LESSON

Rock

Martin Cooper checks out the game changing style of the man who played clean Strat sounds when the world was into distorted Gibson tones.

Martin Cooper

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Mark Knopfler playing one of his Pensa Suhr SSH guitars

Dire Straits were formed in 1977 by brothers Mark and David Knopfler, with both brothers playing guitar and Mark also singing lead vocals. They were joined in the early years by bass player John Illsley and drummer Pick Withers, and it is this line-up that recorded its debut album in 1978. The band’s sound was markedly different to their contemporaries and shared more in common with generic pub rock than it did with punk, disco or rock of the late 1970s. Following a gig at London’s Rock Garden in 1977 the band were turned down in their initial attempts to sign a record deal, but after the demo version of Sultans Of Swing gained some radio play, they were immediately signed by Vertigo Records.