Mark Knopfler An Unauthorized Biography by Myles Palmer!!!

[Marijo58]

Hi everybody,

I bought recently the Unauthorized Biography written by Myles Palmer in 1991!! It's an old copy that I paid 22 Euros on Amazon!! I've just started to read it and I find it really interesting so far because he described very well how MK was as a child and how he behaved when he was at school!!! It must have been very frustrative for his Mother being a teacher herself to have to answer to complains about her son from his teachers!! I found it also very enlightning on many points to analyse his personality and how he finally became obsessed by guitar playing and music very early!! I assumed that most of you have red this book, would be happy to know whether you liked it or not and if somebody can tell me who is Myles Palmer? Can you also tell me what was your reflections and impressions on this biography? 

[dustyvalentino]

I bought it when it came out.

I always enjoyed it but took everything in it with a pinch of salt. Palmer's credentials as a journalist seem pretty poor and it becomes clear pretty quickly that he doesn't like Mark or his music.

[superval99]

I bought it in 1991 too - the updated version.  I found it a very good read, but I found there were many inaccuracies with dates, etc.  Nevertheless, I have found it a point of reference for some things over the years.

I agree that it was clear Mr Palmer didn't like MK very much, right from the start! 

[Jules]

Myles Palmer also wrote a biography about Arsene Wenger (London Arsenal Football Club manager).

I liked it but I also took it with care, most of his interviews are to people who you can not say are 100% reliable...

[Marijo58]

Thanks for your answers. I had the impression that he didn't like MK and his Music. So why bother to write this biography?

[ingridswing]

Looong ago, ABBA sang a song about it .... Money. money, money .....

[Jules]

Thanks for your answers. I had the impression that he didn't like MK and his Music. Sio why bother to write this biography?

Good question. When I saw he also wrote a biography about Arsene Wenger I thought that he might be a biographer or something like that. In his first chapter he explains how Knopfler, via Ed Bicknell, refused the biography, and he decided to continue working on the biography anyway, so, probably Ingrid is right, Knopfler was still a big name.

[H97]

Just wondering, is there a good biography of MK? No autobiography like the one Clapton pulled out, as far as I know, or one as good as Philip Norman's Mick jagger effort. Which one to read on MK?

[Jules]

Just wondering, is there a good biography of MK? No autobiography like the one Clapton pulled out, as far as I know, or one as good as Philip Norman's Mick jagger effort. Which one to read on MK?

Not, there is not. The closest you are gonna get to something like a autobiography is the "kind-of-official" book by Michael Oldfield that covers more or less until 1984, it written, as the cover says, in cooperation with the band and DS's manager, it´s a good book, but it´s out of print, anyway you can get second hand copies:

http://www.amazon.com/Dire-Straits-Michael-Oldfield/dp/0688025145/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_4

The non-authorized biography by Myles Palmer is a nice read if you read it considering that most of the information on it is quite subjective, people who met MK in various periods of his life talking about their memories.

But no, nothing like the Clapton autobiography, MK doesn´t consider himself and his career as something worth of it, actually that's the reason why the Myles Palmer biography is "not-authorized", Palmer tried to do an autobiography, but MK refused it by that reason.

[ds1984]

I have not the feeling that Myles Palmer does not like Mark.

Fact is that from start he was told by management that they won't cooperate to his book.
So Myles did get answers from people that accepted to answer - some are more or less reliable. But the Dave Pask part alone is worth the bough.

BTW I was not aware of an revise/updated version. Should have to look after a copy of that one.

[Jules]

I have not the feeling that Myles Palmer does not like Mark.

Fact is that from start he was told by management that they won't cooperate to his book.
So Myles did get answers from people that accepted to answer - some are more or less reliable. But the Dave Pask part alone is worth the bough.

BTW I was not aware of an revise/updated version. Should have to look after a copy of that one.

Yes, all the part about Dave Pask and The Café Racers worth the whole book... there is also a part about the Brewers Droop...

I read this book long ago, when my English was quite bad. I would like to re-read it again now that my English improved from very bad to just bad 

[brickbat]

A proper MK biography is long overdue.

[dmg]

A proper MK biography is long overdue.

It would probably be the 2nd best MK related book available.

[Marijo58]

A proper MK biography is long overdue.

It would probably be the 2nd best MK related book available.

Yes I totally agree with you dmg!! But I still think that MK doesn't wish that!! I haven't been threw the chapter where they explain the whole business with Dave Pask and who this man is!! Obviously not a friend anymore if he ever was one!! Thanks a lot everybody for your feedbacks on the book!!

[foma]

Just like with everything, apparently Mark's biography is also in the hands of his fans. He thinks it would not be interesting, but I don't think so.
If only it would be not just a fact list, but rather a story of a man, who turned all negativeness in his life into positiveness, even his band's name.