Dire Straits was a british rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass), and Pick Withers (drums), and subsequently managed by Ed Bicknell. Dire Straits emerged during the post-punk era of the late '70s, and while their sound was minimalistic and stripped down, they owed little to punk. If anything, the band was a direct outgrowth of the roots revivalism of pub rock, but where pub rock celebrated good times, Dire Straits were melancholy. Led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Knopfler, the group built their sound upon the laid-back blues-rock of J.J. Cale, but they also had jazz and country inflections, occasionally dipping into the epic song structures of progressive rock. The band's music was offset by Knopfler's lyrics, which approximated the winding, stream-of-conscious narratives of Bob Dylan. As their career progressed, Dire Straits became more refined and their new maturity happened to coincide with the rise of MTV and the compact disc. These two musical revolutions from the mid-'80s helped make Dire Straits' sixth album, Brothers in Arms, an international blockbuster. The band - along with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, and
| 1 | Heavy Fuel | Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits |
| 2 | Brothers In Arms | Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits |
| 3 | It Never Rains | Love Over Gold |
| 4 | Ride Across The River | Brothers In Arms |
| 5 | Your Latest Trick (Live) | Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits |
| 6 | Portobello Belle | Communique |
| 7 | Setting Me Up | Dire Straits |
| 8 | Solid Rock (Live) | Alchemy (Disc 2) |
| 9 | So Far Away | Brothers In Arms |
| 10 | Sultans of Swing | Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits |
| 11 | Ticket To Heaven | On Every Street |
| 12 | Romeo & Juliet | Making Movies |
| 13 | Water Of Love | Dire Straits |
| 14 | Communique | Communique |
| 15 | You And Your Friend | On Every Street |
| 16 | Think I Love You Too Much (Live Knebworth) | Live At Knebworth: 1990 |
| 17 | Money For Nothing | Money For Nothing |
| 18 | Single Handed Sailor | Communique |
| 19 | Hand In Hand | Making Movies |
| 20 | Romeo And Juliet - Dire Straits | 200 Cigarettes |