Hi guys! My first post here. I have been a DS/MK fan since I heard SOS for the first time in '78.
A few comments about this thread, which seems to go off on tangents a bit, which I love!
1) The reason Ed was "let go" before STP, was the fact that Mark wanted to continue making solo albums and doing small gigs, while Ed could not adjust to that idea, having been to the "top of the mountain" with DS. As far as the reason for the small arenas and concert halls was simply the fact that it was what Mark wanted. I spoke to a top exec at Warner Brothers during the STP tour, and he told me that Mark does not make any money off these tours. He pays everyone else, but
he does it for the love of the music and playing it for the fans. I have been in the front row at a few concerts, a chance I would not have if the concerts were being played at 25,000 seat venues. I just love the intimacy.
2) The reason for OES was strictly a result of contractual obligations to the record companies. That is why The Best of.... was released, as well as the Live at the BBC (IN 1996), which was the final release on the deal. I agree that Mark would have closed up shop after the BIA tour ended in 1986. Who among us didn't have a tear in their eye after the final Austrailian show, with Mark saying "take care, be well, bye bye"?
3) As a guy, responding to the women here, there are times that I am so into the music, that it does go deep into my soul. At the two Get Lucky shows I attended, I felt so into the music during Hills Farmers Blues, Speedway, Monteleone, Brothers in Arms, Piper To The End. To describe it as a high would be an understatement.
