Now a highly respected rock band with many loyal international fans, Dire Straits emerged from London in the late 1970s—when discordant, amateurishly performed punk rock was the height of fashion, and balding, serious-faced musicians who could play their instruments were not.
Formed in London in 1977 by ex-schoolteacher Mark Knopfler (), his brother David (also a guitarist), bassist John Illsley , and drummer Pick Withers , Dire Straits first caught the attention of...