand in person.  This might make one difficult to get along with.  Perhaps with age comes self awareness and a tendency to mellow.

[Masiakasaurus]

If you've played in bands, you probably know that it rarely works if everyone has an equal input (I'm sure there are a ton of exceptions to this, but IMHO it would only work if everyone in the band is equally talanted as a musician and composer). Now, everyone in DS were good musicians, but it was probably Mark's unique style and fantastic talent that gave them the edge to actually "make it". So, for the band to reach its full potential, it was probably necesary to have Mark at the steering wheel.

As you say, you can never know what he's actually like these days. I honestly believe he's mellower than before, but I don't know. IF he is, then that might have something to do with the fact that he IS the attraction, there is no debate on why people are coming to the show. He probably doesn't need to run things aggressively because everyone knows their place.

[Knopflerfan]

If meeting him a couple of months was anything to go by, he seemed a 'true Gentleman' in that he gave time to us all and to be honest that was great. We werent rushed and after that experience whatever happens 'behind the scenes' is immaterial to me.
The point I am trying to make is that he came across as a very friendly, humble chap albeit very shy.
We all know how much he doesn't enjoy the fame thing.
He is after all human with regards to falling out with people too....

[Pottel]

I see no irony or sarcasm at all on David's side. Nice to read...

[dannr1]

Many interesting points here..BUT I choose to interpret this the good way There is certainly nothing wrong with alpha-males, as long as they know how to balance that kind of approach. It is true that none of us can say that we know him at a personal level, we have seen his public and "polished" style. Referring to mk coming across as a "true gentleman" that was also the fact with f.ex the late Jim Reeves, who actually created a career built on this, went by the nickname "Gentleman Jim" and famous for his mellow style, but apparently a "perfectionistic, self-centered tyran" behind closed doors..

[Masiakasaurus]

If meeting him a couple of months was anything to go by, he seemed a 'true Gentleman' in that he gave time to us all and to be honest that was great. We werent rushed and after that experience whatever happens 'behind the scenes' is immaterial to me.
The point I am trying to make is that he came across as a very friendly, humble chap albeit very shy.
We all know how much he doesn't enjoy the fame thing.
He is after all human with regards to falling out with people too....

It makes me glad to read this post 

[Hophead]

Could it be that we take the 'celebrity'  personas of Mark and David too seriously? After all...what it all boils down to is that they are brothers..nothing more..nothing less. I don't agree whole-heartedly with my two brothers on every issue.....but I love them both just the same. I think what David is saying here is that he admires Mark's approach to life..he just wishes to live his own life differently. Brothers can agree to disagree..at least most of the time. It may seem that he is referring to things that happened in the past..but sometimes that's all it takes to realize just how important your family is to you. We all tend to put our own agendas in the way..and forget where we came from. Personally I wouldn't care if they were ever to 'reunite' in song..as long as they still loved each other as brothers should. Imho of course 

[sweetsurrender]

When I met MK on 2001, I was very very afraid that he would be rude, arrogant or whatever, because MK was my idol and to know that he

[Ingo]

I was curious to listen to the Van Morrison song David mentions that Mark was so enthusiastic about, found it on youtube, it is from 1973, a nice but unusual song, just listen to the part when the band goes nuts (1:32) into that jazz style without a warning 

 
 

[joanzimm]

I see no irony or sarcasm at all on David's side. Nice to read...

So many people on Facebook, including myself, were touched by David's post about the male models in his life.  He seemed surprised and humbled by all the positive comments he received.  Obviously I don't know either of them, but both Mark and David seem like very sensitive, compassionate and caring people.  I hope they are on good terms, too.  Life's too short.   

[IrisRose]

Me--I take the words as face value.  They are admiring positive words; they make me feel good about both brothers.    As hophead, jabaent, and others say, we don't know them personally.    I don't want to dig into any psychological interpretations of DK's words--except that they seem to be loving thoughts toward a brother.   Good for DK for saying them publicly!