"Here's a beat group song now"- Lady Writer

[Brunno Nunes]

At Rockpalast and every 1979 show, Mark always announces Lady Writer as follows:

Wel, "here's a beat group song now", what does he mean by beat group song? What is Lady Writer's relationship with Beat music, does anyone know?

[JF]

I understand that the song has strong rhythm, a strong "beat", regarding the laidback from the others
 Am I wrong ?

[dustyvalentino]

When I think of a beat group I think of a 1960s British band like The Kinks for example.

Lady Writer sounds nothing like that to me!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_music

[quizzaciously]

Are we sure he says "beat group song" and not "big group song" tho? He also says "modern" beat song.

[rmarques821]

I have always listened to it as big group song too.

[hunter]

Mark also used to call Dire Straits a "rock n roll orchestra" 

[dustyvalentino]

Just listened to Rockpalast, definitely says beat group to my ears.

[Pierre]

I hear "Big" and I've always thought he meant the song was to be a successor to Sultans in a way : a big song of the group

[superval99]

I hear "beat group song" .

[benlitmaath]

I hear beat group too

[quizzaciously]

Interesting then. I think Mark meant that this song uses quite a lot of backing singing, almost like some of the songs from The Beatles, and other Beat groups of course. Also, some changes to minor chords like in the song "Do You Want to Know a Secret" are present, the song certainly has this 60s vibe, but not too much.

[hunter]

No, it's "beetroot song" 


Apart from Mark's fluid lead guitar, Lady Writer could actually easily be made to sound like for instance The Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There or Help. Allmusic.com describes beat music (or Merseybeat) as "Merseybeat was the original sound of the British Invasion -- a driving, melodic sound that was hybrid of American rock & roll and R&B, and British skiffle." I hear the similarities, but of course Mark put his own spin on things.

[Brunno Nunes]

In this performance he says "Rock beat group.

[dustyvalentino]

It’s definitely beat group.

Big group makes no sense for one thing.

[Klaus74]

The defintion of "Dire Straits Rock-n-Roll-Orchestra" should be seen ironically in case of Mark´s humor. OK Lady Writer is a much shorter and uptempo-song, possibly in the tradition of the 1960s beat-songs.
His guitarplay is close to the olde The Shadows-sound of the Sixties. I´m of the opinion that Marks musically heroes are The Shadows, especially Hank Marvin. Lady writer is partially a little bit of "Shadows-like".