A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: the visitor on February 13, 2025, 10:54:26 PM
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Post on the MK Fans Facebook group, this is a really good listen !!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0BOvxZcVR0AqrxYR92xRC0?si=0TNAjRuKSwydq9alnHqmlQ
Loads of gems in here, very clearly described.... even a little bit about tapes from the desk. Oo er.
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thnx, now that is an interview i am looking forward to listen to...
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Been pronouncing his name wrong all these years...
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Hahaha, I really laughed hard at the Alchemy Video post-production stuff ;D
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Just started this. This is awesome. Thank you for the find.
Edit: Joop is a real pleasure to listen to. Great memory. Very intelligent thoughts.
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Hahaha, I really laughed hard at the Alchemy Video post-production stuff ;D
I had no idea! White t-shirt plus black duct tape ;D
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It's a pleasure to listen to this interview.
Eventually, we have one that is so little selfish, so respectful... We are not used to this stuff when it comes to other players of the band or people around them.
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Yes, great Interview indeed. I was not aware that he was part of it all until the very end. And I didn't know there was so much music to play from "behind the stage" at Alchemy.
I always found the video weak and of very bad quality. Also some cuts appeared strange to me. Now I know why.
Also his statement about Telegraph Road and the way it was worked out during soundcheck/rehearsals was quite interesting.
LE
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So funny to learn that Ed Bicknell was to play Joop's percussion parts when he had to leave after his son born. As his song born on Live Aid day, I wonder if Ed got to play percussion on any DS date!
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Been pronouncing his name wrong all these years...
i have not....
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Been pronouncing his name wrong all these years...
i have not....
In the part of Germany where I live (close to the Dutch border), mainly older people talk low german, kind of dialect for want of a better word, and in that language "Joop" is the variation of 'Joseph". So I found it always funny to have a "Joop" around MK's world. He comes across as a really nice, chilled guy.
LE
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Absolutely. He’s incredibly knowledgeable and has a great memory which he’s happy to share.
I loved hearing how much fun Jack brought - you can see it on stage! And then his recollections of OES as being a lot more professional and inflexible…
A great listen, thanks for sharing!
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And then his recollections of OES as being a lot more professional and inflexible…
Just a reminder that the mood of a project comes from the top down.
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Fair point Chris. I wonder what changed in M’s head (and maybe John’s too) in bringing back DS that they had to be more ‘professional’ on this tour? The best gigs are where the band are clearly having a ball. Best in terms of conveying energy and fun. I’m not criticising the OES tour, musically I think it was brilliant and an amazing team. But if you watch Alchemy, then Sydney 86 and finally OTN then they couldn’t be more different.
Perhaps it links to the top secret reason as to why the band got back together again.
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I think Mark just became more of a control freak as time went on.
Terry wasn't 'good enough' to play drums on BIA or OES.
On the McCartney tour I more or less played what I wanted. It was my decision to stay close to the original recordings when we played the songs live.
Going into rehearsals with DS, it felt more like an orchestral rehearsal, with specific parts spelled out and dark looks shot towards you if you played them differently or forgot something.
The grumpy atmosphere of the tour in general wasn't conducive to having a party on stage either.
It was probably a mistake by Mark to commit himself to 1) the tour and 2) such a brutally long tour. I think from the rehearsals onwards he probably realised his mistake and became angry about it all with more than a year still to go.
The BIA tour was peak Dire Straits. Had they followed it up a couple of years later the next tour might have been more celebratory and fun, but DS more or less ceased to exist. Mark and John resurrected it 5 or 6 years later when a lot of the public had already moved on.
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...it's true that they let too much time pass, 6 years, before starting the car again, but as a mitigating factor Mark had the fact of having to recover from the divorce, the real for that long break
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Great answer Chris.
Did you ever consider walking, especially in those rehearsal days? I imagine that kind of environment would enlist one to think “wtf” but then I have zero idea how the contractual side of musicians plays out. If m cancelled the tour, it’s the record company versus him (or Ed), if you walk then have they got you by the balls??
And feel free not to answer, I’m not prying into contract details. That’s personal and private. I’m interested in how the mechanics of a behemoth like DS work!
And in those dark stare moments, could you challenge back and say no, this is the right way to go. Or was it just a closed conversation or don’t go there? Surely bringing a show together is a true group effort. It works when it works for all. Or in a dominated outfit, it is ‘yes boss, ok boss’?
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If I remember correctly the tour was planned earlier but had to be postphoned because of the Gulf war? So it was under a bad sign from the beginning..
10 weeks rehearsals (in the summer!) sound grueling, but to be honest, I expected nothing else than a perfectly rehearsed band. Reading about all those new members made be feel nervous if it would be as good as they were. Same feelings btw came up when the 96ers were announced. A completely new band...
LE
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...it's true that they let too much time pass, 6 years, before starting the car again, but as a mitigating factor Mark had the fact of having to recover from the divorce, the real for that long break
That's is factually incorrect. Mark's divorce didn't happen until quite a bit after the end of the OES tour.
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If I remember correctly the tour was planned earlier but had to be postphoned because of the Gulf war?
It was postponed by about 6 months.
Earlier in the thread I just wanted to remind people that Mark dictated how the music was played. As professionals and good band mates we all did our best to realise his ambition. When people say this or that about the tour, they forget that we are the workers and Mark is the sole power source in that and.
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I remember hearing the Woburn Abbey broadcast in 1992. What struck me initially were two things, especially when I heard Walk of Life after having literally worn out my tape of Mandela 88, a rocking gig:
1) the band sounded massively more 'country'
2) the addition of the array of percussion (which you really hear on WoL) and change in drum sound.
By the way I also wore out the recording I made of the Woburn Abbey concert (the encores on tape 2 got chewed up) so was grateful for the OTN album... and the fact that there was little difference between the musicality meant an almost like for like replacement! But it must have got boring to play I guess.
My favourite tour recordings are from BIA. Ride Across the River is a good example of a song with structure but with what became the last 5 minutes of looser musical exchanges.
Joops interview doesn't seem to go into a huge amount of detail about the OES tour other than his reflection thay it was more 'professional' which I get, thanks Chris for your memories.
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The only 'country' element was Paul Franklin IMO.
People who were there don't like to talk much about the OES tour.
I remember the crew at the time saying it was one of the worst tours (by any band) they'd worked on, mostly by a large margin, because of the negative atmosphere and grumpiness. Lack of joy - if you will.
Talking to a few people who also worked on the 85 tour, they said that tour was a lot more care free, joyous. By the end, as the album had become a smash hit, they were all having a ball. And I think that memory (of the end of BIA tour) coloured their opinion on the lack of joy on the OES tour....basically making it feel worse (by comparison).
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But, Chris, is Mark's behavior at that point so unreasonable? I'm not defending any bad behavior as such, but considering the fact he was having regrets about committing to the (long) tour and had no ways of pulling out (was trapped) AND that his marriage was falling apart – I mean, not exactly a great foundation. Plus, you were coming from an experience with a totally different artist, Paul M., an extrovert and livewire if there ever was one, and you've stated that you were not keen on the OES gig when DS contacted you. On several levels, the OES tour shouldn't have happened, and though there is a sadness that clouds the whole thing, there were a number of magic moments that have brought much, much joy to people.
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...there were a number of magic moments that have brought much, much joy to people"
Yes! When the first time I read that the tour on every street was for many people in the band an average pleasure - I couldn't believe it. For example, the concert in Basel shows something different. I understand that life on the road is not only a stage and I don't know anything about it:)
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Thank you very much Chris W for the information and sharing it with the forum members. I'm glad that OES tour existed. There are incredible musical moments and you and the band, with the existing environment, managed to create excellent shows. On the eve of the concert in Lisbon, several interviews and articles appeared in Portuguese newspapers and magazines. In one of these articles they quoted Chris W saying that after some rehearsals MK told you that finally a drummer played SOS as he had imagined and that playing with MK everything had to be exact, at the right time without flaws or mistakes. Was it really like that?
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But, Chris, is Mark's behavior at that point so unreasonable?
It kind of is when it stretches to over a year.
It is no one else's fault he chose to undertake a tour, then regretted it, then started contemplating divorce.
You just have to make the best of it. Like we did.
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Yes! When the first time I read that the tour on every street was for many people in the band an average pleasure - I couldn't believe it.
1) We were being professional. It doesn't escape our attention that many thousands of people shelled out a lot of money to see the show, often travelling, hotels etc.
2) We were all making the best of it. You set your sights lower and find pleasure in small victories.
The bigger point is that we were selling out huge venues. as soon as mark walked on stage he got a massive standing ovation, before he'd even played a note.
So in reality, from Mark and John's point of view there was no reason to make it a miserable experience.
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Yes! When the first time I read that the tour on every street was for many people in the band an average pleasure - I couldn't believe it.
1) We were being professional. It doesn't escape our attention that many thousands of people shelled out a lot of money to see the show, often travelling, hotels etc.
2) We were all making the best of it. You set your sights lower and find pleasure in small victories.
The bigger point is that we were selling out huge venues. as soon as mark walked on stage he got a massive standing ovation, before he'd even played a note.
So in reality, from Mark and John's point of view there was no reason to make it a miserable experience.
"You set your sights lower and find pleasure in small victories" - beautiful words
I understand. Thank you Chris. Your answers and reflections broaden the perspective of vision.
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But, Chris, is Mark's behavior at that point so unreasonable?
It kind of is when it stretches to over a year.
It is no one else's fault he chose to undertake a tour, then regretted it, then started contemplating divorce.
You just have to make the best of it. Like we did.
I don't know, Chris. I just can't imagine the feeling of being in such a miserable place as Mark was then, knowing you can't get out of it for a year plus, and having to carry the load of being lead singer and lead guitarist. You made the best of it, but so did he, in my opinion. Considering it all, I'm surprised he didn't end up an alcoholic or coke addict.
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It's a pity that Mark will never go back to those memories and how he saw it all.
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Thank God, Joop was not obsessed with the 1992 tour, the planning mistakes and the grumpy atmosphere
That might be one of the reasons why his interview is so delighting.
It recalls the joy Dire Straits have always brought to people, from the very first to the very last day.
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...it's true that they let too much time pass, 6 years, before starting the car again, but as a mitigating factor Mark had the fact of having to recover from the divorce, the real for that long break
That's is factually incorrect. Mark's divorce didn't happen until quite a bit after the end of the OES tour.
.but I remember interviews with John and also Mark, who explained well how tiring the Brothers in Arms tour had been and how much family relationships would have suffered. The end of Mark's marriage is not post On Every Street, but before and during. Songs like When it comes to you, Fade to black and You and your friend are the result...
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You made the best of it, but so did he, in my opinion.
But you weren't there and I was.
Remember he walked on stage to a 60,000 capacity standing ovation every night and the money was creaming in. Both Mark and John walked away from the tour as multi-millionaires. They just needed a bit more appreciation for the 'workers' who slaved their guts out for over a year to make it all possible.
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The end of Mark's marriage is not post On Every Street, but before and during. Songs like When it comes to you, Fade to black and You and your friend are the result...
He may have been unhappy in his marriage, but it was all under wraps during the tour. The divorce happened AFTER the tour. That is just a fact.
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.but I remember interviews with John and also Mark, who explained well how tiring the Brothers in Arms tour had been and how much family relationships would have suffered.
Don't agree to yet another extremely long tour then (based on how much money it will make you), then take out your frustrations on everyone else involved.
It's pretty basic humanity.
Again, it amazes me that on this forum every wrong Mark or John have performed over the years is exonerated and in fact blamed on the victims.
Classic was Manu Katche saying in an interview that he didn't enjoy his OES album session because Mark was very difficult. To which someone claimed it was because Manu wasn't a good enough drummer. Sigh.
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.but I remember interviews with John and also Mark, who explained well how tiring the Brothers in Arms tour had been and how much family relationships would have suffered.
Again, it amazes me that on this forum every wrong Mark or John have performed over the years is exonerated and in fact blamed on the victims.
I have no idea what kind of threads you've been reading, but that's absolutely not true. There is plenty of criticism here about everything. Yes, there are one or two purists out there who think that everything MK does or creates is gold and he can do no wrong, but it's not representative of the whole forum.
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Chris, so why didn't you pull out when you had such an awful time? Were there prohibitive contracutal/legal ramifications? Were you afraid quitting would have hurt your professional reputation? Or were you worried about financial insecurity as a freelancer?
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I answered this somewhere before.
Sometimes artists are difficult in rehearsals and at the first couple of shows, then their nerves settle down, they chill out and the tour becomes a pleasure.
Also, I was their third option (after Jeff and Manu), where are you going to find a decent drummer at very short notice. You have to think about the other band members, the crew, the management. You don't want to drop everyone in it.
I agreed to do the tour and I honoured that agreement. In fact I worked very hard every show (like the rest of the band).