New for 2024

[Robson]

It has been almost 5 years since the last MK album. How many more albums do you think we wil have from MK.  He is not fast with this one..

I think Mark records more songs than is needed for an album so in case of emergency, a new album can be made in a matter of days.

This album took a while, but knowing ALL the S*&$% that happened in the world and his personal life, I'm actually surprised he's that fast.

Exactly!

He wasn't just working on a new solo album. The Teenage Cancer Trust also needed time and commitment.

And he also got involved in the Chichester run of Local hero musical. He wrote one new song and rewrote two songs specifically for this run.

Yes. Local Hero musical too.

[Robson]

This album took a while, but knowing ALL the S*&$% that happened in the world and his personal life, I'm actually surprised he's that fast.

Did anything bad happen in his personal life? What did I miss?

Well, from at least what's known to the public, his mother died slightly before the release of DTRW, and then his elder sister died in 2020. Then COVID came, which affected everybody's personal life, and then the biggest war in Europe after WWII started. If it's not enough S*&$%, then let's wait for anything else to happen!

It's too much...

[KnopfleRick]

And he was with Brian Johnson working for this new series. Mark is quite a busy guy.

[Dutchessy]

Vinyl production time is 6 months at the fastest after the record is delivered according to Guy today....

sooo...

If Mark's new record is still to be mastered, it hasn't been delivered to the production company... + 6 months..

A 2023 release seems impossible then

[skydiver]

Maybe not the album, but if we are lucky, diary entry 4 will still happen in 2023

[wakeywakey]

Maybe not the album, but if we are lucky, diary entry 4 will still happen in 2023

You can prebook slots(at a premium) so the 6 month wait can be bypassed.
I'd say it is highly unlikely this has been done by management so it's more than probable that Spring 24 is the earliest we can expect a release.
The really sad thing is that when our man has departed we will probably see speedy cash grabs/releases so it's best we accept the glacial pace of new stuff.

[ds1984]

BIA was a spring release 

[Robson]

Tracker in early spring

[Banjo99uk]

This whole secrecy bullshine is very immature. Illusions of past grandeurs I’m afraid. Few people outside of this MK community give a damn about a new MK record. I don’t get it. Just say what’s happening. If it was a new DS record then I might get it, even these days most people wouldn’t care. That ship has sailed.

[Elin N]

I so agree, this strategy makes absolutely no sense and only makes people annoyed. I know about the musical, the charity, it is worth the wait and so on, we have written about this a hundred times and I don't disagree about that, but from a marketing point of view... No sense at all.

[Robson]

We all know that if there was a tour,  album would have been released a long time ago.

[jbaent]

I don't think touring or not touring has any relevance with the lack of hurry releasing the record. It's just that there is not a big market waiting anxiously for a new MK record and the record company doesn't care if it goes out later this year, earliest the next or spring 24. There is no hurry as it's going to sell the same wherever they release it.

Whe there was touring he always started on April it didn't matter of the record came out September or november the year before or march or April the next close to the start of the tour.

[jf9081]

My thoughts on the timing of mastering, printing etc... I compared the same period August 2018 of DTRW. well on 9th August I read that Guy replied that he had listened to the acetates as soon as they came out of the mastering. I also remember that he had posted a photo on instagram of the vinyl he was listening to. So, as a timing I think they are equal. I still hope for a release in November.

[Robson]

I don't think touring or not touring has any relevance with the lack of hurry releasing the record. It's just that there is not a big market waiting anxiously for a new MK record and the record company doesn't care if it goes out later this year, earliest the next or spring 24. There is no hurry as it's going to sell the same wherever they release it.

Whe there was touring he always started on April it didn't matter of the record came out September or november the year before or march or April the next close to the start of the tour.

Tour has always been associated with the new album. Deadlines, time. It was important. Now is different.

[jbaent]

I don't think touring or not touring has any relevance with the lack of hurry releasing the record. It's just that there is not a big market waiting anxiously for a new MK record and the record company doesn't care if it goes out later this year, earliest the next or spring 24. There is no hurry as it's going to sell the same wherever they release it.

Whe there was touring he always started on April it didn't matter of the record came out September or november the year before or march or April the next close to the start of the tour.

Tour has always been associated with the new album. Deadlines, time. It was important. Now is different.

Touring always started in April or May, and records had been out generally September the year before, others in November, or even March or April of the same year of the tour.

The tour never changed their dates by delaying of the release date of a record. And they always left a window of time quite wide just in case so, following this rule, if there had been a tour, April 24 could be a release date with no problems at all.

And with Dire Straits they did at least one tour before the record came out (OES).