About Mark Knopfler
With a career that’s lasted over 40 years and one of the most distinctive guitar styles in the music business, Mark Knopfler is a legend in his own industry. As a guitarist, he’s played with some of the biggest and the best including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. However, he’s also synonymous with the band he formed with his brother in the 1970s: Dire Straits. In addition to being something of a guitar hero, Knopfler’s easy mumble of a voice sets him apart from his peers. Where others scream, Knopfler merely raises his voice. Where others go for vocal gymnastics, Knopfler simply lets the searing sound of his guitar do the talking for him.
This May, Knopfler will be beginning his solo tour, beginning in Ireland and touring through a number of UK cities and ending up in a two nights at London’s Albert Hall. The good news is that you can buy Mark Knopfler tickets, right here, from Gigantic!
Mark Knopfler shot to fame in the 1980s with Dire Straits. His fingerpicking style and an uncanny ear for a riff saw Dire Straits monopolising the charts for much of that decade, with hits such as ‘Money For Nothing’, ‘Sultans of Swing’ and ‘Brothers In Arms’. The hits tended to be up-beat sun-tinged pop, underscored by Knopfler’s extraordinary guitar solos and beach-bum drawl. However, the albums revealed a more serious, sensitive side, giving rise to tracks such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’, which was later covered by The Killers.
Dire Straits dissolved in 1995, after a hugely successful run. For other artists of his era, the temptation might have been to reinvent himself and try to piggy-back on whatever musical trends were up and coming. However, Knopfler remained true to what he knew best and produced a series of more folk-influenced albums, including Golden Heart and The Ragpicker’s Dream. While these didn’t achieve the heights of Dire Straits’ albums, they were critically acclaimed and earned Knopfler a place in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
A Mark Knopfler concert offers the chance to see a virtuoso at the top of his game. With nothing to prove to anyone, Knopfler deftly weaves through the various stages of his career, belting out crowd pleasers and lesser-known songs with equal enthusiasm. If you want to see a master at work, look below at our list of Mark Knopfler tour dates and book yourself some tickets! For anyone with even a passing interest in guitar music, this promises to be one of the must-see musical events of the year!
