Alan Clark - new interview

[dustyvalentino]

Yes.

The narrative for 30 years has been that MK was miserable during OES and Straits split as a result.

Now the (subtle) message from Chris and Ed seems to be that Alan was (also) difficult then and appears to have been a factor.

Maybe the Clapton thing, maybe also that Guy had taken his place as MK’s right hand man.

I seem to remember Chris saying there were cliques, one with Alan, although that in itself isn’t surprising with such a ridiculously large band.

[Knut]

>That said, the cover bands get the last laugh. Who's on tour, and who's retired from playing live?

Not sure you have nailed the last laugh definition.
They are only playing live because of MK songs.
People are only interested in them because of MK songs.
They have to pay MK every time they perform.
Even when MK dies they will still have to pay.
I laugh whenever I listen to TOTT because I don't take it seriously.

From my understanding after googling the topic, it's the venue that pays the royalties - not the cover bands.

Also, you missed the point. If someone makes a song mocking cover bands, and the artists is unwilling or unable to perform live and the cover band(s) continue on, that IS the last laugh. Literally. They play, the original composer don't.

[Brunno Nunes]

In times when there was no Internet, Michael Oldfield's book was the Dire Straits bible for me. After many years, I understand that not everything is perfect, but the sentiment will always remain.

+1000 


Oldfield was a journalism-student with Mark, and the book was approved by the band
so, even if it isn't perfect, I still think that it's the best reliable book about DS

Better than the book written by
Michael Oldfield's, only if Ed Bicknell writes one, would be a gift analogous to a new Dire Straits album. Who knows, maybe this miracle will happen, we recently saw a miracle happen with the launch of Box Live 78/92, hopefully luck continues to be in our favor, as it has been lately, I can't get enough of reading the two messages that Ed kindly wrote to the forum.

I can't say that I'm particularly happy about not reading this book, maybe I should, I just would want to know more about why this book is mediocre, and how it can be mediocre considering, as Ed said, they gave him "total access". I can expect a mediocre book coming from somebody who doesn't know the difference between Mark Knopfler and David Knopfler. But total access? Those who read the book, what's so mediocre about it?

I guess in the same way you can call John's book mediocre. Can't say I'm deeply impressed by it, but it's called "MY LIFE in Dire Straits", and for a title like this it does a perfect job. Mike's book is called simply "Dire Straits". So it has to be great, right?

I would say that there is a very subjective character here, it may be mediocre for some, the circumstance that Ed finds himself in may actually be mediocre for him, however, in the dimension of a mere Dire Straits fan like me and especially in the 80s, when this book was released, it was wonderful, it starts by narrating the experience of a show at the beginning of the LOG tour, one of the nights in December 1982 at Wembley Arena, I still remember the feeling of being transported in time and space to the event, this was pure gold, as well as other pleasant surprises. Just because my father said that the film currently showing is bad doesn't mean I'm not going to watch it, give it a chance and read this book, at worst you'll get rid of that doubt, for me it's still a good book, excellent photos, it could be better, yes, of course, not everything is perfect, but a book written by Ed Bicknell would be the closest to perfection, for sure!

[quizzaciously]

>That said, the cover bands get the last laugh. Who's on tour, and who's retired from playing live?

Not sure you have nailed the last laugh definition.
They are only playing live because of MK songs.
People are only interested in them because of MK songs.
They have to pay MK every time they perform.
Even when MK dies they will still have to pay.
I laugh whenever I listen to TOTT because I don't take it seriously.

From my understanding after googling the topic, it's the venue that pays the royalties - not the cover bands.

Also, you missed the point. If someone makes a song mocking cover bands, and the artists is unwilling or unable to perform live and the cover band(s) continue on, that IS the last laugh. Literally. They play, the original composer don't.

But that's the circle of life, eh? When everybody from cover bands stops playing/dies, their descendants will play the music and have the last laugh themselves. By their time it will be classical music. Most importantly, I believe it WILL be played as the music is just so great and in high demand anyway.

And don't forget an original song mocking a cover band is still an original song while they are stuck dancing to somebody else's tune. That's WHY you need to be extra cautious and extra considerate and polite with the source material. As far as I'm concerned, they acted as if it's Dire Straits 2.0, so they got a bite from MK.

[quizzaciously]

Yes.

The narrative for 30 years has been that MK was miserable during OES and Straits split as a result.

Now the (subtle) message from Chris and Ed seems to be that Alan was (also) difficult then and appears to have been a factor.

Maybe the Clapton thing, maybe also that Guy had taken his place as MK’s right hand man.

I seem to remember Chris saying there were cliques, one with Alan, although that in itself isn’t surprising with such a ridiculously large band.

Phil in interviews quite openly hinted he'd rather go on the road with Eric instead of playing with DS. It's quite astonishing that both of them seem to be unhappiest about the experience, and have become a driving force behind this "Dire Straits Revival" thing they created. Seriously, I remember watching the very early interviews with them and from there I've got quotes like Mark wasn't a big part of Dire Straits after all, etc.

One simply can't pretend there's nothing wrong with these guys, when it's a big, big, big soup of dissatisfaction, anger maybe, maybe past resentments, and yes, combined with real talent, real musicianship and other good things. Can't argue with that. And seems strange to me to assume Mark suddenly wrote a song about "any" tribute band, having no problem with them for 30 years at this point.

[Jules]

Yes.

The narrative for 30 years has been that MK was miserable during OES and Straits split as a result.

Now the (subtle) message from Chris and Ed seems to be that Alan was (also) difficult then and appears to have been a factor.

Maybe the Clapton thing, maybe also that Guy had taken his place as MK’s right hand man.

I seem to remember Chris saying there were cliques, one with Alan, although that in itself isn’t surprising with such a ridiculously large band.

Phil in interviews quite openly hinted he'd rather go on the road with Eric instead of playing with DS. It's quite astonishing that both of them seem to be unhappiest about the experience, and have become a driving force behind this "Dire Straits Revival" thing they created. Seriously, I remember watching the very early interviews with them and from there I've got quotes like Mark wasn't a big part of Dire Straits after all, etc.

One simply can't pretend there's nothing wrong with these guys, when it's a big, big, big soup of dissatisfaction, anger maybe, maybe past resentments, and yes, combined with real talent, real musicianship and other good things. Can't argue with that. And seems strange to me to assume Mark suddenly wrote a song about "any" tribute band, having no problem with them for 30 years at this point.

I have a deja vou.

[Jules]

Yes.

The narrative for 30 years has been that MK was miserable during OES and Straits split as a result.

Now the (subtle) message from Chris and Ed seems to be that Alan was (also) difficult then and appears to have been a factor.

Maybe the Clapton thing, maybe also that Guy had taken his place as MK’s right hand man.

I seem to remember Chris saying there were cliques, one with Alan, although that in itself isn’t surprising with such a ridiculously large band.

Phil in interviews quite openly hinted he'd rather go on the road with Eric instead of playing with DS. It's quite astonishing that both of them seem to be unhappiest about the experience, and have become a driving force behind this "Dire Straits Revival" thing they created. Seriously, I remember watching the very early interviews with them and from there I've got quotes like Mark wasn't a big part of Dire Straits after all, etc.

One simply can't pretend there's nothing wrong with these guys, when it's a big, big, big soup of dissatisfaction, anger maybe, maybe past resentments, and yes, combined with real talent, real musicianship and other good things. Can't argue with that. And seems strange to me to assume Mark suddenly wrote a song about "any" tribute band, having no problem with them for 30 years at this point.

I have a deja vou.

I perfectly agree with you jbaent. But it's not me who brings these topics time and time again, with the same thoughts again and again. People don't bother to read/engage in discussion, and then you ask them to change their minds and come to conclusions. Not gonna happen. Alan is a saint and did absolutely nothing wrong.

Nobody is a saint, NOBODY, and everybody does wrong sometimes.

That's the thing, as MK says, everybody pays to play.

[quizzaciously]

Yes.

The narrative for 30 years has been that MK was miserable during OES and Straits split as a result.

Now the (subtle) message from Chris and Ed seems to be that Alan was (also) difficult then and appears to have been a factor.

Maybe the Clapton thing, maybe also that Guy had taken his place as MK’s right hand man.

I seem to remember Chris saying there were cliques, one with Alan, although that in itself isn’t surprising with such a ridiculously large band.

Phil in interviews quite openly hinted he'd rather go on the road with Eric instead of playing with DS. It's quite astonishing that both of them seem to be unhappiest about the experience, and have become a driving force behind this "Dire Straits Revival" thing they created. Seriously, I remember watching the very early interviews with them and from there I've got quotes like Mark wasn't a big part of Dire Straits after all, etc.

One simply can't pretend there's nothing wrong with these guys, when it's a big, big, big soup of dissatisfaction, anger maybe, maybe past resentments, and yes, combined with real talent, real musicianship and other good things. Can't argue with that. And seems strange to me to assume Mark suddenly wrote a song about "any" tribute band, having no problem with them for 30 years at this point.

I have a deja vou.

I perfectly agree with you jbaent. But it's not me who brings these topics time and time again, with the same thoughts again and again. People don't bother to read/engage in discussion, and then you ask them to change their minds and come to conclusions. Not gonna happen. Alan is a saint and did absolutely nothing wrong.

Nobody is a saint, NOBODY, and everybody does wrong sometimes.

That's the thing, as MK says, everybody pays to play.

I realised I was too stupid in my reply and deleted the message, sorry. I'm aware of this. This is an example of a very exhausting and déjà vu topic indeed, like some other topics and some of the recurring duels on this forum, where people just obviously can't get along and will argue till the cows come home. But what you can do about it anyway? That's life

[Pottel]

So...

Seeing as this site is "wildly speculative and sometimes just plain deluded" as per Ed, do we want to speculate as to why Ed did not want to comment on this thread and made a point of saying that he had not listened to any of Alan's music?

I wrote a usual grumpy answer at first, then re-read Ed's message and it's just so nice and warm that screw it. Let's be honest, this Alan Clark and tribute bands topic like LE wrote earlier is just so boring and lame that even Ed couldn't handle it. And we are making the same mistake as Mark did by writing a whole song about it. No, is not something to write a song about, literally.

Mmm, I wasn't really focussing on the tribute band angle, Ed's opinion seems quite clear on that.

It was more the fact that Ed made a point of saying that he would not comment on this thread and also specifically said that he hadn't listened to Alan's music. So... has there been a falling out?

my thoughts exactly
actually feels like you russia style hacked my thoughts Dusty! never an original thought, somewhat feels like that tribute band song thingy....SAD

[quizzaciously]

So...

Seeing as this site is "wildly speculative and sometimes just plain deluded" as per Ed, do we want to speculate as to why Ed did not want to comment on this thread and made a point of saying that he had not listened to any of Alan's music?

I wrote a usual grumpy answer at first, then re-read Ed's message and it's just so nice and warm that screw it. Let's be honest, this Alan Clark and tribute bands topic like LE wrote earlier is just so boring and lame that even Ed couldn't handle it. And we are making the same mistake as Mark did by writing a whole song about it. No, is not something to write a song about, literally.

Mmm, I wasn't really focussing on the tribute band angle, Ed's opinion seems quite clear on that.

It was more the fact that Ed made a point of saying that he would not comment on this thread and also specifically said that he hadn't listened to Alan's music. So... has there been a falling out?

my thoughts exactly
actually feels like you russia style hacked my thoughts Dusty! never an original thought, somewhat feels like that tribute band song thingy....SAD

Dusty Springfield writes really good posts, not bad for somebody who's already 25 years not with us anymore...

In this case, I was completely wrong and can take 100% responsibility.

[Pottel]

So...

Seeing as this site is "wildly speculative and sometimes just plain deluded" as per Ed, do we want to speculate as to why Ed did not want to comment on this thread and made a point of saying that he had not listened to any of Alan's music?

I wrote a usual grumpy answer at first, then re-read Ed's message and it's just so nice and warm that screw it. Let's be honest, this Alan Clark and tribute bands topic like LE wrote earlier is just so boring and lame that even Ed couldn't handle it. And we are making the same mistake as Mark did by writing a whole song about it. No, is not something to write a song about, literally.

Mmm, I wasn't really focussing on the tribute band angle, Ed's opinion seems quite clear on that.

It was more the fact that Ed made a point of saying that he would not comment on this thread and also specifically said that he hadn't listened to Alan's music. So... has there been a falling out?

my thoughts exactly
actually feels like you russia style hacked my thoughts Dusty! never an original thought, somewhat feels like that tribute band song thingy....SAD

Dusty Springfield writes really good posts, not bad for somebody who's already 25 years not with us anymore...

In this case, I was completely wrong and can take 100% responsibility.

sure as hell writes like someone who has left us 25yrs ago. jeez

[dustyvalentino]

Lol

I generally like that these threads go wherever they go but I'm starting to get frustrated that this particular one is still turning into a tribute band good/bad one when we have (in my eyes) a MUCH more interesting topic to discuss:

Did Alan Clark destroy Dire Straits?! 

[quizzaciously]

Lol

I generally like that these threads go wherever they go but I'm starting to get frustrated that this particular one is still turning into a tribute band good/bad one when we have (in my eyes) a MUCH more interesting topic to discuss:

Did Alan Clark destroy Dire Straits?! 

Haha! I think it's as much as the Yoko Ono destroying The Beatles controversy. I mean it probably has something to do with it, like 1%, but there were much bigger problems at stake than an unhappy keyboard player or a Beatle bringing his wife into the studio.

And by the way, it's not the first time Alan Clark's topic gets redirected into tribute bands' topic, I remember it happening at least 1 or 2 times before, it's inevitable really. Thanks Mark for writing this damn song, and thanks Alan for being so persistent in his goal of reviving DS, I guess.

[peterromer]

Hello peterromer,

i copied the complete post from Ed over here in this thread and made the passages blue that you might be interested in. It is such a good read, I had a big laugh AGAIN while I was searching the correct lines...
LE
[/i]

THANKS LE  , much appreciated. Very interesting.   

[peterromer]

Lol

I generally like that these threads go wherever they go but I'm starting to get frustrated that this particular one is still turning into a tribute band good/bad one when we have (in my eyes) a MUCH more interesting topic to discuss:

Did Alan Clark destroy Dire Straits?! 

I dont think so. With all said here with that OES era, it was Marks decision. If MK wanted to continue with DS he could have done so and replaced Alan.
There was probably just so much going on in different aspects, that combined he felt it was time to end it.
Internal problems, huge venues and probably felt like going solo was the right time.   
John said in a more recent interview that the two of them sat in a pub somewhere before the OES album, and MK asked John if he would be interested in a new DS album because he had some new songs. John litererally said "Yes of course" but John was baffled as he thought already back then that DS was kind of history.
So the two of them might have had some talks / discussions going on, already after BIA.