DS Reunion rumors

[scupperman]

OK, I almost hate to post this but...... after hearing Heavy Fuel today on WXRT, the Chicago based FM station that plays MK / DS, the DJ, Terri Hemmert, announced that there were rumors about a DS reunion. I found that hard to believe given MK's condition on the current tour and given the recent comments about this. Couldn't find anything else on the net, anyone else out there hearing this?

[holaknopfler]

Forget it. Mark won't do it. He has said that so many times..

[herlock]

It does not make sense.
DS is not only dead - it actually never existed. It was a vehicle to play Mark Knopfler's songs, period. Which is exactly what MK's band is today, except that this is more frank, and have the advantage of not creating huge expectations in terms of touring scale and "soft rock" style of music. Nothing more than a marketing label. On the documentary on the Alchemy DVD, MK is asked (1980) if this is really a group, as he is the main writer, singer, and performer. He answers that it is all about the band and being together; might be true, but this is also true of his current band...
The only thing you don't have anymore is the name - who cares about the name ??
I am amazed the impact a simple label can have on people. in 1987 Roger Water's tour was completely destroyed by Gilmour's Pink Floyd touring. Because everybody new the Pink Floyd name, and nobody but the die-hard fans had ever heard or Roger Waters. In fact, they were seing the band as an entity by itself, not the people the band was made of, and the vast majority of them didn't even know that the soul of Pink Floyd was gone. Gilmour said that he spent 20 years building the Pink Floyd name, not his own. That is true, but that is scary.
Hence the ridiculous stickers they had to put on the solo CDs: "the voice and guitar of Dire Straits", "The voice and guitar of Pink Floyd", "the soul of Pink Floyd", etc.
A Pink Floyd reunion made sense beause to build PF you need BOTH Gilmour and Waters; but MK has everything in himself that Dire Straits had; because the other musicians, although world-class, are disposable items, not unique; John Illsley is a fantatisc bass player, but so is Glenn Worlf; Same with Alan Clark and Matt Rollins. In fact, the band is more stable know than in DS times...

Come on !! Move on !! It will not happen anyway. Everything DS would have to offer today, you already have it in the MK shows.

[Love Expresso]

We could ask Guy about it! 

LE

[ustas]

There are a lot or rumors. But it will be, I'm sure. 2010 or 2011

[Love Expresso]

Huh?
Are you sure you have the right year? 2010 is almost over again...

I will not hope so. That would be so disappointing if MK went this way of just another "Reunion" band.... Maybe Dire Straits play the opening act at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London...

LE

[Pottel]

if it happens, and my little toe also feels it happening, it will be a charity thing only people, let's not forget that...

[ustas]

if it happens, and my little toe also feels it happening, it will be a charity thing only people, let's not forget that...

yes.

[herlock]

if it happens, and my little toe also feels it happening, it will be a charity thing only people, let's not forget that...

And, other than having John i/o Glenn and Alan i/o Matt, maybe Phil i/o Richard, and maybe Chris White, and Paul Franklin, and a change of name, what can we expect of it ? maybe time to revived old songs ? The Man's Too Strong, Setting me Up, On Every Street (these were rehearsed lately), and let's dream, a pretext to revive TOL ? WDYTYG ? YLT ?
I vaguely heard about a special edition of Brothers in Arms, how more special would it be than the 2005 SA/CD 5.1 edition ? A blu-ray audio only version maybe ?

[herlock]

Btw - it seems to be that after DS Mark kept good relationships with everybody... but Alan Clark.
Why do I say that ?
Mark and John were seen together recently, John recorded his album at Mark's studio. I assume they are still best friends.
Phil Palmer played with Mark in the concert for Montserrat in 1997.
Chris White played with Mark in 2002 and on the KTGC album.
Paul Frankling is a "honorary 96er".
Guy is... the only band member that has been there longer than MK, as the lame joke says
Danny is already there.
Chris Witten... not too sure (but I'd rather have Terry Williams !).

But Alan, after DS, only replaced Guy once in 1993 for the NHB; after that, no public appearance with Mark; heard some rumours that Mark would'nt want to play with Alan again but he would not be good enough !! although I find it hard to believe. Any clue ?
Relationships is key, to reform an band, and already in 1986 there were rumours that the band members coul't stand each other anymore and were travelling on separate limos... any truth ? while the current band more looks like a bunch of friends !

[Pottel]

and john was at fridays' show in the RAH, and Chris at thursdays'
and let us not mnention that other founder of the Dire straits here shall we... 

[herlock]

and john was at fridays' show in the RAH, and Chris at thursdays'
and let us not mnention that other founder of the Dire straits here shall we... 

If you are refering to a possible reunion of the Knopfler brothers, I'm all for it...
When I think that I took 20 years to Gilmour and Waters to admit that they had been childish... scary... one year later Rick Wright was dead... this is what happen when you waste too much time to move on and forgive...

[ds1984]

DS is not only dead - it actually never existed. It was a vehicle to play Mark Knopfler's songs, period. Which is exactly what MK's band is today, except that this is more frank, and have the advantage of not creating huge expectations in terms of touring scale and "soft rock" style of music. Nothing more than a marketing label.

Disagree, DS was really a band.
At that time Mark was not the boss he is now.
He needed a manager and was not confident enough in himself to act as a solo artist. Dire Straits was an entity. 

On the documentary on the Alchemy DVD, MK is asked (1980) if this is really a group, as he is the main writer, singer, and performer. He answers that it is all about the band and being together; might be true, but this is also true of his current band...
The only thing you don't have anymore is the name - who cares about the name ??

DS was not only a name, it was a sound

I am amazed the impact a simple label can have on people. in 1987 Roger Water's tour was completely destroyed by Gilmour's Pink Floyd touring. Because everybody new the Pink Floyd name, and nobody but the die-hard fans had ever heard or Roger Waters.

I am laughing out loud. Because this is Roger Waters that destroyed himself and I litterally pissed my pants when I heard that Roger was touring DSOTM after he mocked PF performing it in 1994. Roger does not know how to write good arrangements and if his solo efforts failed this is because he had no David Gilmour to help him. Even worse he had the number one guitarist on his album and tour but Eric was so constrained that he prefered to leave fololowed by  part of the band during a break in the US leg.
Roger is a man for concept but not really for music. Don't get me wrong I attended both Roger and David solo tours, they do both great show but the most genuine one is not necessarily the one you may think he is.

but MK has everything in himself that Dire Straits had; because the other musicians, although world-class, are disposable items, not unique; John Illsley is a fantatisc bass player, but so is Glenn Worlf; Same with Alan Clark and Matt Rollins.

THE POINT : the way that John and Alan did sound made that this core trio was the DS sound of the 80's. John is not a fantastic bass player, he is technically very limited, has not a big variety in his playing but he has something that is the most important thing : he has a solid style. Glenn maybe 1 000 times better than him, SOS will never sound the same without John on it. Period

Come on !! Move on !! It will not happen anyway.

Mark could surprise us with a reunion for a one off charity events - who know, the right person at the right moment to ask him. But I agree that as a recording and touring band, DS is dead.

Everything DS would have to offer today, you already have it in the MK shows.

No - you can't imagine how much I miss DS.
MK in solo is another story.

[ds1984]

Btw - it seems to be that after DS Mark kept good relationships with everybody... but Alan Clark.

[...]

But Alan, after DS, only replaced Guy once in 1993 for the NHB; after that, no public appearance with Mark; heard some rumours that Mark would'nt want to play with Alan again but he would not be good enough !! although I find it hard to believe. Any clue ?
Relationships is key, to reform an band, and already in 1986 there were rumours that the band members coul't stand each other anymore and were travelling on separate limos... any truth ? while the current band more looks like a bunch of friends !

Partly wrong, Mark did perform once with Alan "Wild Theme" a few years ago (let say within the last 5 - or 10- years) in Newcastle. And they also did a masterclass in the US but this is older.

Alan in an interview says that the music that Mark plays now is not his cup of tea. Already at the time of OES, Alan did show some sign of dissatisfaction as he does not stick that much with country music style.

What surprise me is that Alan and Guy seemed to be good surfing friends but they finally lost touch.

[Mossguitar]

Dire Straits died in 1980 or something. As a band and a sound. Since then, it's been MK solo with different session musicians and good bye funky rock and roll. Forget everything about a reunion. It will never happen.