Special Q & A with Ed Bicknell - THE ANSWERS

[dustyvalentino]

Starting a separate thread for Ed's answers so they can be discussed without clogging up the question thread.

Thank you so much to Ed on behalf of everyone who asked a question, and for all the lurkers looking in, remember, you still have time to post your own question!

Frankly I can't be bothered counting them but there are more than 40 certainly, so this has taken a lot of time and effort on Ed's behalf, for which we are all very grateful.

[dustyvalentino]

Hi Flying Plates fans,

Thanks for the questions.
I'm going to try and answer these as they come in because firstly I have a pathological fear of backlogs and secondly because I don't know how many of you there are ( I may send in batches, we will see).

This is from MEMORY.
I may occasionally have a look on the web, but since I don't trust that I hope to avoid.
If I can’t answer something I’ll say so.
If it’s an opinion you want, you’ll get one and I completely understand you may disagree/not like.
I’ll try not to personalise but that's inevitable and let's not forget, my stint was 1977-2000 so a long time ago, when men were men and the sheep were terrified.
This follows the email I sent to Dusty re varying the format, time window etc so read in THAT CONTEXT PLEASE.

From all the DS ex members, which was the saddest one to see him leaving the band, and if you can say, why?

Tough one.

Firstly I’d say Pick, because he’s a great drummer and a lovely bloke and part of the original energy that captivated me in the first place. It was sad to see the way his role was diminished and undervalued for no reason that I could see.

There were increasingly negative personality issues between him and Mark which he’s spoken about/skirted around ( on YT) and that led to him carefully planning his exit which I don't blame him for, although it caused me quite a few logistical problems at the time.
Fortunately I knew Terry from when I was the agent for Man….

I’d say the same about Terry for sure …..great guy and dynamic player and exactly right for that time, just dumped with no explanation to him or me.

OK Manu and Jeff did the OES record and in my view Terry was perfectly capable of playing the tour, but suddenly he was out and to this day he doesn’t know why and he didn't even have much money to show for it.

REALLY weird was Jack’s departure which, as with Terry I never understood and wasn't even told the reasons for.
The podcasts he did just before his passing are the only clues.

That was and is incredibly frustrating for me, even now and at the time was part of a decline in my relationship with M and J, especially M starting around 1990 ish .

It was incredibly sad to see how bitter Jack became and not without reason, and then for him to lose his daughter on top of that was truly a tragedy. Unimaginable.

Those guys were in a different league to say Tommy, Mel, even Joop ( who was never paid to do excellent percussion, one day he just did it behind a curtain ..and I did a few Wembley’s in 85 ) who are great guys and players but were really sidemen in the strict sense of the word ( and of course Joop was a great drum tech).

There was one person who I and quite a number of the others would have been happy to see the back of but unfortunately he was saved by his talent.
But that’s bands.

Dear Ed,
What's the best question we could ask where the answer isn't "Mark didn't want to?"

I’m not sure I understand your question which may be translation. Could you re ask in a different way please and I will do my best to re address? Thanks.

[dustyvalentino]

Why isn't Tommy Mandel credited at the end of the Alchemy video? Was this intentional? Or simply a typing error?

He IS on the sleeve as “additional keyboards”. I don't know about the actual video and I don't have it to watch but it would be very odd to be on sleeve but NOT the video credit roll. .

what are the 3-4 most difficult or consequential or regrettable decisions you've made as ds/mk manager?

Where to start?

In no particular order.

A) Not delegating enough, not using an agent outside the US ( to save the band, not me, huge amounts of money) , micro managing, being too detail orientated, creating an impossible workload for myself especially from Making Movies (1980) on.

B) Doing way too much for no structured payment eg no commission on live until BIA despite adding a mammoth amount to my workload.

C) starting the BIA tour too early and not letting the album get “out” to the audience first. BUT, that’s with hindsight. Back then the norm was to PROMOTE records through touring, and I had to set the tour up about 6 months in advance so it was all guesswork anyway.
As it turned out I guessed correctly so as Tom Rush wrote, “No regrets, no tears goodbye”.

D) Not resigning immediately over the decision by Mark to do the OES record and tour once I learned the REAL reasons behind that decision which in themselves led to it being the sad and toxic event it was for those involved (though not necessarily the audiences).
Those reasons did not reveal themselves until we got to Australia and realistically it was too late to stop.
But I wish we had finished with BIA.
Another hindsight observation and I can’t detail what they were, too personal.

E). Too often personalising business situations and bullying some folks I dealt with because of their laziness, incompetence and attempts at exploiting my artists (all of them). It wasn’t the right way to go about things and I did not like the person I became around the OES period.
It affected my family, young children, girlfriend Jenny who saw it all, my friends and my health. Fortunately I had some people in my life who were brave enough to tell me what prat I’d become but it took a while for me to get my sense of humour back!

F) Making the cardinal mistake of thinking the artists were my friends, at least until around 1991 although some…..Chris White, Pick Withers, Paul Brady, Paul Buchanan ( Blue Nile) I count as friends to this day and I'd also put Guy, Terry, Paul Franklin in that  bag except I just don't see them.

[dustyvalentino]

Ed, has being a musician yourself aided your job, or hindered it?

Hugely aided. Hugely. It helped me understand the dark underside of the creative mind and that’s not a joke. It was an interesting and not altogether positive experience to watch normal people turn into arrogant narcissistic twats

Cheers Ed for this.
The question I am curious about is which guitar did Mark actually use to record the first two dire straits albums was it his maple or rosewood red strat?
Regards,
Mark from Australia.

The red Strat. “It had to be  red” MK . I see there's some info on this on the web, the source of which I don't know, referring to other guitars but I just can’t recall.

[dustyvalentino]

As requested by dear dustyvalentino, here's an alternative thread to this thread, where the actual discussion can take place, and not deleting posts and barking at forum members. If somebody agrees to do something, it doesn't mean we need to abandon all our senses, stop dead in our tracks and blindly follow instructions. If we do this, let's do it right, people. It's a possible Q&A with the one and only ED BICKNELL. I repeat, ED BICKNELL. This is not a drill!
First of all, my problem is the 24-hour rule. Do you want to do it properly or just fast? Then, if you want to do it properly, why not give everybody enough time to think about questions, discuss them and come up with good results? I just thought there may be a better way to gather all the questions coming from die-hard members of this forum, people with decades of experience with Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler's music, and a combined knowledge which is expressed in CENTURIES of being fans.
Another major problem. Do you want to start another Q&A thread that only the most loyal fans can find, and that will be lost under replies and new threads just like any other Ed Bicknell / Chris Whitten / Band Member commentary on this forum? Is this the end goal, or maybe there is a better way to do things? Have you ever tried to gather all posts by Ed in one place? It all genuine questions and real problems, and worth discussing. If it's not up to discussion, then I'm out.
Please, prove me wrong here: https://www.amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=8942.0

My man the Quizzical You’re bloody right it’s not a drill. I can only type with one finger. I have tried to accommodate you Quizzy, be gentle with me, you’re about to get a colonic.

Wow, that escalated quickly, which is TOO GOOD. I'll share my question below in a usual "TOO MANY WORDS" style, though I have something more to say even belowER

***

Question

If I were to sum up Mark Knopfler in one word, that word would be "Dignity". I'm trying to be objective here, don't mind my usual fanboy appearance and word choice. I'll put it this way... Everything this man touches turns into gold, everything he does he does it with dignity and taste. Everything he's doing publicly is a success story, including dodging fame.

He's got beautiful guitars, his studio is arguably the best in the world, his music is the epitome of taste, he's got a tremendous taste for people and always worked and still works with amazing professionals (John, Ed, Guy, Glenn, Richard, Pick and all the rest of them), the members of his team I was able to speak to through my work are one of the best people I ever worked with.

So my question is this. Certainly, through the years of working with this man and this band, you learned a lot from Mr Knopfler and developed rules, principles and criteria for how to do your work as best as you can. What would be these lessons, how your work with Mark was able to reshape your character, and if it didn't, what do you think are qualities you have that lead to a successful career as a music manager?

***

Thoughts

I'm shooting for the stars here, but since Ed turned out to be the funniest and the most honest, respectful and outspoken member of Dire Straits after staying dormant for years, and since, although his writing style is brilliant and we all love it, I'm sure most of us learned about or was reminded of his amazing humour, storytelling and wisdom from YouTube videos and/or Spotify podcasts. Watching his story about Chet Atkins and teeth I laughed so much, my jaw started to hurt.

As a reminder, the AMIT channel on YouTube has almost 30,000 Mark Knopfler fans waiting for content, as well as my channel with 26,000 subscribers. If we can find a decent host, that Q&A could become a great video. Again, I'm dropping this here just as bait, who knows, I see it as a very good opportunity. I'm also a bigger fan of conversations than one-off questions, let alone texting on a forum, so it is IMPOSSIBLE to come up with a single question, but I tried. End of bait.

If I offended anyone here, then just forget about it, erase it from memory Men in Black style, and jump back to the question part.

So my plan is this:

1. Spread the word about Q&A, ask EVERY die-hard MK fan possible about this opportunity
2. Gather all the questions in one place and sort them out (I'm willing to help do this)
3. Send questions to Ed for assessment, figure out how much time it could take
4. If it's too long, then keep dropping questions only keeping the best ones
5. Settle on the format — Text Only / Video / Conversation / Podcast
6. While working on questions, find the best way to execute it
7. DO IT

This is going to hurt

I’m not sure I’d use “dignity" but we are coming from two different perspectives.

You are outside looking in, I am ( or was ) inside looking out.

EVERYTHING turns to gold?
EVERYTHING is a success story?
EVERYTHING is done with dignity and taste?

From your perspective, yes.

No disrespect but MK does not walk on water and there’s no point me trying to persuade you otherwise because you wouldn’t believe me.

As far as “lessons" go, we were 28/29 when we met and I was 52 when I quit , so I like to think we, and the others who lasted most or all of the course, naturally grew together.

I can't isolate what I learned from him or him from me, maybe a lot, maybe nothing.

For the period 1978 to 1988/9 it was pretty much a perfect fit , almost no disagreements I can recall and the music and success propelled us forward, especially after David left.

None of us were analysing what was going on, we were way too busy.

It's only now looking back I can say well X happened or Y was a mistake or I got Z exactly right or whatever.

That period was living the dream and most of all it was FUN.

And often FUNNY, very funny, that sustained us.

Your approach and you're not alone on this forum, seems to be that Mark is some kind of perfect being, the "dignity” bit you use, and that the rest of us or at least me “learned "a lot” from him and “developed” the things you refer to.

I don't remember it like that at all and I bet he doesn’t.

I’ve never thought of it actually., there were "no rules, principles, and criteria", we did whatever was necessary at the time.

I was making it up as I went along. I'm making this up now.

It happened organically, we came from VERY similar backgrounds, from “up North”, we even went to the same music store in Leeds (Kitchens) at the SAME TIME.

Most importantly we both listened to the same stuff…Elvis, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, The Shadows (absolutely them), I veered off towards jazz because of drummers, he got into Dylan et al and folk music, guitar picking.

We saw the same films, TV shows, fiddled with girls and were fiddled by them, we both played in bands around Leeds at the same time 1963-5, when The Beatles Stones, Kinks , Animals , Alexis Korner, Chris Barber, blues, classic soul came along, Stax, Motown, Atlantic, Blue Note and on and on.

Strangely we never met or maybe we did. No idea.

We played the same songs ie COVERS…"Green Onions”, “ Wonderful Land”, “ Atlantis” “Twist and Shout” over and over and over.
Just like the tribute bands of today that some of you get so precious about because they just perform stuff by one act be it ABBA or Led Zep or heaven forbid, Dire Straits.

Why not? It's just the same as he and I were doing.

Who gives a fuck? No one is forcing anybody to go and see them.

The DSE are almost as good as the real thing, really tremendous and MK gets the bloody PRS!

So he and I and the whole generation we are part of shared the SAME cultural background which laid the foundations for all the British acts that came through in the 80’s and 90’s.

Pop music is GENERATIONAL and each generation is influenced by what came before.

A successful music manager needs to trust their own instincts of what is right for their act and the personalities within that act, men, women, LGBTQ whatever, they are not robots.

Allow people to make mistakes.

Be honest ( obviously), protect them and yourself and the integrity of the music if it’s got any, NEVER put money first which will invariably backfire, read Don Passman’s book which will tell you way more than you need to know about the technical side ( and wasn’t available to me back then) and most of all keep a sense of humour and proportion about what you’re doing.

NEVER stop being a fan.


I'm going to move on with just one comment.

He is a songwriter, singer and guitarist, father and husband and friend to many and dickhead to a few.

It’s not art. It is disposable pop music, entertainment, show business and it gives huge enjoyment to vast numbers of people and creates a lot of employment but it’s called “pop” music for a reason.

Because it’s popular.

That's the point of it.

And you will never persuade me that the EVERYTHING you say makes it more than that.

Obviously nothing personal, you just flipped one of my switches.

Your plan is a non starter I’m afraid. I’m WAY past wanting to do any of that, this Q and A is the best I can manage.

[dustyvalentino]

Ed you've been there from the beginning, how much can you tell us about a figure like JJ Cale, how much his influence he had on the music and style of the group and the direct connections he had with you

I had never heard or heard of Cale when I met DS. I have never heard a record of his or seen him play since. He was a a big fave of MK’s along with Dylan and at one point there was some talk of them recording together but it never happened. Scheduling I think. So I had no connection with him and you can hear the influence on things like "Six Blade Knife” and the first two pre keyboards albums.

---Ed do you remember why Dire Straits never came to Poland? The same question applies to Mark Knopfler first tour.

Hmmm. No. No one ever approached me and back then I don't think I could find a promoter let alone a reliable one. A shame, I tried very hard to get the band into new territories partly for the fans but also to keep it interesting for the musicians.

Ed, I wonder who was the biggest pothead in the band in early days and if drugs ever where an serious issue in the band during the DS times?

Love it. Probably John. But honestly they were pretty boring in the sex and drugs department.
I mean this was a band who had weights and exercise machines in the dressing room on the OES tour. I’d love to tell you they were like Motorhead but sadly they were more Cliff Richard.

Given the importance that the Alchemy show represents for the history of Dire Straits, could you talk about how Alchemy was planned? I realized that it could have been one of the nights in Paris in June 1983, but for some reason it ended up being at the legendary Hammersmith Odeon, London, a month later.
Did the end result turn out as planned by everyone responsible for its production? I really miss the quality of this type of information that could come from someone as fundamental to the history of Dire Straits as you. 

Easy. It wasn’t. It came together very late, maybe a couple of weeks before the shows when the newly formed Polygram Video division asked me if they could film a long form concert vid which was just becoming a thing back then.
So I did some deal where they paid for it and the audio bit became the Alchemy album. .

We recorded two shows but from memory it was the second one that came out, glitches and all. Def no overdubs unlike On The Night (please dont ask).

Good shows, way more exciting than OTN which was too “produced” (don't get me started on OES again. ) .

Yep. I've always been fundamental.

My Mum used to say “Edward, there’s something of the fundamental about you”  when I wet the bed.

[dustyvalentino]

Ed,
It was revealed by MK that he was asked to play on Michael Jacksons Bad album but he declined. Can you tell us of any other requests from big artists that MK turned down. Thanks.

I was in LA when Quincy Jones called.

Except I didn't believe it was him and I made him answer some jazz quiz questions about some early records I had of his to PROVE it was him. Much laughter.

He wanted MK to play on the Bad track I think but M was in Australia having just broken his shoulder driving in a Celebrity Grand Prix so that settled that. David Williams RIP great session player did it.

I wanted to ask:
I recall reading/hearing an interview that you gave input into making "Your Latest Trick" the straight 8th groove that it is on the record (An incredible suggestion by the way!) and that the original was a swing feel.
I've always been curious since hearing that, Do you recall if the original was a medium or ballad type swing? Or was it a faster swing?

I was at rehearsals and they were trying it with a mid tempo jazzy approach, I think to capture a kind of late night New York feel, so like a Sinatra kind of finger snapping thing, “I've Got You Under My Skin” tempo.

But it didn't swing.

So I got on the drums and played a bossa nova with one beat taken out which was just how I heard it, nothing fancy, and that’s what got used (as done by Omar Hakim who’s arse I am not fit to wipe).

Dear Ed. Any rigging disaster that you remember from touring, and how was it solved?

No thank God. The closest was a rigger we had called Tarzan who made the beast with two backs with a musician’s girlfriend under the stage in full view of the audience (unknown to him as he literally played above them.).

[dustyvalentino]

hello ed,during the nhb tours did u play all drum parts the way u specifically wanted to?

Well I played it the way I play going back to my teacher in Leeds aged 15 (me not him) and the music I played growing up and right through which was every genre you can imagine. .

But Mark definitely pushed me during the first tour rehearsals (6 weeks no days off) and gave me a better understanding of dynamics than I’d had, and of course that music was new to me so I had to learn THAT.

But I pretty much played it then way I wanted because I couldn’t have played it differently if you see what I mean. By the time we got to the Ronnie Scott’s runs I was completely at ease with it as we all were, and thankfully enough fans filmed it so I can watch some every night.

when were you most starstruck and why (during your time with the band and Mark, NOT afterwards)

I had to laugh at this one…no, they were starstruck to meet me!

I draw a huge distinction between people I consider to have real, lasting talent…Ennio Morricone, Miles Davis, Chet Atkins, Buddy Rich, Clint Eastwood, Ridley Scott, Meryl Streep, and heroes like The Shadows and Everly Brothers from my misspent youth, and the dross that makes up 90% of disposable pop music.

 But then just like all of you I'm a musical snob. Ha!

I met and spent time with all those mentioned and I suppose I occasionally got starstruck (spending 2 hours with Miles would qualify), and  having Brian Bennett the Shads drummer and a childhood hero as my best friend is pretty cool, but generally I don't give a shit about fame and celebrity which is really just part of selling something.

Awards shows make my balls shrink.

I would like to have met Elvis before his decline.

There were lots of special guests during the DS years, particularly the BiA tour, but were there any notable guests planned that fell through for any reason, scheduling or whatever?

Not that I can think of. Nearly all the ones that did happen were spontaneous, arose on the day things. With the NHB’s for instance I didn't know ANY guests were coming and they were ALL great, especially Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber. The best things are not planned.

What did you think of Mark's version of Private Dancer?

Not much but he only ever put a guide vocal on it which I originally sent to Prince for Vanity but got no reply. I doubt he listened to it.
Why would he…sheer opportunism on my part!

It was literally lying on the floor next to my desk when Roger Davies came in looking for more Paul Brady songs for Tina which Paul didn't have right then so I gave him the cassette for PD.

As Mark said “it needs a woman to sing it" and sing it she certainly did (and Steel Claw).
Not one of my favourites but Tina made it come alive.

[dustyvalentino]

Hi Ed
Do you know if there were ever any talks or collaboration ideas between Mr. Knopfler and George Michael ?

No. I don't believe they ever met.

I passed on managing WHAM right at their beginning, just too busy and not really my thing. .

As a Led Zeppelin fan, my second favourite band after DS, it's great to know that the managers of both bands, both key in their respective success, were friends. I would like to ask you about anything you could tell us about Peter Grant, specially if is anything related to both Zepp and DS. I doubt that both bands crossed their paths as DS were starting to success when Zepp were about to abruptly end (rip John Bonham) but maybe there is any nice story that in any way cross both musical worlds.

That’s too big a subject (literally!) to deal with here. Have you read “Bringing It On Home” by Mark Blake? Excellent bio of Peter who was my dearest dearest friend for the last 5 years of his life. I think of him every day. Ditto George Martin who became like a second Dad to me.
Zep/DS did not cross over although Robert did discuss management with me in about 1984 but he wisely went with Bill Curbishley one of my heroes.

The last 2 Mark's albums (with bonus tracks) + EP  has almost the same amount of songs that the entire Straits discography.
If Mark's solo albums were released those days, probably the amount of songs per album would be way less then nowadays.
However, the 'winds of change anxiety' changed everything and now, like the Swedish Shredder used to say: - More is More.

Rumours from Hal ex-members says that, to the LOG album, there was way more songs recorded that the 5 released.
Since the band always have the appeal for details and admirers that are musicians (include the pro's), I always wonder about a Ultimate Dire Straits package that brought all recorded demos, outtakes, unreleased and unfinished songs, interview with the ex-members...
Something like PF's The Wall Experience, Mile Davis Kind Of Blue Legacy or the Dylan rehearsal albums.
The question is: The band have this kind of material archived?
I am asking it because I feel that the band's legacy is going into obscurity with the same kind of material released again and again and again... and now ATMOS... Without nothing really new.

I haven’t seen or listened to any of his stuff since STP.

My personal view is that CD ushered in an era of way too many album fillers/average songs for MANY acts and MK was no exception, which was partly why I stopped listening. It was the format that drove that and I think you’re right…..it meant there was an extra 20-25 minutes to fill or “pad out”.

LOG. Yes. About 20 songs I seem to recall. It was originally planned to be a double vinyl album but common sense prevailed (mine..ha!) . I've dealt with this previously in some thread (under my name I think).

You’d have to address Crockford re that (good luck).

 I have NO idea what if anything they have archived.

When I was there pretty much everything that got recorded that was good enough to be released, was released, and there was quite a bit which wasn’t and MK definitely “edited” his own output as do most prolific artists.

From the little I know, I’d agree with you re stuff being “over released” but it’s none of my business thankfully.
Your English is fine and you know Kind of Blue. Kudos.

[dustyvalentino]

Hello Ed,
In the Arena documentary about Dire Straits, Mark is seen reading the lyrics for the song Sucker For Punishment, we know that song wasn't released, but was there many other songs in that black book of his that never saw the light of day?

Dozens.

Hi Ed,
You very kindly signed my tour book at the Town & Country in Leeds (Golden Heart) before the show began. I told you that I was very excited and you replied that you were very nervous.   The question is, were you always nervous before a show?
Many thanks!   

Yes I remember you 😀

No. Not nervous, more full of anticipation and relief to see the sheer amount of preparation and work by all concerned coming to fruition and to see and feel the audience getting what they came for. Ultimately that’s what it’s all about for me, the live experience has always been the best part of the whole process.

Dear Ed, is there a story behind Tunnel of Love and the reason MK stopped playing that song during the OES tour and never played it again.....
Thank you...

No idea. Sorry. Bored with it maybe, too much new stuff to put in? Great song.

[dustyvalentino]

My question is about Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull, who seems to be a great admirer of MK/DS, and maybe vice versa.
In an interview https://paulroland.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/paul-interviews-ian-anderson-of-jethro-tull/, IA said that in the early eighties, MK was looking for a guitar that would give him a more Martin Barre-like sound. Apart from that, was there ever any contact between the two, any idea of working together?

You are correct in both directions, as I am., big fan.

He wrote “Hotel California” pretty much and The Eagles “stole” it. .

I'm not aware of that interview.

Ian did ring me once to ask for some advice about touring the US with an Orchestra and I connected him up to the Moody Blues (Justin) and said “don’t do it!”  He didn't.

No contact on my watch.

What era (either DS / solo ) would you say is peak MK in terms guitar playing ?

For me the BIA era when he was on fire and NOT because he was technically at his peak which to me is irrelevant in a way. His playing still had the soul and originality that being young gives you, before ideas and licks started being recycled (which happens with just about everybody on any instrument eventually)

After I stepped down in 2000 I stopped listening to his music so can't comment on that. I did go to a couple of solo RAH shows and ended up leaving out of sheer boredom.

What is Your personal favourite and least favourite track of each album? (DS; if You want MK, too)
Or if too time consuming (what I would understand  ) personal top 5. (DS; if You want MK, too; or / and least fav top 5 – is that one question? yes; You can even choose  )

I've included the live albums.

This is VERY subjective and implies the ones I “don't like” I think are crap. I don’t unless I’ve said.

DS
Ist album.   Sultans of Swing  / Lions ( God that used to go on and on and on played  live).
2nd album  Portobello Belle/ Communique
3rd album  Tunnel of Love /Les Boys ( unlistenable)
4th Album  Telegraph Road/Industrial Disease ( like Pick I detest that drum machine).
5th Album  Sultans / Two Young Lovers
6th album   Brothers In Arms/ One World
7th album   You and Your Friend/ The Bug ( Walk of Life Part 2 )
8th album   On Every Street /Calling Elvis (sounds like a man with a wooden leg falling down a flight of stairs).

MK
Golden Farts …honestly, I’m not keen on anything on this.
Sailing To Philadelphia  Speedway at Nazareth/Junkie Doll

I haven’t listened to any of his records since.

[dustyvalentino]

Hi Ed,
How did start the friendship between MK and Clapton? Was ever planned or discussed to record songs together, maybe a whole album?

Not sure when they met, where or why. Around 87?

Having a fag behind a bike shed.?
Sharing a Viz Annual ?

You meet so many people and it was a long time ago.

Eric’s a nice guy. Lives down the street for me but never has any sugar in, cheap sod.

Not as far as I know and certainly not mentioned to me by either Mark or Eric or Roger Forrester, Eric’s manager who became a close friend.

This is a simple one, what were yours and Mark's favorite Viz comic strips?

Well I can't speak for MK but for me The Fat Slags and I’m guessing same for him. Most of those characters are brilliantly drawn and I don't mean the pictures.

Sid is another, and the animated cartoons they did are brilliant.

Hi Ed,

thank you for answering our questions.
I really enjoyed your podcast with Bob on my return flight from Greece.

I am interested in facts. What were the albums sales from each DS and MK album in your managing period?
As this is not a real question...
What is your favourite track of Dire Straits and MK's solo catalogue?

Thank you for all, I really missed you as MK's manager

That podcast must have been longer than the flight!

Thanks for sticking with it.

It's the longest Bob has done I think and a lot of fun.

Great interviewer, knows his stuff.
 
I said there might be questions I couldn’t answer and you want FACTS by which I take it you mean accurate facts.

I simply can't recall the break down of sales in the time period you mean ie 1978 up to mid 2000.
If I could I’d be guessing ..it was 24 years ago.

The PHYSICAL sales of the whole lot incl sound trax, GH, Best Of’s , 2xLive was about 135 million by the time I left.
The figs on the web are way too low ditto Guinness Book of Hit Records, all those things.
Sorry I cant be more accurate.

No idea re streaming and less interest.

Fave DS BIA and Telegraph Road.

MK ..as I've said I shut off after August 2000.

In light of what happened at the end I just couldn’t listen to his stuff anymore so I don't have any favourites.

Thanks for your kind words.

[dustyvalentino]

OMG, folks ...

Nobody screwed anything up, we're adequate human beings and resolved all our differences in DM's. And I'm sure Ed perfectly understands the situation.

By the way, don't forget to notify all your Dire Straits friends they can ask one question about the band's history and get an answer from EB.

I asked a few friends of mine and as expected, they were like "errrr, let me think about it for a few days". It's not that easy

Perfectly.

You’ve got to Sept 17 then I’ll review.
I'm going to be away with the life in my love Sept 8-11 so likely won’t be online then.

[dustyvalentino]

Also, a good source of questions could be Ed's interviews, maybe you want him to elaborate on something (or ask whether he was joking or not):

The Bob Lefsetz Podcast (3 hours!):

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4tKI1Oiv8kf7Ce2wEkrtbv?si=d3a1c5563b254a83
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ed-bicknell/id1316200737?i=1000657274743

Chet Atkins and false teeth' by Ed Bicknell: youtube.com/watch?v=Ln_KnVyaKm8

John Illsley on Ed: youtube.com/watch?v=f84c7R54tjQ

And so on.

Lefsetz…sure. Not much of that was joking.

Chet…....that’s just an anecdote , nothing to add really. They were a bit stained …

John……go for it! Peter Grant was my friend, not my mentor, I didn't meet him until April 1990.

OMG, folks ...

Nobody screwed anything up, we're adequate human beings and resolved all our differences in DM's. And I'm sure Ed perfectly understands the situation.

By the way, don't forget to notify all your Dire Straits friends they can ask one question about the band's history and get an answer from EB.

I asked a few friends of mine and as expected, they were like "errrr, let me think about it for a few days". It's not that easy

was wondering about the same thing.
people are exited to come up with "THE" question, and then there will always be that friggin language barrier
Carry on folks!

I know 23 languages including Creole.
Don't worry about that.

[dustyvalentino]

OMG, folks ...

Nobody screwed anything up, we're adequate human beings and resolved all our differences in DM's. And I'm sure Ed perfectly understands the situation.

By the way, don't forget to notify all your Dire Straits friends they can ask one question about the band's history and get an answer from EB.

I asked a few friends of mine and as expected, they were like "errrr, let me think about it for a few days". It's not that easy

was wondering about the same thing.
people are exited to come up with "THE" question, and then there will always be that friggin language barrier
Carry on folks!

Many friends keep telling me "ask him this, ask him that" and I say to him, I made my question, go to Amit and ask yourself!

Ssssh, I didn't tell you…..

Just between us…ok?

This whole thing is a devious scheme by Dusty to increase the “membership” and then promote his band to the resulting mugs, he’s not called “Dusty” for nothing. I get 20% commission.