Tommy Mandel About His Dire Straits Days (a respond to Brunno Nunes)

[JF]

Though does anybody know when exactly!! the band name was created. Was the name Dire Straits already written on the July 1977 demo's e.g. ?

well , I think noone knows "exactly", but here are some clues:


1) in the Oldifield book, it's said that their 1st gig on a punk festival behind Farra House in july 77 was under the cafe racers name.

2) next page :"their 2nd gig soon took place at Depford Alabany. And the band had a new name"

at this gig they were support act from Squeeze. I've search on the web a list with Squeeze live dates to find this particular date but didn't found anyone.

3) next next page of the Oldfield book : "the demo was recorded this summer".

4) When Charlie Gilett aired the sultans demo, he announced it as "Dire Straits". I guess it was from august-september 77 ?

5) on 19th july 1978, the gave an itw on radio and they say that the band was formed for "exactly one year this week"

so the name was changed during july 77 I guess, but of course it's just speculation.

maybe someone has more informations ?

[Justme]

maybe someone has more informations ?

I'm quite sure that MK still knows the details, maybe we can put together some questions for him?

[JF]

maybe someone has more informations ?

I'm quite sure that MK still knows the details, maybe we can put together some questions for him?

I don't think that Mark wants to remember these things. He doesn't care about which week they choose the band name.
Of course, if you ask him, he would reply something like "it was around 77" or maybe "around summer 77" but that's all.
I don't thnik that he would say : "ah yes it was on DD//MM//YY"


maybe John Illsley is more interested in these kinds of souvenir. In the guitar stories doc, it's him who played the sultans demo, which Mark "hadn't heard since 30 years".

maybe David remember this more than his brother too. He made T-shirts with the cafe racers name for the 1st gig. So myabe he remember exactly when the name changed.

And endly, it's a friend of Pick who suggested the name. So maybe Pick remember as well ?

I think that the more accurate info would be to find this Squeeze gig date at Albany Depford (not the farrar house where they were too).

Even the Oldfield book is not 100% acuurate. It was maybe written in 82-83, so for example there is a pic with the cpation :" one on first DS gig in summer 77" But it's a gig from september 77 (exct date on Ingo's blog). So indeed 4 or 5 years later your memory "assimilates" september and summer. So I doubt thta we can know the eaxct date of the new name one day.

[Ar (aka Enlight)]

Though does anybody know when exactly!! the band name was created. Was the name Dire Straits already written on the July 1977 demo's e.g. ?

well , I think noone knows "exactly", but here are some clues:


1) in the Oldifield book, it's said that their 1st gig on a punk festival behind Farra House in july 77 was under the cafe racers name.

2) next page :"their 2nd gig soon took place at Depford Alabany. And the band had a new name"

at this gig they were support act from Squeeze. I've search on the web a list with Squeeze live dates to find this particular date but didn't found anyone.

3) next next page of the Oldfield book : "the demo was recorded this summer".

4) When Charlie Gilett aired the sultans demo, he announced it as "Dire Straits". I guess it was from august-september 77 ?

5) on 19th july 1978, the gave an itw on radio and they say that the band was formed for "exactly one year this week"

so the name was changed during july 77 I guess, but of course it's just speculation.

maybe someone has more informations ?

Thanks for your detailed answers JF , appreciated!!!

[Pottel]

on every bootleg lists:02.08.1977     Tramshed Woolwich UK  as the second show?  (farrer House as the first)

[JF]

on every bootleg lists:02.08.1977     Tramshed Woolwich UK  as the second show?  (farrer House as the first)

good point Pottel, I didn't have the idea to search on jeroen's site.

so if it is this gig, they called DS then, according to oldfield's book. So the name changing could have been in mid july...

anyway, I'm quite sure that they already called DS for the demo session on 27th july (otherwise, how Gilett could have introduced the sultans demo as DS ?), so it seems to match...

[vgonis]

The manager, Ed Bicknell, was super funny too. He started out drumming in Mark Knopfler's band before Dire Straits!

I think the answer is right there on the original reply. In MK's band BEFORE DS. So maybe with a late recarnation of the Cafe racers or in a sort lived no-name group.

[jbaent]

Ed and Mk met later than that, in a Ds concert at Dingwalls, in Camden Lock.

[JF]

Yes Jabeant is right

vgonis, read all posts, we already point this out 

[vgonis]

I had read them before my post!  I just thought that maybe the story coming from tommy was more reliable than the other sources. And anyway, more than half the posts are saying the same thing, in pretty much the same words, and that is why I thought I mentioned it.