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Author Topic: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD  (Read 16145 times)

OfflinePottel

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #75 on: September 05, 2024, 01:39:29 PM »
I would first like to say the I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to all the interviews Ed has given. Very entertaining! As for a question I thought 'what would I ask Mark if I ever got the chance, something he never mentioned in the interviews he gave'. So here it goes: Have you ever blown up the family radio with one of your instruments?
asking the important questions! classic :-)
any Knopfler, Floyd or Dylan will do....

Offlineiorch82

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #76 on: September 05, 2024, 02:21:22 PM »
Ok, since we're allowed to a second question from family members:

- What do you think of the renditions of the DS classics in the Golder Heart Tour and would you say that Mark was particularly happy of having to fill 2/3 of the show with such material given the massive burnout he went through few years before on the OES tour?

OfflineRolo

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #77 on: September 05, 2024, 02:23:29 PM »
Hi, Ed.

Thank you for answering my question.
Now that we are able to do one more, i'll go for it.

Explaining part of my first question: I know that you won't listen to Mark's music since 2000. I was made a comparison between the release strategies from MK' music and the DS days. The recent 2.5 MK albums have more songs that the entire DS discography.

Now, my final "question".
For experience, i know that artists (in case, musicians), most of them are "excentrical personas". They have a distinctive point of view about socienty and personal relationships.
I mean "excentrical" because part of an artist personality escapes from the "normal" world.
In  real life, artists are normal people who work hard on their art but enjoys the same jokes, food and places like "normal" people likes.
(Yes, it's hard to me to explain)

However, some of them have some affraid of conflicts or disagreements in general. In the near circle, this is very common.
And, if you are bossy.... hmmmm (problem).


As an admirer of Dire Straits (as a band) and his formation variations, i always saw MK as the guy who avoid conflicts. I am want to go into 'too personal' detais, however, watching interviews from Pick, Terry and David (who can be very idiotic egomaniac sometimes) along my DS fever days, and reading your interviews (and AMIT answers), when someone quitted the band, your job was the worse.
I mean, protect the personal/professional relationships and, above all, keep the "fired ones" as good friends it's not for everyone.

I always saw Mark as a guy who doesn't really care about the fans. He always talk about playing BIA and RJ as a tribute to the fans and bla, bla, bla. Sorry, but to my view, this is bullshit.
I know that is NOT your matter, but The Straits RRHOF thing was a tragedy (for the business and for the fans)

Since your departure, what seems is that Mark were "ashamed" of Dire Straits.
Is always "between the lines" that Mark didn't really like the band (songs/albums/concerts) and his recent songs are WAY better than the DS days.
(I know he talks it because his recent work. But, come on.... ignore the past is nonsense)

Well, Mark it, Mark that...
Like as quoted by a forum friend - Mark didn't want that.
(This is Guy's answer for everything that he can not answer)

For most of the public, Mark was reponsible for 99,99% of the arrangements for the DS songs. To my view, the concerts "represented" this idea.
Well, the band played everything the same every night, the only who "could" play different was... Mark.
There is no bootleg that has information like: - 'Alan was killing this concert' or 'Terry made an amazing job on that song... Was always things like: 'Mark was inspired', 'Mark went crazy during Sultans'...


Now, finally, my question:  ;D
How much input Mark receive from the musicians/co-producers during the DS days? He got input's on his lirycs too?

To my ears, LOG (album) is a Alan Clark masterpiece.
Local Hero soundtrack, for me, it's a collab between Alan and Mark.
The 80's DS sound, to my ears, is much more focused on Alan inputs than Mark's.
Ok, its Mark songs. However, Mark guitar solos would be "nothing" without Alan's magical keyboard layers.
There is a huge (again, in my opinion) rupture on MK's music when he stopped to work with Alan.

Another thought that i had years ago:
Calling Elvis, When It Comes To You, Fade To Black, Ticket To Heaven, How Long, Millionaire Blues.
Those songs are originally planned for a 2nd NHB album?


Come on, Rolo... shut up.

Well, my life quotes, based on years playing in bands are.
"Every person needs to be in a band once in life to respect "excentrical" personalities"
and
"Every soloist (mainly guitar players) should be bass players for a year to learn how to listen and respect the band"
and the most common one:
"Learn to separate the art from the artist."


i'll shut up.
THANK YOU, Ed.
And a special thanks to your sense of homour.
I haven't laughted this way about music subjects in years.

Offlinepeterromer

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #78 on: September 05, 2024, 02:32:05 PM »

Great Dusty, my colleague and friend Jeppe who is a great fan of Pink Floyd just as I am of DS/MK. He would like to know if (back then) there was ever any collaboration thoughts between Knopfler and David Gilmour ?.

 
Cheers Peter

Offlinequizzaciously

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #79 on: September 05, 2024, 04:18:39 PM »
"A lot of questions seem to be boring or simple anyway, like all the "list-type" questions even coming from full-fledged, genuine AMIT members"

Anyone who asks a question, this question is important to them. Why do you think some questions are boring and uninteresting?

Well because lists are boring... It's fast food of question making and fast food of answers. Favourites change all the time, it's entirely subjective, it's not informative at all, and it's tempting to get a big answer just like it's tempting to consume a lot of calories at once at McDonald's.

And like with the "one question" rule, you're bound to leave something important off the list, it takes too much time to answer, and then arguments will come into the picture as people who won't agree with your list try to prove you wrong or provide their lists in response.

It's BORING in every which way... Instead of asking, say, "List 5 of your favourite MK songs", you can ask "What do you think about The Ragpicker's Dream?", this is way more specific.

Offlinequizzaciously

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #80 on: September 05, 2024, 04:30:23 PM »
I promise not to write more off-topic content as admins will kill me, however, I do have yet another request. Dusty, could you please think about making a separate thread for each new batch of Ed's responses? Like "Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - THE ANSWERS (PART 1)" because otherwise if you put all answers in one thread, it will be doomed to be clogged with responses and it will be impossible to follow. Just another 5 cents in the collection of possible amendments. Even the Constitution of the United States had 27 amendments, bear with me.

Offlinedustyvalentino

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #81 on: September 05, 2024, 04:43:09 PM »
I promise not to write more off-topic content as admins will kill me, however, I do have yet another request. Dusty, could you please think about making a separate thread for each new batch of Ed's responses? Like "Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - THE ANSWERS (PART 1)" because otherwise if you put all answers in one thread, it will be doomed to be clogged with responses and it will be impossible to follow. Just another 5 cents in the collection of possible amendments. Even the Constitution of the United States had 27 amendments, bear with me.

Will discuss with mods and revert.
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OfflineTJ

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #82 on: September 05, 2024, 07:13:45 PM »
Ed,

Off-topic:  You mentioned the Blue Nile.  From what I have read, managing them must've been sort of like herding cats.  Could you give a short synopsis of your work with them and maybe an illustrative anecdote or two?

Talk soft, carry a big stick, and pack the biggest gun.

Offlinequizzaciously

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #83 on: September 05, 2024, 07:36:17 PM »
Quote
Dear Ed,
What's the best question we could ask where the answer isn't "Mark didn't want to?"

I’m not sure I understand your question which may be translation. Could you re ask in a different way please and I will do my best to re address? Thanks.

I'm sure wakeywakey meant something along these lines: As DS was an authoritarian band (was it?), a lion's share of answers could end with "Because Mark didn't want to". As in: Mark didn't want to go to Poland (just as an example, not to offend Polish people!), didn't want to release his version of "Private Dancer", etc.. And the question is, I guess, what is something (the best) that happened to DS without any connection to MK, his desires whatsoever, or even against them?

wakeywakey, please correct me if I'm wrong.

OfflineRobson

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #84 on: September 05, 2024, 07:57:49 PM »
Ed do you remember why Dire Straits never came to Poland? The same question applies to Mark Knopfler first tour.

Ed:
Hmmm. No. No one ever approached me and back then I don't think I could find a promoter let alone a reliable one. A shame, I tried very hard to get the band into new territories partly for the fans but also to keep it interesting for the musicians.

That's what I suspected. It was our fault :( And the other side of the coin is that it was a time when we had too much phonographic piracy.
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OfflineKnut

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #85 on: September 05, 2024, 10:56:38 PM »
"A lot of questions seem to be boring or simple anyway, like all the "list-type" questions even coming from full-fledged, genuine AMIT members"

Anyone who asks a question, this question is important to them. Why do you think some questions are boring and uninteresting?

Exactly, and what others find "deep and clever" could come across as nerdy nonsense with no little value to others. Like, I'm very curious about setlists, songs that were rehearsed and not played live and so on and couldn't care less about "behind the scenes gossip". if someone stole a sausage and Mark got mad over it, who cares, right? But there might be a few "who-s" who genuinely care, which is fine. It's a bit like comparing ACDC to something like a classical composer. Just because one of them is a bit more basic and "straight forward" than the other, doesn't mean it has less musical value or is objectively of less quality. If the question brings something new out to the public, then it is very much a valid question. Also, we can't expect people to keep track of all interviews. If something is already answered, maybe pasting the answer from "back when" is a good solution.

As for more questions, it all depends on how many of them there are and how many there is time to answer - we can expand from two per member if there is room for it, too. I don't have anything against expanding the # of questions from each member, but in reality it's not a "family member" who is asking additional question, it is the person behind the keyboard.

My first question is: "How do unreleased tracks make their way into set lists, especially when multiple albums are already released?"

Reason for asking: if you choose a basic setlist for a tour (with a wild card or two in the rotation), and you have dozens of tracks to choose from, there is obviously limited space for songs - especially if you do extended versions which limit the # of songs you can play. My first thought is that there are numerous popular tracks that would fit that are left out, and it seems less obvious to give priority to songs people can't buy on a record and listen to later. (this is not a critique, thanks to bootlegging I'm very grateful for the unknown tunes that have found their ways out of concert arenas on various tapes)

"Uncle Fester bonus question": Has there ever been considered doing less extended versions of songs live to be able to include more tunes in the set lists? I'm interested in some thoughts on the balance and compromises here (DS seemed to be a bit more heavy on the longer/extended tunes than most other bands I have come across).

OfflineSteve szalay

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #86 on: September 05, 2024, 11:52:08 PM »
Thanks Ed, this is really kind. 
I saw you play drums with the NHBs at Ronnie Scott’s.   It was a perfect night.  Steak and chips, red wine, and this amazing band.   What was your happiest memory of the DS/NHB era - a day or night when you just thought ‘life doesn’t get any better than this’      Thanks again. Steve Szalay

Offlineerjan

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #87 on: September 06, 2024, 12:12:33 AM »
Hello Ed, you said 'What he said at that last professional meeting was grossly insulting, patronising, bewildering and deeply hurtful.'. Given that you basically never listened to his music after that gives me the impression that Mark never apologized for that. Given that another family member got a chance to ask a question, I'm afraid that I have to give my dirty uncle the chance to ask his question. I personally wouldn't dare to ask you this, but my uncle assured my that you would enjoy the question: 'Did what Mark say involve the size of your knob?'.

Offlinekaleo74

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #88 on: September 06, 2024, 04:22:31 AM »
Hi Ed, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, it's much appreciated.
Edit: I changed my question because I realized it had already been asked!

About the 96ers! Choosing the Nashville guys was a good idea in my opinion, and I particularly wanted to talk about Chad Cromwell. Did he really suffer from hearing problems that would have pushed him to leave the 96ers later on? Perhaps he was less docile than the others?
What direction would you have taken with the 96ers if you had continued?
Ahh I so wish I'd had an official recording of the 2000-2001 tour, what a great album STP.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2024, 05:32:34 AM by kaleo74 »
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Offlineqjamesfloyd

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Re: Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - QUESTION THREAD
« Reply #89 on: September 06, 2024, 07:57:49 AM »
Hi Ed, a family member would like to know: Do you think Mark going solo was always inevitable from more or less the beginning of Dire Straits?
Knopfler, Oldfield and Gilmour is all the guitar I need.

 

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