The OES tour was highly successful in the UK and Europe. By the end (Zaragoza) we could have gone around large parts of Europe again with no problem. The only issue being winter was beckoning and the single outdoor shows would have had to turn into multiple indoor shows. Everyone was pretty exhausted.
The Australian promoter was over confident, given the explosion of interest in Dire Straits at the end of the Brothers In Arms tour.
The North America tour was a bit of a misstep, with the band being booked into a University arena and then a casino, places I'd never played with a band of that stature.
Before even a note had been played at the first rehearsal, I was made aware this was a final tour for DS. They already knew it was one world tour - goodbye. So there was no impact on Mark's future decisions based on the Australia or USA legs. It was all planned at least a year in advance and the end of the band (effectively Zaragoza) was already accepted before we'd even played together for the first time.
I can't speak for Alan and Guy, the other long standing members, but we more freelance guys (me, Danny, Chris, Paul and Phil) were of course playing to our highest level every single show. Not only is it professional pride, but also news travel fast and you don't want a reputation as a slacker following you around the music industry.
