Daily Mail 'DS Legacy' - 3rd August 2021

[Knopflerfan]

Discord as big Dire Straits bust-up ends on a sour note

They were giants of rock and one of Princess Diana’s favourite bands, but Dire Straits have hit a discordant note.

I can reveal that the group has been embroiled in an unharmonious bust-up involving their former frontman, Mark Knopfler, who sang about Money For Nothing.

Unbeknown to their fans, he started a legal dispute with his former band mates because he was so angry they were performing as a Dire Straits group.

‘I don’t know why he tried to sue us, but when you are worth that much you just do what you want,’ guitarist Phil Palmer tells me.

Knopfler, 71, who has a reputed fortune of £81million, formed Dire Straits in 1977 with his brother and fellow guitarist David, with John Illsley on bass and David ‘Pick’ Withers on drums. Palmer later joined them on tour.

With various line-ups they went on to enjoy huge worldwide success with hits such as Sultans Of Swing and Romeo And Juliet.

But Knopfler quit in the 1990s and is said to have taken legal action because he didn’t want the newly formed group, Dire Straits Legacy, to continue performing his music. They are due to go on tour next year, with venues including London’s O2 arena.

‘Mark accused us of passing ourselves off as Dire Straits, but we are the real thing, not a tribute band,’ claims Palmer.

‘He tried to stop us performing the songs. We had a bit of a “to do”. We were trying to be respectful.

‘It was John Illsley who actually came up with the band’s name, so it was not even Mark’s invention.

‘I don’t know if we are still mates. Our band is a respectful remodelling and it sounds exactly the same — that’s what people come to see.’

However, I’m told the matter has now been resolved.

‘Mark now gets a proportion of the ticket price as well as his Performing Rights Society percentage, as he wrote all the big hits,’ Palmer explains.

‘We have to be careful in foreign countries, to tell them not to put up huge posters of Mark, which happened to us in Argentina.’

[TheTimeWasWrong]

Dire Straits = MK. DS without MK can’t be Dire Straits. There is no difference except for marketing and scale. DS and the MK band are vehicles for his songs, it was always his party.

Phil sounds like a fool. He is not the real deal, he was a hired musician for just 1 album/tour. He is a great player, sure, but he’s an idiot for saying they’re the real deal without MK.

Mark has invested the last 25 years to keep the DS story alive, and they all made money out of it without doing anything. Every time he pops up or does anything, DS will be mentioned and remembered, wether he wants it or not. Where are their solo records and songs?

They’re ruining his name. It was always about the music, that’s what is most important, and nobody in the world comes close to MK. People buy a ticket for Phil’s party and they get a half-baked experience and maybe don’t buy the next MK record or ticket.

[Knopflerfan]

100% agree with what you have said. MK was quite rightly furious!! Thus ToTT!

[dustyvalentino]

I assume MK just doesn't want fans to be misled.

If the posters have DIRE STRAITS in huge letters then legacy in a tiny font people could turn up expecting to see him.

[Knopflerfan]

I assume MK just doesn't want fans to be misled.

If the posters have DIRE STRAITS in huge letters then legacy in a tiny font people could turn up expecting to see him.

Think that was exactly the problem in Argentina.....

[superval99]

"Our band is a respectful remodelling and it sounds exactly the same — that’s what people come to see."

 It can't possibly sound the same with an Italian singer/guitarist!

The threat of a law suit probably resolved the matter and now MK gets a proportion of the ticket price, which is how it ought to have been as he wrote all of the songs.

[Knopflerfan]

"Our band is a respectful remodelling and it sounds exactly the same — that’s what people come to see."

 It can't possibly sound the same with an Italian singer/guitarist!

The threat of a law suit probably resolved the matter and now MK gets a proportion of the ticket price, which is how it ought to have been.

Haha, yes I'm sure MK was not approached BEFORE and so was rightly cheesed off when he found out!!

[Knopflerfan]

"Our band is a respectful remodelling and it sounds exactly the same — that’s what people come to see."

 

How??

[quizzaciously]

"Our band is a respectful remodelling and it sounds exactly the same — that’s what people come to see."

 It can't possibly sound the same with an Italian singer/guitarist!

The threat of a law suit probably resolved the matter and now MK gets a proportion of the ticket price, which is how it ought to have been.

Haha, yes I'm sure MK was not approached BEFORE and so was rightly cheesed off when he found out!!

Wait a minute, so these guys are trying to say that all this time they got ALL the money from ticket sales? That's not just the reason to be cheesed off, that's more like breaking the law to me. I know that this, technically, is not breaking any laws, but it sure feels like it. Even I give the money to Mark I gain from my videos, and I'm only a microscopic YouTuber, because that's his songs, for Mark's sake! And these guys go out and just do it like that? Boy... Glad it got resolved.

[hunter]

Then again: Daily Mail


Trustworthy news?

[quizzaciously]

I assume MK just doesn't want fans to be misled.

If the posters have DIRE STRAITS in huge letters then legacy in a tiny font people could turn up expecting to see him.

Think that was exactly the problem in Argentina.....

Unfortunately, that's the problem with nearly all the tribute bands... And I don't know how you're going to sell tickets to your band's show as a band that plays someone else's music. Imagine, they would have no indication of a tribute band? Nobody would come to hear them. So it's a balancing act, give a clue it's not their music, but not give the impression it's the real deal. They clearly couldn't find the balance, so Mark offered a helping hand in the form of a law suit

[Knopflerfan]

Then again: Daily Mail


Trustworthy news?

It is 'The Daily Mail' - very true, but it could well be true?

[Knopflerfan]

I assume MK just doesn't want fans to be misled.

If the posters have DIRE STRAITS in huge letters then legacy in a tiny font people could turn up expecting to see him.

Think that was exactly the problem in Argentina.....

Unfortunately, that's the problem with nearly all the tribute bands... And I don't know how you're going to sell tickets to your band's show as a band that plays someone else's music. Imagine, they would have no indication of a tribute band? Nobody would come to hear them. So it's a balancing act, give a clue it's not their music, but not give the impression it's the real deal. They clearly couldn't find the balance, so Mark offered a helping hand in the form of a law suit

I haven't seen the Argentina poster in question but I should imagine it must have something like 'DIRE STRAITS' in bold with 'legacy' in tiny writing perhaps?

[quizzaciously]

Then again: Daily Mail


Trustworthy news?

It is 'The Daily Mail' - very true, but it could well be true?

Looks legit to me. Not the kind of a topic to gain anything from so might as well be legit. The quotes from the band's members are hilarious, tho

[hunter]

If it's true, I honestly think it's a petty thing for Mark to do. I understand why he may feel upset about the whole thing, but it's not like DSL are "stealing" fans from Mark or causing lost album sales, quite the contrary I would guess. As long as they take measures to make sure there are no misunderstandings as to who they are (a tribute band) and pay whatever license fees to perform his songs in public, he should just let it slide. He's in the sunset years of his career, he's wealthy, successful, and there's no chance ever that DS will reunite, so why not be a little generous?