New DS Live Box Set, 3rd November 2023!

[Chris W]

Well the core of the band was really - Mark, John, Alan and Guy.
Mark would have gained the most, with his songwriting royalties, then John with a financial interest in Dire Straits Corp.

The rest of us (other than Mark, John, Alan and Guy) were 'side musicians' being paid a pre-agreed fee.
And yes, you make the best of the hand you are dealt - so we all put out 110% every night, especially looking out at the fans who had paid a lot of money and often traveled far to see the show.
There really is no joy or satisfaction in going through the motions for 14 months, so none of us did.

[tomtom51]

Well the core of the band was really - Mark, John, Alan and Guy.
Mark would have gained the most, with his songwriting royalties, then John with a financial interest in Dire Straits Corp.

The rest of us (other than Mark, John, Alan and Guy) were 'side musicians' being paid a pre-agreed fee.
And yes, you make the best of the hand you are dealt - so we all put out 110% every night, especially looking out at the fans who had paid a lot of money and often traveled far to see the show.
There really is no joy or satisfaction in going through the motions for 14 months, so none of us did.

And I as a long time DS fan am all the more grateful for the unbelievable performance you gave us on a night in April of 1992. It was obvious you were fully committed to deliver the best show. Thanks again.

[Chris W]

Much appreciated.

[Love Expresso]

I agree that the Dire Straits shows I was at in Oct 1991 (Bremen and Munich first night) and July 1992 (Bremen Open Air) were the best live concert experiences I had and that it really were outstanding performances. The fire works at the end of Wild Theme exploding in the Summer night was a perfect moment. We all were fully satisfied, happy and the long three hour drive back home was full with talk about every detail and every single note of the show it seems from today's point of view. Not a single one of the 20plus MK solo shows I visited had that same impact on me. Really a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

LE

[localhero1986]

I once wrote down for myself.
Concerts recorded apart from On The Night

June 5, 1992 Earls Court London
June 20, 1992 Woburn Abbey Bedfordshire
June 28, 1992 Fussballstadion St. Jakob Basel (filmed concert)
July 27, 1992 Gentofte Stadium Copenhagen
July 30, 1992 Vallehovin Stadium Oslo
September 29, 1992 Les Arenes Nimes (filmed concert)

19th of September (Cava de' Tirreni Stadio Comunale, Italy) seems to be a soundboard recording as well. I do have it on CD as part of a non official CD box. It’s an incomplete recording though.

The only Cava de Tirreno known recording is a poor audience recording, so or you are confusing a soundbard recording (probably Copenhagen or Woburn Abbey) or you have an unique and unknown version recording of that show.

I got this one (disc 5), the sound quality is perfect. https://www.discogs.com/release/14898250-Dire-Straits-The-Broadcast-Collection-1979-1992

[jbaent]

I once wrote down for myself.
Concerts recorded apart from On The Night

June 5, 1992 Earls Court London
June 20, 1992 Woburn Abbey Bedfordshire
June 28, 1992 Fussballstadion St. Jakob Basel (filmed concert)
July 27, 1992 Gentofte Stadium Copenhagen
July 30, 1992 Vallehovin Stadium Oslo
September 29, 1992 Les Arenes Nimes (filmed concert)

19th of September (Cava de' Tirreni Stadio Comunale, Italy) seems to be a soundboard recording as well. I do have it on CD as part of a non official CD box. It’s an incomplete recording though.

The only Cava de Tirreno known recording is a poor audience recording, so or you are confusing a soundbard recording (probably Copenhagen or Woburn Abbey) or you have an unique and unknown version recording of that show.

I got this one (disc 5), the sound quality is perfect. https://www.discogs.com/release/14898250-Dire-Straits-The-Broadcast-Collection-1979-1992

That's Oslo 92, it is a mistake.

[localhero1986]

Ooh ok!

[Pottel]

I think Chris was never a DS fan, so probably his only interest would be the cd where he is playing it.

I go into projects with enthusiasm and an open mind. I knew ahead of time that Mark was notoriously harsh on drummers.
In the event, as has been documented by people like John Illsley and Ed Bicknel, it was a very hard tour with not a lot of joy attached.
So that has coloured my thoughts on listening to Dire Straits in general. I listened to the 92 recordings with a mix of pride and bad memories.

It's a bit of a strange time for us fans. For many of us (including me), it was the period where we really fell in love with the band, and watching and listening to the shows that did make their way out showed a group of musicians at the top of their game and seemingly enjoying themselves onstage.

Although there were some indications that all was not well in the DS camp (Vox magazine feature), it's only in subsequent years that we have really learned about how unhappy MK was and the effect that this seemingly had on band and crew morale.

So from a fan's perspective, I have bittersweet feelings about that tour now.

what Vox magazine feature?

[Pottel]

Well the core of the band was really - Mark, John, Alan and Guy.
Mark would have gained the most, with his songwriting royalties, then John with a financial interest in Dire Straits Corp.

The rest of us (other than Mark, John, Alan and Guy) were 'side musicians' being paid a pre-agreed fee.
And yes, you make the best of the hand you are dealt - so we all put out 110% every night, especially looking out at the fans who had paid a lot of money and often traveled far to see the show.
There really is no joy or satisfaction in going through the motions for 14 months, so none of us did.

without going into details, can the renumerations from the Straits and Macca families be compared, or are we talking huge differences?
also, you did not reply on the question of what you think of the rest of the box, i.e. the non OTN tour stuff.
also, in the same light, who would be your favourite type of drummer from the DS world, Pick or Terry? i know, totally different styles, but i ain't no drummer but you are...

[Chris W]

Band members-wise, definitely Pick.
Although he wouldn't have sounded right on Money For Nothing or On Every Street.
I haven't listened to the other re-issue discs.

[dustyvalentino]

I think Chris was never a DS fan, so probably his only interest would be the cd where he is playing it.

I go into projects with enthusiasm and an open mind. I knew ahead of time that Mark was notoriously harsh on drummers.
In the event, as has been documented by people like John Illsley and Ed Bicknel, it was a very hard tour with not a lot of joy attached.
So that has coloured my thoughts on listening to Dire Straits in general. I listened to the 92 recordings with a mix of pride and bad memories.

It's a bit of a strange time for us fans. For many of us (including me), it was the period where we really fell in love with the band, and watching and listening to the shows that did make their way out showed a group of musicians at the top of their game and seemingly enjoying themselves onstage.

Although there were some indications that all was not well in the DS camp (Vox magazine feature), it's only in subsequent years that we have really learned about how unhappy MK was and the effect that this seemingly had on band and crew morale.

So from a fan's perspective, I have bittersweet feelings about that tour now.

what Vox magazine feature?

It was a magazine article that suggested that all was not well with the band. Ed calls the show boring and admits they had to cancel shows. Someone, Phil I think, says MK can be an ogre, stuff like that.

I bought it at the time but can't find it now, Jeroen has one page on his site.

[Chris W]

I don't think the show was 'boring' for the band, or that anyone other than Mark and John was bothered about 'cancelled' shows.
No shows were 'cancelled' in my experience. What happened was that some shows (really just Australia and America) were pencilled in (TBA) and they never went on sale.
The problem was that the top man on the tour was in a bad place. The mood starts at the top and trickles down. Important crew members who had been with DS from almost the very beginning all said it was the most stressful, least happy tour they'd ever worked on.

[dmg]

Interesting article - thanks Dusty.

At least they all got a ghetto blaster thrown in!   

[dustyvalentino]

Interesting article - thanks Dusty.

At least they all got a ghetto blaster thrown in!   

I wish I could find the magazine, the rest of the article is just as good.

MK is really grump and says something like "People can write that the Red Hot Turds or whatever are really great and Dire Straits are finished, but these kids can't go out and fill Wembley stadium". I assume he is referring to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers who did indeed go on to sell out Wembley stadium.

[quizzaciously]

I don't think the show was 'boring' for the band, or that anyone other than Mark and John was bothered about 'cancelled' shows.
No shows were 'cancelled' in my experience. What happened was that some shows (really just Australia and America) were pencilled in (TBA) and they never went on sale.
The problem was that the top man on the tour was in a bad place. The mood starts at the top and trickles down. Important crew members who had been with DS from almost the very beginning all said it was the most stressful, least happy tour they'd ever worked on.

At least Mark's last solo tour was the least stressful, happiest and most successful tour he'd ever had (according to his manager), so I guess somebody learns from his mistakes after all!