Private Dancer (Straits version)

[Leprechaun]

On Guy's page it has been told that there is a version of "Private Dancer" (which MK wrote for Tina Turner) sung by Mark himself. Recorded during the LOG sessions (early 80s).
Anyone ever heard that version? I couldn't find any mp3 on the web or is it on some of the "Rare Sessions"-albums. I doubt that it will be released in the future. What a shame as it is such a brilliant song! I really would like to know if the former Straits label Vertigo / Phonogram or Randor Music has a copy or mastertape of it.....

[jbaent]

And you are not going to find it...

There is a demo recorded by DS as there is many many demos of songs that we don

[Banjo99uk]

I can remember reading or hearing an interview a few years ago when MK talks about the Dire Straits version of Private Dancer.  He says there is probably a tape out there somewhere with it on, but doesn't know, and he hopes it never surfaces. Its a shame as it would be interesting to hear.

[ustas]

The article was at knopfler.net but this website is not available and offline during latest year.


Turner, Tina and Loder, Kurt. (1987) "I, TINA". Published by Penguin Books, London.

[This chapter is about Tina Turners LP/CD 'Private Dancer'. We come in when they are telling us about the title tune].

"Davies [Tina Turners manager, Roger Davies] next contacted another pal, Ed Bicknell, manager of the wildly popular Dire Straits and of Paul Brady, a singer unknown in the US but nevertheless much admired by such American songwriters as Bob Dylan. From the Brady catalog, Bicknell offered Davies a powerful socio-political rock tune called 'Steel Claw'. Unfortunately, he said, there were no spare Dire Straits compositions lying around. And Mark Knopfler, the group

[Love Expresso]

. So Mark offered to let me use the band to record it - and to do 'Steel Claw', too, since some of them had played it with Paul Brady before: two more songs and a band as well.
 

A very clear sentence that tells me who is and always was the boss... And that it never was a real "band" in the sence of the word - although MK would have never confirmed it. Like a car or a tool...  no offence meant of course. But a friendly gesture of MK also to offer an own song for this reason. And he seems to be quite helpful when help is asked for. And another thing: I am not sure if Private Dancer would have sounded really great with Mark

[jbaent]

I wonder if that book makes any reference to the next Dire Straits (with Knopfler) contribution to his next record "Breaking every rule" in "Overnight sensation" (wrote by MK) and "Paradise is here" (by Paul Brady).

Or the Knopfler appearence in "Foreign affair" in 1989 (I think it was that year) as he was friend of Tony Joe White (the composer of that song).

[ds1984]

If not given to Tina this song could have surfaced on one of the solo MK album with different melody as it happened before for other songs.

If one day an anthology see the light maybe we will be allowed to hear the difference.

I remember watching a doc on TV about Tina and was suddenly blown away by the few bars of Steamy Window that Tony Joe White played on his dobro. His rough guitar/voice only version sounded much better to my ears than the state of the art recording made by Tina.

[jbaent]

If not given to Tina this song could have surfaced on one of the solo MK album with different melody as it happened before for other songs.

If one day an anthology see the light maybe we will be allowed to hear the difference.

Since we are talking about Mark Knopfler, I think is very unlikely something like that happens 

[ds1984]

Since we are talking about Mark Knopfler, I think is very unlikely something like that happens 

See my other answer...on other thread

[jbaent]

Since we are talking about Mark Knopfler, I think is very unlikely something like that happens 

See my other answer...on other thread

Quite bad on following threads, please give me more clues, hehehehe 

[ds1984]

Since we are talking about Mark Knopfler, I think is very unlikely something like that happens 

See my other answer...on other thread

Quite bad on following threads, please give me more clues, hehehehe 

http://www.amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=988.msg18011#msg18011

[IrisRose]

I've read more than once that MK considers that Jeff Beck guitar on Private Dancer as the worst guitar he ever heard. 

[Mossguitar]

Didn't he say second worst? 

[Banjo99uk]

Didn't he say second worst? 

He did

To me, that's never seemed to be limiting in terms of sessions. I like to play a lot of different styles of things on sessions. On Tina Turner's new album, she recorded a song I wrote called ,,Private Dancer," and she got the whole Dire Straits band to play on it, but I was busy doing the Bryan Ferry sessions. So she got Jeff Beck to play the second ugliest guitar solo you've ever heard on it.

Whats the first I wonder?

[ds1984]

I guess it was Mark's one as there are only two existing solo, live version excepted.