History
The single "Sultans of Swing" first broke the US top five early spring 1979 (being a hit a full five months after the album was released there) and then rose to #8 in the British charts. "Water of Love" was also released as a single in some countries, and charted in Australia, reaching #54, and in the Netherlands, reaching #28. In Europe, the album sold four million copies while in the U.S. it sold two million copies.
The album was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 to most of the world excluding the U.S. and on 19 September 2000 in the United States.
The cover image is taken from a painting by Chuck Loyola, while the Dire Straits Fender icon was designed by Geoff Halpern.
See also: Dire Straits tourA small number of guitars were used on the album by Mark Knopfler. These included a pair of red Fender Stratocasters (one from 1961-serial number #68354 and one from 1961/62-serial number #80470). He played his 1928 National and 1937 National steel guitars on tracks "Water of Love" and "Wild West End", respectively. A black Fender thinline Telecaster was played on "Setting Me Up". Mark and David also played Mark's sunburst Fender Telecaster. There was also an unidentified acoustic guitar used on several tracks.
Read more about this topic: Dire Straits (album)
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“A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“You that would judge me do not judge alone
This book or that, come to this hallowed place
Where my friends’ portraits hang and look thereon;
Ireland’s history in their lineaments trace;
Think where man’s glory most begins and ends
And say my glory was I had such friends.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“What would we not give for some great poem to read now, which would be in harmony with the scenery,—for if men read aright, methinks they would never read anything but poems. No history nor philosophy can supply their place.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)