4. SONGS

Q: I’ve read that Mark Knopfler had written 15 songs for On Every Street, but only 12 were released on the album. Where are the others?

A: The three that are missing are: ‘Millionaire Blues,’ ‘Kingdom Come’ and ‘Long Highway.’ ‘Millionaire Blues’ was released on the "Calling Elvis" CD-single (1991) and on a special On Every Street Promo-CD. ‘Kingdom Come’ was released on the "Heavy Fuel" CD-single (1991). ‘Long Highway’ is still unreleased, although Dire Straits played it on a radio show. Recordings from that show are available on "The Timothy White Sessions" and the "Brothers In Mark" bootlegs. Mark Knopfler also played ‘Long Highway’ on his recent Golden Heart tour, and there are some plans to record this song for Mark’s next solo record, which is to be released in the near future.

Q: I’ve heard something about a song called ‘Eastbound Train.’ What’s that and where can I find it?

A: This song was released in 1978 as a B-side of ‘Sultans Of Swing.’ It’s a live-recording from 1977. In the late 70s, Dire Straits often played this song at their gigs, so it is also available on various bootlegs, like "Rotterdam 1978," "Live USA (Philadelphia 1979)." The "original" live-recording is also featured on the "Brothers In Mark" bootleg.

Q: What DS/MK songs were never released?

A:

‘Me And My Friends’ (Move It Away) 
‘Making Movies’ (never completed, on the Arena 1980 TV documentary) 
‘Real Girl’ 
‘In My Car’ 
‘The Long Highway’ 
‘Suicide Towers’ (never completed, on the Arena 1980 TV documentary) 
‘Private Dancer’ (never released, ‘covered’ by Tina Turner) 
‘Bernadette’ (written by DK, performed live by DS) 
‘Sacred Loving’ (written by DK, performed live by DS) 
‘Southside Tenements’ (written by DK, performed live by DS)
'No Wonder He's Confused' (written for Golden Heart)
'Secondary Waltz' (an early song, but recorded during Golden Heart 
sessions and never released) 
Plus some more instrumental songs for TV documentaries etc.

Q: Which DS songs were only released as a live-track?

A:

Eastbound Train (B-side of 'Sultans Of Swing'-single, 1978) 
What's The Matter Baby (played in 1978-79, released on "Live At The BBC", 1995) 
Think I Love You Too Much (released on "Knebworth - The Album", 1990) 

Q: What covers has DS played at concerts?

A:

‘Ole Ole’ 
‘Singing In The Rain’ 
‘Nadine’ 
‘Gloria’ (US tour '79 as a session with their support band) 
‘Waltzing Matilda’ 
‘Cocaine’ (in 1985 with EC) 
‘Further On Up The Road’ (in 1985 with EC) 
‘Wonderful Tonight’ (in 1988 with EC) 

Q: Where can I find all the Dire Straits / Mark Knopfler lyrics?

A: At Neck and Neck, the Mark Knopfler Homepage. Nearly all the lyrics are available. Of course, there are more sites where DS/MK lyrics are available, but on Neck and Neck you will also find the more ‘rare’-lyrics, like the songs from the Extendedanceplay EP.

Q: Why is Sting mentioned as co-writer of Money For Nothing?

A: Mark’s own words: "...So I started actually writing the song in the show window. The Police were on MTV all the time doing a thing, they were all saying I want my MTV. MTV was running an advertising campaign for itself and they'd get musicians on saying 'I want my MTV.'

One of the songs that was big at the time, I believe, was 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', and so I took that and put it to those four notes. Sting was on holiday in Montserrat when we were recording the song, so I thought it would be a good idea if he came up and sang it. It was, I guess, very fortunate that he was there. He was just there having a good time when we were working."

On various charity-gigs, Sting joined Knopfler for "Money For Nothing". Last time was in september 1997, when they played the Montserrat Charity Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Q: Which Dire Straits’ songs have been covered by other artists?

A:

(Note: this list may not be complete.)

‘Setting Me Up’ - Eric Clapton 
‘Setting Me Up’ - Albert Lee 
‘I Think I Love You Too Much’ - Jeff Healey 
‘Are We In Trouble Now’ - Randy Travis 
‘Romeo and Juliet’ - Indigo Girls 
‘Why Worry’ - Everly Brothers 
‘Why Worry’ - Chet Atkins 
‘Why Worry’ - Nana Mouskouri 
‘Why Worry’ - Art Garfunkel 
‘When It Comes To You’ - John Anderson 
‘When It Comes To You’ - Brendan Croker 
‘The Bug’ - Mary Chapin Carpenter 
‘Water of Love’ - The Judds (MK on guitar)
‘Walk Of Life’ - The Shadows 
‘Going Home’ - The Shadows 
‘Money For Nothing’ - Weird Al Yankovich 
‘Brothers In Arms’ - Joan Baez 
‘Ticket To Heaven’ - Piet Veerman (Dutch artist) 

A:

Communique (Communique) 
Hand in Hand (Making Movies) 
Badges, Posters, Stickers and T-shirts (PI single b-side) 
If I Had You (Extended Dance Play EP) 
My Parties (OES) 
Kingdom Come (Calling Elvis single b-side) 
Millionaire Blues (Heavey Fuel single b-side) 

A: It's an entertainment park in the area of Newcastle (Whitley Bay) where Mark used to go to parties when he was young. Knopfler during the Alchemy concert said about it: "Song about growing up, song about being in a band, song about all kinds of things, place in Newcastle, called the Spanish City, used to hear a lot of rock ‘n’ roll music out loud, used to hear the Animals..." .

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