It is incredibly cool to hear your from you Chris, please stay and share <3 Before you, Pick and Terry started to explain how it was, I thought that it was drummers with different styles, when in fact it was Mark who chose the style of the drums.
And welcome to a MK forum were the absolute rule number one is: never say something positive about MK. Then you are a praiser, someone who think Mark is a god. I don't think anybody, and certainly not here, think that way.
If "something positive" is to pull down other members importance in the band's success, then that's just not the way to do it. This whole "let's compare MK to X" thingy is just sad. Mark doesn't play the drums, so naturally there is a team effort behind any record.
There are many big artists that have switched bands without keeping the same amount of success. Bruce Springsteen is one of them - you won't find many people who prefer "the other band" era to the E Street era. Simply because the other guys are just as irreplaceable as the singer, songwriter and guitarist-guy. Sometimes as a whole, sometimes on an individual basis. Is thinking of MK as a regular member of DS unfair in any way?
To me, treating MK as a regular member of DS is a straight-up crime. Without the guy, there would be no Dire Straits, no recording at Montserrat, no Brothers In Arms tour, or On Every Street tour, no arranging of drum parts or piano parts for Telegraph Road, no meeting Bob Dylan and playing with him on Slow Train Coming, no nothing.
Mark is more like a good movie director in this sense... An army of people work on a movie, including actors and others who made a big impact, but it's still "Quentin Tarantino's movie" or whatever. Without this piece, nothing would work. The director has a vision, and passion for the project and sees the final product before it's even been made. Besides, if you worked for Quentin, everybody knows then you are good, because of the quality level established by the director.
I'm not an MK fanatic by any means, I just look at facts. The fact is almost everybody who worked with the man treats this experience as a highlight of their career or most likely even the best part of it. Read or listen to any interviews. The only people who disagree on this are the ones who tried to battle MK and failed miserably or simply couldn't find a middle ground. I'm sure for Chris working with Mark was a highlight despite all the flaws. How can it NOT be a highlight?
It's the job of regular members of the band to use this experience as a trampoline to their own success, either within the band or on their own. If you don't like Mark and his work ethic, then go and become Mark yourself if you're so smart. For some reason, I don't see a lot of Mark Knopflers running around.
Now, here's the problem. You take it WAY too seriously if it's a "crime" to do that. This whole "who is more important than who" in the band thing is just ridiculous. Why is it so important to create large differences in importance? It's like that little dog that barks on everything because it's scared it won't be seen or heard otherwise (except that this is in "third person"). The problem is the comparison. You can of course say that Marks contribution was important - there's no harm in that. It's when one starts to place players in tiers it's getting out of hand.
I met Mark once. No need to be star struck. Just a regular guy, made out of the same flesh as me and you, who happens to have a certain set of skills. I've met famous athletes, too - and some other celebrities. They're just humans, at the end of the day. I bumped into Magnus Carlsen on a subway once, that's pretty much the only time I was a bit star struck - but that was because I wasn't expecting him
Also, everyone benefitted from the DS success - that includes Mark himself. I mean, sure you can always look at the non-original members joining in the same sense as a promising talent in a team sport does when joining a decent team. However, in order to gain fame, this youngster has to perform on par with the best athletes on his/hers team anyway. It's not like "I played in Dire Straits" itself means anything if the work was sub-par. Also, people step down for a number of reasons. You could say that Mark chose, on his own terms, to not be famous - but the same thing applies to the other guys. It's not like they tried their best and failed at it - and Mark tried to avoid it. That would be some weird logic, as we have no evidence that these differences in attitude towards fame exists, do we?
I don't need to be Mark. Maybe you do, but I certainly don't. There is just one, just as there is just one John Illsley.
Also, you should take certain things with a grain of salt. I mean, who on earth will say "no" if you asked them "is X a highlight of your career"? It's like when you ask Guy if the new album is their best one yet. He will always say yes, because it makes no sense to say anything else. I bet what you are referring to as highlights are indeed highlights - but they're just one of MANY highlights (unless someone was just in DS and then started farming potatoes or something). You kind of want to pay some respect to the people you played with, unless there were arguments. And I'm sure there were a few, but not because they tried to "battle MK and lost". It takes two to tango, and there's enough evidence that Mark might be better at guitar playing than man management. That's just my two cents. I mean, if those who have some kind of "unfinished business" with him have similar things with alot of others in the music industry, then sure - it might be their issue, but if it's MK only I strongly believe that it's mainly not their fault in that case.
That said, I base this partly on the rumours that certain songs are written with ex-members in mind (Terminal of Tribute To as an example, or "poor old fakers trying to dance in my old shoes") - assuming that there is some truth to these speculations. The only other guy I know who wrote songs like this is John Fogerty, but from what I recall he was actually screwed over. I guess Springsteen also went in that direction to some excent, but not in a "looking down on people" kind of way. That's just lowlife behavior if indeed true. But, I'm sure you applaud this as you do with everything else he has ever done.
