Dire Straits: Last News

AC/DC’s Brian Johnson and Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler are set to star in a new documentary series, named Johnson and Knopfler’s Music Legends. The six-part series will see the two classic rockers explore the lives of six other music legends, with the show set to run weekly on Sky Arts from April 25. Each episode will see Johnson and Knopfler examine the careers of, respectively, Tom Jones, Sam Fender, Cyndi Lauper, Nile Rodgers, Carlos Santana and Emmylou Harris, with the hosts also playing live with the guests on the episodes.

Mark Knopfler‘s Guitar Heroes have shared the official video for the new version of ‘Going Home’, which reveals a “who’s who” of guest collaborators on the track.The star-studded re-recording of Knopfler’s 1983 solo single was released last Friday (March 15), with all funds raised being donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.Clocking in at almost 10 minutes, the new take on the Local Hero theme song sees the Dire Straits frontman join forces with rock icons including the likes of Queen‘s Brian May, Bruce Springsteen, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood.Additionally, the Guitar Heroes’ take on ‘Going Home’ includes the last ever recording by the late Jeff Beck – which he laid down for the single shortly before his death in January 2023.Knopfler also enlisted The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr on drums, Sting on bass and The Who frontman (and Teenage Cancer Trust patron) Roger Daltrey on harmonica.Arriving today (March 22), the music video for ‘Going Home’ reveals who plays which parts on the collaborative charity single.

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler will be auctioning over 120 of his instruments at Christie’s in January.The rock veteran’s collection encompasses instruments used over his five-decade career, including the 1983 Gibson Les Paul used to record ‘Money For Nothing’ and ‘Brothers In Arms’, which was also played at the iconic Live Aid concert in 1985.Other instruments being sold include his coveted 1959 Gibson Les Paul, for an estimated £300,000 to £500,000, and a mandolin previously owned by blues player Yank Rachell, estimated at £300 to £500.25 per cent of the auction’s proceeds will benefit various charities, including the Red Cross, wildlife advocates Tusk, and children’s non-profit, Brave Hearts of the North East.Speaking to the BBC, the 74-year-old expressed that with age, he finally feels at peace with downsizing his guitar collection. “I’m looking now at about 20 guitars that I use to make records and there are at least 100 other ones that aren’t going to get played,” he said.

Dire Straits have turned down “huge amounts of money” to reform the band in recent years, one of their founding members has revealed. In an interview with The Telegraph, John Illsley, the bassist who was an ever-present in the ‘80s rock giants, confirmed that the band continue to receive major financial offers to get back together, but he also suggested that they remain uninterested.

Jack Sonni, an American guitarist who played on Dire Straits’ mammoth 1985 album Brothers in Arms and was onstage with the band at Live Aid that year, has died at 68. The group shared the news on social media but did not give any details.

Blossoms are teasing a new single they say “sounds like Dire Straits, George Michael and Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel.”Frontman Tom Ogden took to a video he posted on Twitter to share details of the track ‘The Sulking Poet’, which is due to drop tomorrow (March 24), before sharing footage of the band performing the song in the studio.Ogden said the title came from a “Blossoms fan page, which referred to me as the sulking poet”.It follows on from previous singles ‘Ode To NYC’, ‘Care For’ and the title track from forthcoming new album ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’.New single. The Sulking Poet.

 Harry replied: “Yeah the ‘70s, I was coming to the end of my playing time and I’m thinking, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’” The football manager was initially planning on becoming a taxi driver when he fell on hard times, but he couldn’t afford to do it.He continued: “I was going to buy Bournemouth taxi, but we didn’t have the money. “It was like £14,000 - £15,000, there was no way that we could get the money to buy the taxi, you have to buy the plate.“So we were lucky we got the break and I got offered a job in America to go and play and coach in America with Jimmy Gabriel.“So Mark and Jamie, and obviously with Sandra, we packed our bags and we went to America.“So that was a lifesaver for us really, going out there.”Harry’s son