Ed Bicknell Interview

[dustyvalentino]

Lengthy Ed Bicknell interview covering his whole career - DS don't enter the conversation until 90 minutes in so skip ahead if that's all you want to hear!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SjCIemyt4JkrAbdu5kpTl?si=4ba831635a804968

[KnopfleRick]

Thanks for sharing. 

[hunter]

Thanks so much. I went to the the DS section (not finished yet), but I LOVE listening to Ed. He has such a way with words and great storytelling skills. He is the one who should have written the story of DS.

[hunter]

Utterly fascinating interview.

[superval99]

Thank you, dusty, for this interview.  I went straight in to the DS part and have been glued to it for the whole time - I have only just finished. 
Ed was so interesting to listen to and I enjoyed it all.  I just wish it could have gone on a bit longer into the transition with the solo band.

[hunter]

Thank you, dusty, for this interview.  I went straight in to the DS part and have been glued to it for the whole time - I have only just finished. 
Ed was so interesting to listen to and I enjoyed it all.  I just wish it could have gone on a bit longer into the transition with the solo band.

I could have listened to Ed talk for ten hours straight. There were a couple of places where he was just about getting into some interesting stuff where the interviewer interrupted. Other than that I loved everything about it. Ed may be very candid and direct, but he seems fair. And to remember all those details and figures! I loved the bit about Mark using a blackboard during rehearsals 

[dustyvalentino]

A lot of interesting stuff for us to discuss.

He clearly was not a fan of David, seemed delighted that he left and slagged off Sacred Loving.

[Jules]

I always wondered why Sid McGinnis is always credited by playing in Making Movies but he's not credited in the record itself.

Not only John mentioned him in his book but now by Ed in this interview.

I always thought that Espresso love and Hand in hand have some guitar riffs that doesn't sound Knopfleresques at all.

[JF]

I always wondered why Did McGinnis is always credited by playing in Making Movies but he's not credited in the record itself.

Not only John mentioned him in his book but now by Ed in this interview.

I always thought that Espresso love and Hand in hand have some guitar riffs that doesn't sound Knopfleresques at all.

I  have the same doubts, I talked about that in my Expresso love chronicle : https://textes-blog-rock-n-roll.fr/une-chanson-a-la-loupe-expresso-love-de-dire-straits/#Sid_McGinnis_joue-t-il_sur_la_version_studio

[JF]

I always wondered why Did McGinnis is always credited by playing in Making Movies but he's not credited in the record itself.

Not only John mentioned him in his book but now by Ed in this interview.

I always thought that Espresso love and Hand in hand have some guitar riffs that doesn't sound Knopfleresques at all.

I  have the same doubts, I talked about that in my Expresso love chronicle : https://textes-blog-rock-n-roll.fr/une-chanson-a-la-loupe-expresso-love-de-dire-straits/#Sid_McGinnis_joue-t-il_sur_la_version_studio

here is Deepl's translation of that part of my chronicle

two solutions :

1) Either Sid McGinnis only played "backing tracks" to allow the other musicians to set up their parts, then Mark re-recorded all the guitars, so it's really only him you hear on the album's final mix.

Or

2) Sid McGinnis played on one or more tracks, and the production company "omitted" to credit him, following disagreements over his financial demands.

We'll probably never know the whole story. On the face of it, I'm leaning towards the first solution. BUT:

In 1985, during an appearance on David Letterman's show, Mark Knopfler played Expresso Love, not with Dire Straits, but accompanied by the show's backing band... which included Sid McGinnis. Notably, on that day, the solo was played in the same way as the studio version, i.e. with two harmonized guitars, played by Mark and Sid... whereas with Dire Straits, the song had never been played live in this way.



Why play it this way, on this very day, in the presence of Sid McGinnis? Was it a nod to his "participation" on the album? Would he be playing a duet with Mark on the studio version? The question remains unanswered, and I'll always be in doubt...

[Pottel]

seen this before. but forgotten, and unclear then that Sid played in that band. they did seem to have a good "relationship" there on stage? weird story with that guy. did he ever do an interview??

[the visitor]

Good interview, thanks for sharing.

Information about the BIA tour is good, and I note Eds comment that he thought that was the best incarnation of the band in terms of line up. I'd agree : the most energy and excitement in my opinion in MKs career.

What is also interesting is that the MFN video was filmed on tour in Budapest.  You'd hope they took the opportunity to film the whole concert, from memory that is in the very early part of the tour.

[dustyvalentino]

Good interview, thanks for sharing.

Information about the BIA tour is good, and I note Eds comment that he thought that was the best incarnation of the band in terms of line up. I'd agree : the most energy and excitement in my opinion in MKs career.

What is also interesting is that the MFN video was filmed on tour in Budapest.  You'd hope they took the opportunity to film the whole concert, from memory that is in the very early part of the tour.

I actually doubt it, expensive to film and they just needed a few clips for the video.

[Brunno Nunes]

Good interview, thanks for sharing.

Information about the BIA tour is good, and I note Eds comment that he thought that was the best incarnation of the band in terms of line up. I'd agree : the most energy and excitement in my opinion in MKs career.

What is also interesting is that the MFN video was filmed on tour in Budapest.  You'd hope they took the opportunity to film the whole concert, from memory that is in the very early part of the tour.

I actually doubt it, expensive to film and they just needed a few clips for the video.

Good interview, thanks for sharing.

Information about the BIA tour is good, and I note Eds comment that he thought that was the best incarnation of the band in terms of line up. I'd agree : the most energy and excitement in my opinion in MKs career.

What is also interesting is that the MFN video was filmed on tour in Budapest.  You'd hope they took the opportunity to film the whole concert, from memory that is in the very early part of the tour.

But they are taken from different moments of the show, I mean different music, or that suggests foram feitas filmagens diverse

A long time ago I analyzed the images of the band on stage in the MFN video and I noticed some interesting things, there were many cameras from different angles filming the whole band and the most interesting thing is that looking calmly you can see that they filmed other moments from the show and we did the mix, because we get to see scenes of Mark and John wearing different clothes, different, but definitely, on the same show. There is a short scene where John wears his red jacket (certainly a scene early in the show), but most of him is wearing a white tank top, towards the end of the show when MFN is playing. The scene that shows Mark without the dark blue blazer and John with the white shirt, surely is in Solid Rock or Going Home, end of the show, this implies that a good part of the show has been recorded, who knows in its entirety. maybe...

[Brunno Nunes]

Good interview, thanks for sharing.

Information about the BIA tour is good, and I note Eds comment that he thought that was the best incarnation of the band in terms of line up. I'd agree : the most energy and excitement in my opinion in MKs career.

What is also interesting is that the MFN video was filmed on tour in Budapest.  You'd hope they took the opportunity to film the whole concert, from memory that is in the very early part of the tour.

I actually doubt it, expensive to film and they just needed a few clips for the video.