A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: peterromer on May 23, 2021, 01:36:07 PM
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What are your thoughts on whether we will see MK & his band touring after the next album is released ?
(yes, I assume there is a next album)
Personally I think he will do a "farewell tour" without calling it such a name, but I just dont think he will continue so much more. We all know he said it was the end the last time he toured.
Of some reason he stopped saying it. Maybe he changed his mind, maybe he felt in a better shape or it was something else that kept him wanting to experience it. :-)
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Those comments from Mark were pre-covid, now with no live events for such a long time, I am sure he will want to do one more tour, I presume his new album won't be out until next year, so he could tour again in 2022 I don't see why he wouldn't call it a farewell tour, if he does there will be a deluge of fans wanting to see him one last time. If it is the last tour then so be it, Mark has given so much in his liver performances over his career, he has nothing left to prove, as long as he keeps making new albums I will be happy.
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Hope that Mark will tour for the next 30 years, but I think that not will tour again because I saw him 2 years ago too tired.i I suppose on a little race in few cities, like London of course, Paris, Berlin,Rotterdam, Zurich, Rome and Barcelona with an UK little band for the new album. I don't think in 2 hours show but in a set like Prince Trust 2009.
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Mark already did it in Barcelona in 2019.
If you attended that night it was obvious it was a goodbye speech.
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Mark already did it in Barcelona in 2019.
If you attended that night it was obvious it was a goodbye speech.
Which was changed and rescurrected in Gothenburg. :)
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I would prefer a live blu-ray box with 2008 to 2013 live stuff over another tour. I really hope he won't tour again but does maybe a couple of RAH shows instead. A good example was 2002's Knopfler and friends. Great and longer nights. With more and extensive rehearsals before, those shows could be a real farewell.
LE
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Truth be told, I think Mark should come and play in my church (as it can seat about 350-my lounge isn’t big enough) with Guy, John, Mike and Danny (plus a bass player of their choice.)
I think he has a future playing small gigs in my hometown……please
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I am astonished that people still expect him to tour. I think that is totally unrealistic. It's two, probably three years since the last one, it will not get better but worse with his condition. It would be wise to realize that at some point, it is over. He is too old, period. It might sound harsh to say so but it's reality. These guys are all the same. They just cannot stop it.
One or two last good (!) albums would be more than to dream of and a total bonus for every fan. Not that I really would expect any surprises. From my point of view, it will be going on with recycling his own stuff and lack of inspiration, disguised with many guest musicians and a variety of "new" styles like on that last Whatever album and Guy getting more and more responsibility in producing a good sounding, but thin echoe of what once was great and original. For me, Tracker is his legacy with 2 minutes Heart of Oak being so much better and superior over those 80 minutes of that what followed.
An album with songs like that, River of Grog and maybe Pale Imitation would be all that I would think of being appropriate. Less is more sometimes.
So in a nutshell about the topic: is it the end? Yes, it is and already since a while back.
LE
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I cannot see a 'tour' at all to be honest and in some way I hope he doesn't...perhaps a handful of 'one off' concerts perhaps but then confined to one location (ie) Royal Albert Hall
I cannot believe people thinking he may tour again, I mean the 2019 concerts were a bit choice if you get my meaning and he was clearly struggling to play...
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I would prefer a live blu-ray box with 2008 to 2013 live stuff over another tour. I really hope he won't tour again but does maybe a couple of RAH shows instead. A good example was 2002's Knopfler and friends. Great and longer nights. With more and extensive rehearsals before, those shows could be a real farewell.
LE
Good call LE! a few releases from the eras you state as they were awesome!
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I don't foresee a tour like the last ones in the future... Maybe something like the Emmylou Harris one, with selected dates in Europe and North America, something smaller.
At the end of the last tour he said that he would keep doing that until he fells, but after the pandemic, maybe he changed his mind, but he also wants to keep playing and knows that there are a lot of people working around his tours and musicians are very aware of that, and those people had suffered the most for the pandemic. Doing small scale tours would work for him to play his songs again without too much travel and also would work to keep all the crew works going on.
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After the On Every Street tour, Mark said he wanted to scale the touring size down, but as the solo tours went on, it started getting bigger again, not as big as the Dire Straits tours though, but no he could scale it all down again, no more arena's, only small theatres, 3 - 4,000 seats, not as many venues, he did seem really happy playing the likes of Ronnie Scots with The Notting Hillbillies so that could be the way to go, of course this is also about ensuring the tour makes money so it is a fine line. But with Mark anything is possible, so I will wait and see.
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I would love to see MK on tour again, but I really can't see it happening and in my heart I hope it doesn't happen. The 2019 tour was excellent, but he had a lot of support in the band. I enjoyed the concerts I attended immensely, but I felt 2019 would be the last tour.
From 2015 to 2019 there was a great physical change in Mark and the earliest there could be another tour would probably be 2023, by which time he would be almost 74, so I hope he retires gracefully, ending on a high. A new album every two or three years would be something to look forward to, though.
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After the On Every Street tour, Mark said he wanted to scale the touring size down, but as the solo tours went on, it started getting bigger again, not as big as the Dire Straits tours though, but no he could scale it all down again, no more arena's, only small theatres, 3 - 4,000 seats, not as many venues, he did seem really happy playing the likes of Ronnie Scots with The Notting Hillbillies so that could be the way to go, of course this is also about ensuring the tour makes money so it is a fine line. But with Mark anything is possible, so I will wait and see.
Actually, with the demand he has, I can see him playing but not at small theaters, but big arenas... A small european tour playing just the big ones so it's economically viable, in the UK, the Brimingham arena, the O2 in London, the Leeds arena, the Metro Radio in Newcastle, the Sporpalais in Antwerp, the Ziggo in Amsterdam, Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, that kind of places where he can sell a lot of tickets in just one night. That would do it short and economically viable.
That in the case he wants to do a short tour with his nowadays band. If he wants to do it really smaller, three or four dates at the RAH would be awesome and enough, but I don't think he can do that with his Nashville cats...
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The way Mark chooses to tour, it would be impossible financially to play only a few, small venues. I don't think Mark is keen on six-hour bus drives any more.
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Exactly. A few gigs in London would not be called a "tour". If he had a professional management, a good blu-ray would be part of the production.
LE
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The way Mark chooses to tour, it would be impossible financially to play only a few, small venues. I don't think Mark is keen on six-hour bus drives any more.
He has his magic carpet!
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I would love to see MK on tour again, but I really can't see it happening and in my heart I hope it doesn't happen. The 2019 tour was excellent, but he had a lot of support in the band. I enjoyed the concerts I attended immensely, but I felt 2019 would be the last tour.
From 2015 to 2019 there was a great physical change in Mark and the earliest there could be another tour would probably be 2023, by which time he would be almost 74, so I hope he retires gracefully, ending on a high. A new album every two or three years would be something to look forward to, though.
I have to agree Val and also with Knopflerfan and LE, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. I think he changed his speech last tour as he gained fitness and sharpness after being on the road, but really he had lost touch a bit with realism. The set was safe and he had plenty backing to give him a safety blanket. I sadly don't think he's capable now of delivering 2 hours of music. Listening to the Goodwood performance he is struggling to play a song he has performed countless times, one he could have done in his sleep not so long ago.
Maybe it's better to concentrate on studio work now and we can have some great albums toward the latter end of his career.
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Exactly. A few gigs in London would not be called a "tour". If he had a professional management, a good blu-ray would be part of the production.
LE
I don't think he's gonna do tours like the last one, despite the people who worked with him told after the last NY gig that tour won't be the last. I think that after he release a new record, there are three things we can expect:
- No concerts at all.
- Just some gigs at the RAH or a small UK tour
- A short European and North American tour, like the ones that David Gilmour does, playing selected cities, or like the one he did during the Emmylou Harrs tour.
If they tour again like usually, that would be totally unexpected to me.
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If he does tour again, I hope he leaves the brass section at home, I am not convinced it adds anything much to his songs, unless they are used like Chris White during the dire straits era.
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If he does tour again, I hope he leaves the brass section at home, I am not convinced it adds anything much to his songs, unless they are used like Chris White during the dire straits era.
I'd like something more back to basics, like the 96 tour, just with the folkie as additions in some songs, but not all the set...
And also a different band, with Marcus Cliffe or David Bronze on bass, Geraint Watkins on keyboards and Robbie McIntosh on guitar, for a change!
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The way Mark chooses to tour, it would be impossible financially to play only a few, small venues. I don't think Mark is keen on six-hour bus drives any more.
He has his magic carpet!
Which is very expensive and requires a lot of sold tickets.
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If he does tour again, I hope he leaves the brass section at home, I am not convinced it adds anything much to his songs, unless they are used like Chris White during the dire straits era.
Couldn't agree more! I hated the brass section on the last tour - of course they were there to help MK out! Bizzarly I love the brass section that are with Joe Bonamassa - ok slightly different type of music... personally I'd rather, like LE has stated to have a good quality Blu Ray concert from say 2013 or 2015 when MK was at his peak in my opinion...
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I would love to see MK on tour again, but I really can't see it happening and in my heart I hope it doesn't happen. The 2019 tour was excellent, but he had a lot of support in the band. I enjoyed the concerts I attended immensely, but I felt 2019 would be the last tour.
From 2015 to 2019 there was a great physical change in Mark and the earliest there could be another tour would probably be 2023, by which time he would be almost 74, so I hope he retires gracefully, ending on a high. A new album every two or three years would be something to look forward to, though.
I have to agree Val and also with Knopflerfan and LE, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. I think he changed his speech last tour as he gained fitness and sharpness after being on the road, but really he had lost touch a bit with realism. The set was safe and he had plenty backing to give him a safety blanket. I sadly don't think he's capable now of delivering 2 hours of music. Listening to the Goodwood performance he is struggling to play a song he has performed countless times, one he could have done in his sleep not so long ago.
Maybe it's better to concentrate on studio work now and we can have some great albums toward the latter end of his career.
I agree dmg, I'd rather MK put his soul into a good quality album or five than attempt to tour and become like Bob Dylan where people walk out on his concerts.....
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If he does tour again, I hope he leaves the brass section at home, I am not convinced it adds anything much to his songs, unless they are used like Chris White during the dire straits era.
.. personally I'd rather, like LE has stated to have a good quality Blu Ray concert from say 2013 or 2015 when MK was at his peak in my opinion...
2008 to 2013, especially 2010, which is my favourite tour. I think he was on the descendant by 2015.
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If he does tour again, I hope he leaves the brass section at home, I am not convinced it adds anything much to his songs, unless they are used like Chris White during the dire straits era.
.. personally I'd rather, like LE has stated to have a good quality Blu Ray concert from say 2013 or 2015 when MK was at his peak in my opinion...
2008 to 2013, especially 2010, which is my favourite tour. I think he was on the descendant by 2015.
Ooooh 2010? although he did play well considering his bad back, but most certainly 2013 was a storming tour. Enjoyed 2015 too....
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It is fairly obvious that the major tours are over.
The only "world" tour now will be a streaming show from London and I'd be up for that.
I hope Local Hero is dropped and he focuses solely on new albums and a small number of UK shows.
Time is running out for new MK music so I hope it isn't wasted on already done musicals.Sorry for those who didn't get to see it in Edinburgh but "we" cannot afford for MK to "waste" any further time on it.
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I think he will tour again, but it will be a Gilmour-esque tour which is absolutely fine by me. 15 shows around Europe and 15 more in the US/Canada. Can't see him doing a 80+ shows tour again in his 70's.
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I think he will tour again, but it will be a Gilmour-esque tour which is absolutely fine by me. 15 shows around Europe and 15 more in the US/Canada. Can't see him doing a 80+ shows tour again in his 70's.
He could, but not at the pace he's done it at previously. With more rest in between shows, like on the Dylan tour, it could work, but of course this drives up the costs. Plus it would make it a very long tour. Not sure he or the band are too keen on that.
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Unfortunately, I think that any future tours will be smaller in scale. Mark dropped Telegraph Road & Sultans from the set on the last tour - they are the most demanding in terms of "twiddly bits", and replaced them with songs he can still perform properly. By the time the tour reached Newcastle, he wan't specifically suggesting that this might be the last tour, but watching him at the end of the show taking the applause, he looked a bit sad and reflective and not his usual self.
I did wonder what might be going through his mind at his "home" concert so I think it's quite possible he won't be going on the road again in any major way.
https://dtvaviationimages.co.uk/mark-knopfler-tour-photos/down-the-road-wherever-tour-2019/mk_0202lq/ (https://dtvaviationimages.co.uk/mark-knopfler-tour-photos/down-the-road-wherever-tour-2019/mk_0202lq/)
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I think he will tour again, but it will be a Gilmour-esque tour which is absolutely fine by me. 15 shows around Europe and 15 more in the US/Canada. Can't see him doing a 80+ shows tour again in his 70's.
He could, but not at the pace he's done it at previously. With more rest in between shows, like on the Dylan tour, it could work, but of course this drives up the costs. Plus it would make it a very long tour. Not sure he or the band are too keen on that.
Not necesariliy, between May and June 2006 MK played 23 concerts in Europe and North America, in the following cities:
Brussels
Copenhagen
Hamburg
Stockholm
Oslo
Zurich
Verona
Rotterdam
Frankfurt
London
Manchester
Dublin
Paris
Barcelona
Toronto
Washington
New York
Boston USA
Chicago
Minneapolis
Los Angeles
Santa Barbara
Berkeley
It was just two months and they played almost every European country he used to tour, but in less cities. Nowadays some of those cities have larger venues (in 2006 they played Wembley in London, which has 12.500 people capacity, and nowadays he can play the O2 which has 20.000 people capacity, for example.), so they can play for big audience, selling lots of tickets in little time.
Setting up a small tour playing the biggest venues it's a way of spend less time being out, and at the same time covering costs, and also making money.
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Or he plays some bigger venues twice, like Lanxess-Arena, Cologne, or some other bigger concert-halls in EU or the US, with a capacity of 8000 Seats PLUS. So he can left much smaller venues out.
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If people like Gilmour or Clapton can do that kind of smaller scale concerts.... MK could do it as well.
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If he can fill venues while selling tickets 30% to 50% more expensive than he used to sell.
The last tours have shown no good sign but none of us knows how well or bad his physical state really is.
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I don't foresee a tour like the last ones in the future... Maybe something like the Emmylou Harris one, with selected dates in Europe and North America, something smaller.
At the end of the last tour he said that he would keep doing that until he fells, but after the pandemic, maybe he changed his mind, but he also wants to keep playing and knows that there are a lot of people working around his tours and musicians are very aware of that, and those people had suffered the most for the pandemic. Doing small scale tours would work for him to play his songs again without too much travel and also would work to keep all the crew works going on.
Could definately be very interesting if he chose to tour with someone else. What a lucky person ;-)
So many good thoughts here and ideas. I like the streaming idea. That could prevent him from the hard touring work.
But I dont think the last tour was bad. Yes he has a bigger crew to cover him but thats just fair. He played for example Once Upon A Time.... which I had never seen live before myself. There were highlights for all of us I guess.
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You all are almost correct in a way.
Given it post pandemic world to come, I believe he will be touring in a scale he feels like in the future.
Until then buses and the trucks.
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I am astonished that people still expect him to tour. I think that is totally unrealistic. It's two, probably three years since the last one, it will not get better but worse with his condition. It would be wise to realize that at some point, it is over. He is too old, period. It might sound harsh to say so but it's reality. These guys are all the same. They just cannot stop it.
One or two last good (!) albums would be more than to dream of and a total bonus for every fan. Not that I really would expect any surprises. From my point of view, it will be going on with recycling his own stuff and lack of inspiration, disguised with many guest musicians and a variety of "new" styles like on that last Whatever album and Guy getting more and more responsibility in producing a good sounding, but thin echoe of what once was great and original. For me, Tracker is his legacy with 2 minutes Heart of Oak being so much better and superior over those 80 minutes of that what followed.
An album with songs like that, River of Grog and maybe Pale Imitation would be all that I would think of being appropriate. Less is more sometimes.
So in a nutshell about the topic: is it the end? Yes, it is and already since a while back.
LE
why not? look at Bob, Eric, Stones, Van Morisson, all still delivering great performances at older ages than Mark. and there are far more examples.
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why not? look at Bob, Eric, Stones, Van Morisson, all still delivering great performances at older ages than Mark. and there are far more examples.
I think that's extremely hard to compare artists... People age so differently, somebody dies at the age of 27, somebody still rocks at 100, and everything in between. Personally, I think it's unnecessary to play big stadiums and tour with a plane when you're 70+, looks ridiculous, and often sounds like it.
I think like in life, you start small and slow, end up old, small and slow, in music it's the same way. If you decided to go on, I think the best option it smaller venues, smaller tours. Honestly, if MK goes onto yet another big tour, I'm not going.
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It’s a strange one this. Mark is in a bit of an odd position I think. He is NOT Elvis, Freddie Mercury or Paul McCartney. He is to us but the reality is he isn’t to most people.
And yet he would hardly downsize the venues he plays.
Has anyone ever heard of The Stables? It’s a 600ish seater venue in the Milton Keynes area which is not too far from me at all. It seems to be a very popular place for “ageing” rockers. To name a few who’ve Played there fairly recently: John Ilsley, Joe Brown, Steve Harley, Albert Lee, Ralph McTell and Ginger Baker.
A quick look at their website would reveal more names. Clearly those names would have pulled in big crowds once upon a time but now that isn’t happening and this sort of size is comfortable for them.
I wonder if Mark will ever get to that position. I’d love to him to in a way but I can’t see it happening. I think he’s an “all or none” man. I reckon that when he stops doing shows, he stops doing shows.
To put it another way, I can’t see him doing shows when he has a range of guitars along the back in front of the drums and picks them up himself. His type of show is where the guitar is tuned and handed to him.
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It’s a strange one this. Mark is in a bit of an odd position I think. He is NOT Elvis, Freddie Mercury or Paul McCartney. He is to us but the reality is he isn’t to most people.
And yet he would hardly downsize the venues he plays.
Has anyone ever heard of The Stables? It’s a 600ish seater venue in the Milton Keynes area which is not too far from me at all. It seems to be a very popular place for “ageing” rockers. To name a few who’ve Played there fairly recently: John Ilsley, Joe Brown, Steve Harley, Albert Lee, Ralph McTell and Ginger Baker.
A quick look at their website would reveal more names. Clearly those names would have pulled in big crowds once upon a time but now that isn’t happening and this sort of size is comfortable for them.
I wonder if Mark will ever get to that position. I’d love to him to in a way but I can’t see it happening. I think he’s an “all or none” man. I reckon that when he stops doing shows, he stops doing shows.
To put it another way, I can’t see him doing shows when he has a range of guitars along the back in front of the drums and picks them up himself. His type of show is where the guitar is tuned and handed to him.
Mike Oldfield does that, he has 4 or 5 guitars around him in a semi-circle, and he picks them up as needed.
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He did downsize, in the mid to late 90s, with the 96 tour and then NHB dates. 2002 too.
It was an amazing time to follow him.
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I think it also depends on the ideas of his Management, the tour-promoters, organisators and on Mark. Surely, he also can play a "smaller-location-tour" with smaller venues around 1000 seats plus or minus, than he can fullfill the ticket-demands for smaller locations, if he plays some venues twice. I´m not thinking of bigger locations with 10.000 plus seats or something like that, but the possibility of a tour in EU and USA with carefully chosen smaller locations. It´s an idea. Maybe it can be realistic in case of his health-shape, the effort in case of planning such a tour and, of course, the demand of us fans, the ticket-purchasers.
It also depends on Marks decisions, how his worldtours look like in the future.
I hope, that he will be in very good shape in the future and that he can realize tours in the future and it doesn´t matter how such a tour looks like in the future, with smaller or bigger venues.
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Health condition
Motivation
Financial consideration
Plus post covid venue availablility.
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He did downsize, in the mid to late 90s, with the 96 tour and then NHB dates. 2002 too.
It was an amazing time to follow him.
Never got to see any of those shows in person, but those were his golden solo years. There were many stellar moments from 2005 onwards, but the show format and setlist got a less interesting from then on.
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Things got worse when the "seated era" started around 2001. 1996 was such a great tour! So much energy and powerful guitar playing. When he came up with the shortened Sultans in 2001 it was the first time he really disappointed me. Many more followed over the years..
LE
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I get the point on playing smaller venues, but it looks like most of you are confusing the term "small tours" with "small venues", those are very different things...
If MK wants to do small tours, I doubt very much he would do them in small venues, because he has lot of musicians, some quite expensive (the Nashville cats) and a lot of gear and crew. Economically it wouldn't work a small tour in small venues unless tickets are very expensive to cover the costs and gain money...
I can see easily a small tour but playing big arenas, as you can sale lots of tickets per night, and at the same time downscale the duration of the tour.
For example, in just one night playing at the O2 arena in London, he can sell more tickets that in three nights at the RAH, that means the same money, and two less dates...
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Ive been thinking on this topic, and I just cannot see Mark playing Live again full stop - think on how much he struggled to belt out a good solo during the 2019 tour. Sure he can still play but certainly not like he used to. I never thought I'd say it but to see him play like he did was very painful. Please don't become another Dillon and have people rightfully walking out of concerts...
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Ive been thinking on this topic, and I just cannot see Mark playing Live again full stop - think on how much he struggled to belt out a good solo during the 2019 tour. Sure he can still play but certainly not like he used to. I never thought I'd say it but to see him play like he did was very painful. Please don't become another Dillon and have people rightfully walking out of concerts...
I enjoyed the 2019 concerts very much and I am still enjoying the recordings of the concerts I attended, but he had a lot of support from the band. I certainly didn't find it painful to hear Mark playing at those concerts, otherwise I wouldn't still be listening to them if that was so. The setlist was especially suited to those songs that Mark was most comfortable playing - the days of Sultans and TR are gone now.
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Ive been thinking on this topic, and I just cannot see Mark playing Live again full stop - think on how much he struggled to belt out a good solo during the 2019 tour. Sure he can still play but certainly not like he used to. I never thought I'd say it but to see him play like he did was very painful. Please don't become another Dillon and have people rightfully walking out of concerts...
I enjoyed the 2019 concerts very much and I am still enjoying the recordings of the concerts I attended, but he had a lot of support from the band. I certainly didn't find it painful to hear Mark playing at those concerts, otherwise I wouldn't still be listening to them if that was so. The setlist was especially suited to those songs that Mark was most comfortable playing - the days of Sultans and TR are gone now.
We enjoyed the 19 tours as well. Even if TR and Sultans goes away it makes room for other great stuff. Maybe even stuff we have not heard live in many, many years. His catalogue is so huge. Is he to old to play the twiddly bits and play fast yes, but there is so much more if he wants to.
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I'd welcome a tour or even one show just to see all you guys again. :)
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I'd welcome a tour or even one show just to see all you guys again. :)
Even if there isn't another tour, we must have an MK fans reunion in the not so distant future, after covid.
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I'd welcome a tour or even one show just to see all you guys again. :)
Even if there isn't another tour, we must have an MK fans reunion in the not so distant future, after covid.
Who needs a tour? A fans reunion in somewhere like Newcastle or London would be great where we could visit places of interest relating to Mark, and the songs.
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This would need a very long pre preparation time of at least a year. Because of taking holiday and stuff. I thought about it lately as well. It was a great bunch of people. It would go well even without any MK related stuff.
The Netherlands would be great for many reasons. So that the people from the island could care about coming over to the continent instead of people being forced to travel to Brexitland.
LE
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I'd welcome a tour or even one show just to see all you guys again. :)
Even if there isn't another tour, we must have an MK fans reunion in the not so distant future, after covid.
Who needs a tour? A fans reunion in somewhere like Newcastle or London would be great where we could visit places of interest relating to Mark, and the songs.
Newcastle or Edinburgh! :)
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London is easy to get to, albeit expensive.
Maybe we could speak to Guy and tell him we can sell out a Blues Club gig if he could put one on.
I'm a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis and when they had a fan club meet in Memphis a few years back he turned up to meet the fans...
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London is easy to get to, albeit expensive.
Maybe we could speak to Guy and tell him we can sell out a Blues Club gig if he could put one on.
I'm a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis and when they had a fan club meet in Memphis a few years back he turned up to meet the fans...
The blues club gigs are amazing. I’ve been to a few but the last one I went to in Putney had so many people from MK’s world (Glenn Saggers, Lawrence Adams, Luke Brighty etc) apart from MK himself.
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London is easy to get to, albeit expensive.
Maybe we could speak to Guy and tell him we can sell out a Blues Club gig if he could put one on.
I'm a fan of Jerry Lee Lewis and when they had a fan club meet in Memphis a few years back he turned up to meet the fans...
Funny that you don't even consider to ask (for) Mark, the realistic man that you are :lol
LE
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I'd welcome a tour or even one show just to see all you guys again. :)
Yes, I agree - perhaps a few shows vice a tour??
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I'd welcome a tour or even one show just to see all you guys again. :)
Even if there isn't another tour, we must have an MK fans reunion in the not so distant future, after covid.
Who needs a tour? A fans reunion in somewhere like Newcastle or London would be great where we could visit places of interest relating to Mark, and the songs.
Newcastle or Edinburgh! :)
Ooooh yes please!!!
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More thoughts since I originally posted……
It’s pretty much fact that Mark wouldn’t do anything without Guy but I don’t think that the presence of Guy really enables Mark to do many songs he can’t on his own. Maybe Local Hero but apart from that, Sonny Liston, Donegan’s Gone, shortened version of R&J, STP, Secondary Waltz are all songs he’s done on his own and with just Guy (pretty sure he’s done a bit of R&J on his own anyway)
I think the band he had for the radio 2 interview when he played the boxer was a pretty good size. Robbie Mc on rhythm, DC on drums, Guy on keys. Chuck in a bass player and it would be a good little band. Having said all that, I would miss the folkies.
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I think the band he had for the radio 2 interview when he played the boxer was a pretty good size. Robbie Mc on rhythm, DC on drums, Guy on keys. Chuck in a bass player and it would be a good little band. Having said all that, I would miss the folkies.
I would love this. You could add John for a bit of mandoline and flute.
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I’m not necessarily saying Richard should be replaced with Robbie but it was just the size of the band that was cool. Not just Mark and Guy but not the full works either.
I love Robbie. I thought he was such a nice guy when I met him at the Blues Club gigs and, a bit like Ianto, you do spot him on lots of YouTube clips and even on telly from time to time.
Richard might be more versatile than Robbie but it’s not like Robbie is just a guitar player. He played 5-string banjo on a couple of Tom Jones songs when he toured with him and there’s a clip of him on YouTube knocking out a mandolin solo on Midnight Special when playing with Paul McCartney. I wonder if Mark had him on board from ‘96, whether it would have affected his writing.
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Robbie is very good with all kind of dobros.
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Robbie is very good with all kind of dobros.
Terrific slide player as well.
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It's kind of like watching Federer play tennis these days.
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Robbie is very good with all kind of dobros.
Terrific slide player as well.
He is indeed!!
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With Mark's playing issues being arguably medically related, have a look at what David Crosby has said about loosing his ability to play guitar, Mark might be experiencing similar issues:
https://www.musicradar.com/news/david-crosby-guitar
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I always wondered why TR was out of the setlist after 10 concerts on the last tour.
Perhaps he is not able to play certain parts anymore. I doubt if he can stil manage to play sultans for example.
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I didn't mind losing TR. I'd rather have 2 or 3 shorter songs.
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I thought I would really miss TR if it wasn't played, but, actually, in the end it didn't matter at all and I enjoyed the concerts I attended on the last tour very much.
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I wonder also if it’s why there was only one accoustic song in the set last tour. MK always said it’s much harder but more important to practise your chops on acoustic.
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I thought I would really miss TR if it wasn't played, but, actually, in the end it didn't matter at all and I enjoyed the concerts I attended on the last tour very much.
I'm with you although it was lovely to hear TR at the beginning of the tour and I will always treasure the recordings but I think you can tell with listeneing to the versions that he was done with playing this majestic of tracks......
It's actually very sad to think we may never hear him play this and many of our favourites again 'Live' but then again we all have happy memories of seeing 'the master' Live and I like many will treasure those times just as much as I treasure having met a lot of you on here at various concerts and wholly echo what Dusty has said previously with regards a meet up of sorts..... :'( :'(
About time plans were put in place for an AMIT convention/meetup?? :wave
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With Mark's playing issues being arguably medically related, have a look at what David Crosby has said about loosing his ability to play guitar, Mark might be experiencing similar issues:
https://www.musicradar.com/news/david-crosby-guitar
Interesting....... :think
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
How does that relate to the topic? Sorry just asking
LE
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
And also the shoes. I miss the brown leather. Now he only wears these really ugly trainers, which make him look like he just finished elementary school.
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
????
I do love cotton pants, good for a fresher feel!!!! ;D
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
And also the shoes. I miss the brown leather. Now he only wears these really ugly trainers, which make him look like he just finished elementary school.
Comfort.....
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
How does that relate to the topic? Sorry just asking
LE
Well if he had worn looser clothing in 2019 for comfort then you could hardly expect him to go on tour in the future and perform in a muumuu.
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His wardrobe has seen better days. He looked great in 2008 IMHO. Maybe he should wear a kaftan on the hotter gigs
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I always witnessed Mark wearings jeans when performing on stage but in 2019 he had switched to larger coton pants.
How does that relate to the topic? Sorry just asking
LE
Well if he had worn looser clothing in 2019 for comfort then you could hardly expect him to go on tour in the future and perform in a muumuu.
I had also forgotten the shoes change.
The clothing change added to the slowing moving ability had something like of someone with difficulties. Being clothed only with practictal reason in mind because of a form of disability.
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His wardrobe has seen better days. He looked great in 2008 IMHO. Maybe he should wear a kaftan on the hotter gigs
His "outfit" on the hotter gigs with the short sleeved pink shirt, baggy trousers and trainers was awful.
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His wardrobe has seen better days. He looked great in 2008 IMHO. Maybe he should wear a kaftan on the hotter gigs
His "outfit" on the hotter gigs with the short sleeved pink shirt, baggy trousers and trainers was awful.
MK looks like a tourist 😂
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
Actually MK told in interviews previous to the tour that touring would be the first thing to be over, that he would continue writing and recording but touring would be over. When I heard that announcement in Barcelona, I took it as the next step to what MK said in those previous interviews.
After all this period of stand by because of the pandemic, I fear MK would stick to that "It's over" thought and last tour was it, I wish he would think about doing small RAH or O2 residencies, sort of what Clapton does, but probably he would want to do it with Richard, Glenn etc and that's an expensive band for a small period of concerts...
I'm a bit pesimistic here.
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
Why is this news not very surprising to me? The man only does what he wants! ;D
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
Actually MK told in interviews previous to the tour that touring would be the first thing to be over, that he would continue writing and recording but touring would be over. When I heard that announcement in Barcelona, I took it as the next step to what MK said in those previous interviews.
After all this period of stand by because of the pandemic, I fear MK would stick to that "It's over" thought and last tour was it, I wish he would think about doing small RAH or O2 residencies, sort of what Clapton does, but probably he would want to do it with Richard, Glenn etc and that's an expensive band for a small period of concerts...
I'm a bit pesimistic here.
Why not do a tour like Clapton?? About 15 concerts in Europe and some RAH dates in 4/5 weeks... Have a short break and some concerts in the States.
If he really wants to do it than it is possible. It has nothing to do with money anymore. The concerts will sell out....
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
Actually MK told in interviews previous to the tour that touring would be the first thing to be over, that he would continue writing and recording but touring would be over. When I heard that announcement in Barcelona, I took it as the next step to what MK said in those previous interviews.
After all this period of stand by because of the pandemic, I fear MK would stick to that "It's over" thought and last tour was it, I wish he would think about doing small RAH or O2 residencies, sort of what Clapton does, but probably he would want to do it with Richard, Glenn etc and that's an expensive band for a small period of concerts...
I'm a bit pesimistic here.
Why not do a tour like Clapton?? About 15 concerts in Europe and some RAH dates in 4/5 weeks... Have a short break and some concerts in the States.
If he really wants to do it than it is possible. It has nothing to do with money anymore. The concerts will sell out....
Why not?
Because we are talking about Mark Knopfler, not about Eric Clapton...
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I believe you Binone :-\
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
Yes, and Mark changed it to the silly "play until I fall over". It's not like I want him to stop touring, but changing decisions or lines like that mid-tour looks very disappointing. Is he says that to please the crowd? Is he really want to play till he falls over? Get to the point, Mr. Knopfler!
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This info comes from a close source. Believe it or not, nobody knew, before he did it on stage, that he was going to announce his retirement from live performances, when he did it at Barcelona in 2019. There was a crisis committee soon after that.
Actually MK told in interviews previous to the tour that touring would be the first thing to be over, that he would continue writing and recording but touring would be over. When I heard that announcement in Barcelona, I took it as the next step to what MK said in those previous interviews.
After all this period of stand by because of the pandemic, I fear MK would stick to that "It's over" thought and last tour was it, I wish he would think about doing small RAH or O2 residencies, sort of what Clapton does, but probably he would want to do it with Richard, Glenn etc and that's an expensive band for a small period of concerts...
I'm a bit pesimistic here.
Why not do a tour like Clapton?? About 15 concerts in Europe and some RAH dates in 4/5 weeks... Have a short break and some concerts in the States.
If he really wants to do it than it is possible. It has nothing to do with money anymore. The concerts will sell out....
That's what he should've been doing since 2015 imho. In saying that, it wasn't until the N American leg that he sounded "warmed up."
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Looking back on Mark's solo career, I can't help feeling that, from a fan's point of view, there have been so many missed opportunities. Especially after STP. Collaborations, setlist variation, taking some risks musically, etc. And obviously now it's too late.
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Looking back on Mark's solo career, I can't help feeling that, from a fan's point of view, there have been so many missed opportunities. Especially after STP. Collaborations, setlist variation, taking some risks musically, etc. And obviously now it's too late.
Absolutely true. I would say it even harsher by using words like "wasted" but I will better not.
LE
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Looking back on Mark's solo career, I can't help feeling that, from a fan's point of view, there have been so many missed opportunities. Especially after STP. Collaborations, setlist variation, taking some risks musically, etc. And obviously now it's too late.
Absolutely true. I would say it even harsher by using words like "wasted" but I will better not.
LE
But, in the other hand, that would make Mark more popular and this, apparently, he doesn't want, so he just sticks with his usual stuff.
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Looking back on Mark's solo career, I can't help feeling that, from a fan's point of view, there have been so many missed opportunities. Especially after STP. Collaborations, setlist variation, taking some risks musically, etc. And obviously now it's too late.
I've thought that many times too. Some of which are related to his accident and the axed tour of 2003 and touring with Krusty.
Others are back to the DS days and spending too much time touring with EC, playing/producing with Newman and doing little bit and pieces here and there for years when he could've been writing and making his own records. Then when DS did release their final studio album it was another 5 years until the solo album.
So many wasted years from '86-'96.
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Looking back on Mark's solo career, I can't help feeling that, from a fan's point of view, there have been so many missed opportunities. Especially after STP. Collaborations, setlist variation, taking some risks musically, etc. And obviously now it's too late.
I've thought that many times too. Some of which are related to his accident and the axed tour of 2003.
Others are back to the DS days and spending too much time touring with EC, playing/producing with Newman and doing little bit and pieces here and there for years when he could've been writing and making his own records. Then when DS did release their final studio album it was another 5 years until the solo album.
So many wasted years from '86-'96.
Agreed on the years from 86-01.
However after 2001 he did make up for it by writing, recording and touring in a way I could not have imagined it in my wildest dreams.
I remember him saying during the STP Tour "I don't want it to be so long till next time".
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
Exactly!
"So many wasted years from '86-'96"
Really?
Let's not forget The Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins.
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Looking back on Mark's solo career, I can't help feeling that, from a fan's point of view, there have been so many missed opportunities. Especially after STP. Collaborations, setlist variation, taking some risks musically, etc. And obviously now it's too late.
I don't think either that there are so many missed opportunities. Whether you liked them or not, Mark has done a lot of things after the STP tour : albums, tours, collaborations, now a musical. He's been quite busy actually, and he's still working at 72.
I agree that you can blame him for a pretty conservative approach on some aspects as setlsts from one tour to another or changes in his band over the years, the ones that were made (and shouldn't have) and the ones that never happened (and should have).
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My only rant would be he never performed TOL when he was still able to.
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
Exactly!
"So many wasted years from '86-'96"
Really?
Let's not forget The Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins.
I toally agree with you, qjamesfloyd and Robson! :thumbsup
Please let me say this:
A man who quit his job 40 years ago to pursue his passion for music and still is burning for it and, despite all the fame and fortune, has managed to stay on the ground and keep his sanity deserves the highest respect from me.
We can't give him much in return for all the wonderful moments he has given us, other than appreciation and respect for all the many years of hard work.
Let's hope for good health that let him go on as long as he feels like it.
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
When they did LOG they had a very limitated format like the LP, that between A and B side, usually had around 45 minutes of music. LOG had very long pieces so there were no way to have more, unless they did a double, that was not commercially viable in their opinion. Also arrangements have to be sorted to fill in that format. Think that the BIA record, in the LP version, had a very short intro to MFN, hadn't the trumpet intro in Your Latest Trick, hadn't the long instrumental ending in Why Worry, and had a shorter BIA than the cd version, because all that music didnt fit in the LP, that was still the standard in 1985. The cd was very new, and luckily they put all that extra music in the cd version.
If they had released LOG with the cd as a standard, they would had between 74' and 80' minutes of capacity, so probably LOG would had been longer in number of songs.
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Think that the BIA record, in the LP version, had a very short intro to MFN, hadn't the trumpet intro in Your Latest Trick, hadn't the long instrumental ending in Why Worry, and had a shorter BIA than the cd version, because all that music didnt fit in the LP, that was still the standard in 1985. The cd was very new, and luckily they put all that extra music in the cd version.
the SFA outro and the MFN outro are also shortened on the LP
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
Exactly!
"So many wasted years from '86-'96"
Really?
Let's not forget The Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins.
A decade for two mini albums with two MK penned songs which could've been recorded over the weekend plus a mini UK tour. Wasted years.
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
Exactly!
"So many wasted years from '86-'96"
Really?
Let's not forget The Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins.
A decade for two mini albums with two MK penned songs which could've been recorded over the weekend plus a mini UK tour. Wasted years.
Wasn't there the little matter of the OES album and tour in that decade? ???
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
Exactly!
"So many wasted years from '86-'96"
Really?
Let's not forget The Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins.
A decade for two mini albums with two MK penned songs which could've been recorded over the weekend plus a mini UK tour. Wasted years.
Wasn't there the little matter of the OES album and tour in that decade? ???
1987-1990 http://www.neck-and-neck.homepage.t-online.de/library/diary/diary06/diary06.html
1991-1992 http://www.neck-and-neck.homepage.t-online.de/library/diary/diary07/diary07.html
1993-1999 http://www.neck-and-neck.homepage.t-online.de/library/diary/diary07/diary07.html
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It is interesting how people see things differently, I don't think Mark has wasted any time. his shortest solo album has 11 songs on it, that being Get Lucky, adding bonus songs take it to 16 Love Over Gold only had 5 songs!!! he has recorded far more songs and albums as a solo artist compared to Dire Straits. 4 more film soundtracks, 5 if you include Robbie the Reindeer. A duet album and tour with Emmylou, and a musical, and he is working on yet another album, hardly a waste in my view. Oh and don't forget he also had time to release a double album!!!
Exactly!
"So many wasted years from '86-'96"
Really?
Let's not forget The Notting Hillbillies and Chet Atkins.
A decade for two mini albums with two MK penned songs which could've been recorded over the weekend plus a mini UK tour. Wasted years.
Wasn't there the little matter of the OES album and tour in that decade? ???
I'd already mentioned that in reply 94. The conversation does seem to have dragged on a bit! :)
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This was referring to "wasted" opportunities in his solo career.
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My only rant would be he never performed TOL when he was still able to.
Why did he dropped that one during the OES tour and never played it again as far as i know ???
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Tunnel Of Love reminded Mark of his father.
If I remember...
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My only rant would be he never performed TOL when he was still able to.
Why did he dropped that one during the OES tour and never played it again as far as i know ???
Perhaps he reckoned The Dullards are too "country" to perform it properly. Even the OES tour versions lack something.
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https://www.amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=4995.msg109060#msg109060
;)
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https://www.amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=4995.msg109060#msg109060
;)
I really doubt someone from the management was going to say the band were unsuitable. The Father story is well known so a good excuse, but one I have doubts over personally. Take your pick though because I don't think we'll ever know for sure.
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https://www.amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=4995.msg109060#msg109060
;)
:thumbsup
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Makes me wonder if he ever rehearsed for a tour when going solo. The Mans to strong was once rehearsed for a tour some years ago. I believe Guy once told on his forum so who knows about any other DS classics they did but in the end never made it :think
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Makes me wonder if he ever rehearsed for a tour when going solo. The Mans to strong was once rehearsed for a tour some years ago. I believe Guy once told on his forum so who knows about any other DS classics they did but in the end never made it :think
Don't know about every tour but the rehearsal list for the RPD-Tour was:
baloney again - Clyde auditorium Glasgow 2001
brothers in arms - Bilbao 2001
calling Elvis - Madrid 2001
done with Bonaparte - Newcastle city hall 2001
Romeo and Juliet - Madrid 2001
so far away - Bilbao 2001
speedway at Nazareth - Bilbao 2001
sultans of swing - Madrid 2001
Telegraph road - Bilbao 2001
Rudiger - Closten hall Bristol 1996
walk of life - Bilbao 2001
what it is - Clyde auditorium Glasgow 2001
sailing to Philadelphia - Massey hall Toronto 2001
why aye man - Shepherds Bush Empire 2002
quality shoe - Shepherds Bush Empire 2002
on every street - Paris - Bercy 1991
on every street - on every street album
a night in summer long ago - golden heart album
coyote - RPD album
hillfarmer’s blues - RPD album
old pigweed - RPD album
money for nothing - Bilbao 2001
wag the dog - wag the dog soundtrack album
devil baby - German radio broadcast 2002
local hero - Colsten hall Bristol 1996