Editing Dire Straits (section)

===1985–1986: ''Brothers in Arms'' and international success===
Dire Straits returned to recording at the end of 1984 and began recording tracks at [[George Martin]]'s [[AIR Montserrat|AIR Studios]] in [[Montserrat]] for their upcoming fifth studio album, to be titled ''[[Brothers in Arms (album)|Brothers in Arms]]'', with Mark Knopfler and [[Neil Dorfsman]] producing.<ref name="Brothers"/> The recording sessions saw further personnel changes. Taking the place of Tommy Mandel, [[Guy Fletcher]], who had previously worked as a session musician with [[Roxy Music]] and had worked with Knopfler on the ''Cal'' and ''Comfort and Joy'' soundtracks, joined Dire Straits full time so that the band had a permanent second keyboardist.<ref name="sing365"/> Hal Lindes left the band early on during the recording sessions and was replaced in December 1984 by [[Jack Sonni]], a New York-based guitarist and longstanding friend of Knopfler (although Sonni's contribution to the album was minimal).<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.knopfler.net/interview48.html |title=Archived copy |website=www.knopfler.net |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527141355/http://www.knopfler.net/interview48.html |archive-date=27 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to a ''[[Sound on Sound]]'' magazine interview with Neil Dorfsman, the drumming style of Terry Williams was considered to be unsuitable for the desired sound of the album during the first month of the recording sessions at Montserrat.<ref>[https://ultimateclassicrock.com/dire-straits-brothers-in-arms/ "How Dire Straits Shattered All Expectations With ‘Brothers in Arms’"]. ''Ultimate Classic Rock''. Retrieved 9 September 2021</ref> Williams was released from the recording sessions and temporarily replaced by jazz session drummer [[Omar Hakim]], who re-recorded the album's drum parts within three days before leaving for other commitments.<ref>[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may06/articles/classictracks_0506.htm CLASSIC TRACKS: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing']. soundonsound.com</ref> Both Hakim and Williams are credited on the album,<ref name="C. Strong 1998 p. 207"/> although Williams’ sole contribution on the finished album was the song "Walk of life" and the improvised crescendo at the beginning of "[[Money for Nothing (song)|Money for Nothing]]". According to another interview with Dorfsman, Williams played toms and tom fills throughout "Money for Nothing" and "Walk of life", while Omar Hakim played drums on all the remaining tracks on the album.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-tracks/classic-tracks-dire-straits-money-nothing-372507 |title=Classic Tracks: Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" |date=February 1999}}</ref> According to Williams, he recorded all his drum parts to a click track which he felt hindered his ability to channel the rhythmic feel he wanted. Around six weeks after the recording sessions started, Williams voiced his disappointment to Mark Knopfler over some of his playing so far after listening to a playback of what was recorded; shortly after this, he was dismissed from the sessions.<ref>[https://soundcloud.com/simon-vine-podcaster/terry-williams-interview-march Terry Williams Interview March 2013 (soundcloud)] (around 1:01:39, 1:02:13-1:03:40)</ref> Williams would however be back in the band as a full time member for the music videos and the [[Brothers in Arms Tour|1985–1986 Brothers in Arms world tour]] that followed.<ref name="C. Strong 1998 p. 207">Strong, M.C. (1998) ''The Great Rock Discography'', p. 207.</ref>

Released in May 1985, ''Brothers in Arms'' entered the [[UK Albums Chart]] at number 1 and spent a total of 228 weeks in the charts<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/archive/official-albums-chart/ |title=Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=31 October 2011}}</ref> and sold over 4 million copies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-biggest-studio-albums-of-all-time__24431/ |title=The UK's Top 40 biggest studio albums of time |last=Copsey |first=Rob |date=13 October 2018 |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref> It went on to become the [[1985 in British music#Best-selling albums|best-selling album of 1985]] in the UK.<ref name="Roberts"/> ''Brothers in Arms'' was similarly successful in the US, peaking at No. 1 on [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] for nine weeks, going multi-platinum and selling nine million copies there.<ref name=ROTN/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vwcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=brothers+in+arms+-+billboard&pg=PA53 Billboard, 31 Aug 1996] (Retrieved: 29 December 2010).</ref> The album spent 34 weeks at number 1 on the Australian [[ARIA Charts]], and it remains the longest-running number one album in Australia.<ref>[https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/adeles-21-breaks-australian-chart-record-20120305-1ud5s.html "Adele's 21 breaks Australian chart record"]. ''Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 25 February 2013</ref>

[[File:JHS Vintage® AMG1 Acoustic Resonator Guitar - left angled.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A [[National String Instrument Corporation|National]] Style 0 [[resonator guitar]] features on the cover of ''Brothers in Arms''. Knopfler also used the guitar in the 1981 single "[[Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits song)|Romeo and Juliet]]".]]
The album featured a more lavish production and overall sound than Dire Straits' earlier work and spawned several big chart singles: "Money for Nothing", which reached number 1 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], and number 4 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], "[[So Far Away (Dire Straits song)|So Far Away]]" (No. 20 UK, No. 19 US), "[[Brothers in Arms (song)|Brothers in Arms]]" (No. 16 UK), "[[Walk of Life]]" (No. 2 UK, No. 7 US), and "[[Your Latest Trick]]" (No. 26 UK).<ref name=ROTN>[http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-d/direstraits_main.htm Rock on the Net: Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler] Retrieved: 29–12–10.</ref> "Money for Nothing" was the first video to be played on [[MTV]] in the UK and featured guest vocals by [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], who is credited with co-writing the song with Mark Knopfler, although it was the inclusion of the melody from "[[Don't Stand So Close To Me]]" that triggered the copyright credit, as no actual lyrics were written by Sting. It also won a [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]] in February 1986.<ref name="Grammy">[http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=Dire%20Straits&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1 Grammy Winners]. Grammy.com. Retrieved: 11 May 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930180313/http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=Dire+Straits&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1 |date=30 September 2007}}</ref>

Some sources cite ''Brothers in Arms'' as the first album recorded entirely digitally,<ref name="CD Brothers">{{cite news |title=Brothers in Arms popularises the CD |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/brothers-in-arms-cd |agency=The Guardian |date=16 December 2017}}</ref><ref>Buskin, Richard. [http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may06/articles/classictracks_0506.htm "Classic Tracks: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing'"]. Sound on Sound (SOS), May 2006.</ref> but the history of [[Digital recording|commercially-released all-digital recordings]] goes back to the early 1970s, and multitrack digital recorders were used for popular music albums by the late 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-09 |title=The Early History of Digital Recording |url=https://vintageking.com/blog/history-of-digital-recording/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Vintage King Blog |language=en}}</ref> Written during Britain's involvement in the [[Falklands War]] of 1982, the album's title track, "Brothers in Arms", deals with the senselessness of war.<ref name="Brothers">{{cite news |title=Summer of 1985: Eleven Top Music Moments Remembered |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/summer-1985-madonna-michael-jackson-back-to-future-movie-853250/ |access-date=18 November 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/jun/14/songsfromapointlesswar1 |title=Songs from a pointless war |last=Smith |first=Richard |date=14 June 2007 |website=[[theguardian.com]]|access-date=16 May 2023}}</ref> In 2007, the 25th anniversary of the war, Knopfler recorded a new version of the song at [[Abbey Road Studios]] to raise funds for British veterans who he said "are still suffering from the effects of that conflict."<ref>{{cite news |title=New version of 'Brothers in Arms' to raise funds for Falklands veterans |url=https://fundraising.co.uk/2007/05/25/new-version-039brothers-arms039-raise-funds-falklands-veterans/ |access-date=18 November 2020 |agency=Fundraising.co.uk}}</ref> "Brothers in Arms" has become a favourite at military funerals.<ref>{{cite episode |title= Brothers in Arms |series= Soul Music: Series 14 Episode 4 of 5 |credits= Producer: Lucy Lunt |network= BBC |station= [[BBC Radio 4]] |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mqp1r |airdate= 18 September 2012 |access-date= 16 December 2017}}</ref> Reported to be the world's first CD single, it was issued in the UK as a promotional item distinguished with a logo for the tour, Live in '85, while a second to commemorate the Australian leg of the tour marked Live in '86.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Osborne |first1=Richard |title=Vinyl: A History of the Analogue Record |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |page=139}}</ref> "Walk of Life", meanwhile, was nearly excluded from the album when co-producer Neil Dorfsman voted against its inclusion, but the band members out-voted him. The result was Dire Straits' most commercially successful hit single in the UK, peaking at number two.<ref name="Roberts"/>

[[File:Dire Straits 1985 Mark Knopfler Alan Clark Jack Sonni.jpg|thumb|right|Dire Straits performing in [[Belgrade]], [[Yugoslavia]], (now Serbia) on 10 May 1985. Left to right: Mark Knopfler, Alan Clark, and Jack Sonni.]]
The album is listed in the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' as the first compact disc (CD) to sell a million copies,<ref>[[Guinness Book of World Records]] (1990), p. 156. Sterling Pub. Co. Retrieved: 30 December 2010.</ref> and it has been credited with popularising the CD format.<ref name="CD Brothers"/><ref>[http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/379607.html Digitally Recorded, Digitally re/mixed and Digitally Mastered (psg)]. ecoustics.com</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' ranked the ''Brothers in Arms'' CD number 38 in their list of the 50 key events in rock music history.<ref name="CD Brothers"/> The album featured the full version of the "Money for Nothing" cut, rather than the LP version, and it also includes extended versions of all tracks on the first side of the LP, with the exception of "Walk of Life".<ref>{{cite book |title=Audio, Volume 69, Issues 2-11 |date=1985 |publisher=Radio Magazine |page=108}}</ref>

The [[Brothers in Arms Tour|1985–1986 Brothers in Arms world tour]] which followed the album's release was phenomenally successful, with over 2.5 million tickets sold.<ref>{{cite news |title=SA gigs for Dire Straits frontman |url=https://www.news24.com/Entertainment/SouthAfrica/SA-gigs-for-Dire-Straits-frontman-20041130 |agency=News 24 |date= 26 September 2014 |access-date=15 December 2017}}</ref> The tour included dates in Europe, Israel, North America, and Australia and New Zealand. The band, joined by saxophonist [[Chris White (saxophonist)|Chris White]], played 248 shows in over 100 different cities.<ref>{{cite news |title=An 80s experience to remember |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/10547017/An-80s-experience-to-remember |agency=Stuff.nz. |date=15 December 2017}}</ref> The tour began on 25 April 1985 in [[Split, Croatia|Split]], Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia). While playing a 13-night residency at [[Wembley Arena]] in London, the band moved down the road to [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] on the afternoon of 13 July 1985, to appear in a [[Live Aid]] slot,<ref>Brock Helander (1996) ''The rock who's who'', p. 170. Schirmer Books, 1996.</ref> in which their set included "Money For Nothing" with [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] as guest vocalist. John Illsley states, "It was a very special feeling to be part of something so unique. Live Aid was a unique privilege for all of us. It’s become a fabulous memory."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Story Behind The Song: Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-dire-straits-sultans-of-swing |access-date=8 June 2020 |work=Louder Sound}}</ref> The tour ended at the [[Sydney Entertainment Centre]], Australia, on 26 April 1986, where Dire Straits still holds the record for consecutive appearances at 21 nights.<ref>''Billboard'' - 15 August 1992 - Page 34</ref> The band also made an impromptu attempt at the Australian folk song "[[Waltzing Matilda]]". With 900,000 tickets sold in Australia and New Zealand, it was the biggest concert tour in Australasian music history, until it was overtaken in 2017–2018 by [[Ed Sheeran]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ed Sheeran adds final Australian shows; breaking all records |url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/ed-sheeran-adds-final-australian-shows-breaking-all-records/news-story/ac81a728476a08c7d59e1c2a1fd79ef7 |agency=News.com.au. |issue=26 May 2017 |date=15 December 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Wembley Stadium Twin Towers.jpg|thumb|left|Dire Straits performed at Live Aid at the old [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] (''exterior pictured'') on 13 July 1985, in between 13 dates at the nearby Wembley Arena.]]
Additionally, in 1985, a group that set out from London to [[Khartoum]] to raise money for famine relief, led by John Abbey, was called "The Walk of Life". Dire Straits donated the ''Brothers in Arms'' Gold disc to the participants in recognition of what they were doing.

The band's concert of 10 July 1985 at [[Wembley Arena]], in which they were accompanied by [[Nils Lofgren]] for "Solid Rock" and [[Hank Marvin]] joined the band at the end to play "Going Home" (the theme from ''[[Local Hero (1983 film)|Local Hero]]''), was partially televised in the United Kingdom on [[The Tube (1982 TV series)|''The Tube'']] on [[Channel 4]] in January 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/188185 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121022120838/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/188185 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 October 2012 |title=Dire Straits Live In '85 at Wembley Arena (1986) |publisher= BFI |place = UK |date=16 April 2009 |access-date= 17 April 2011}}</ref> (Although never officially released, [[bootleg recording]]s of the performance entitled ''Wembley does the Walk'' (2005) have been circulated.)

In 1986, ''Brothers in Arms'' won two [[Grammy Award]]s and also won Best British Album at the [[List of BRIT Awards ceremonies#1987|1987]] [[Brit Awards]].<ref name="Grammy"/><ref>[http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1987 Brit Awards 1987] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140317150236/http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1987 |date=17 March 2014 }} Brits.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2011</ref> ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine placed the album at number 51 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever in 2000.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060104040314/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlists.html#fuckme The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever]}} Q Magazine. Retrieved 26 December 2011</ref> The album also ranked number 351 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2003.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/brothers-in-arms-dire-straits-19691231 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Brothers in Arms – Dire Straits] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111227111208/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/brothers-in-arms-dire-straits-19691231 |date=27 December 2011}} Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 December 2011</ref> ''Brothers in Arms'' is also ranked number 3 in the best albums of 1985 and number 31 in the best albums of the 1980s, and as of December 2017, the album was ranked the [[List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom|eighth-best-selling album]] in UK chart history, and is the 107th-best-selling album in the United States.<ref>[http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf BPI Highest Retail Sales] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091122135241/http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf |date=22 November 2009}}. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 December 2011</ref> In August 1986, [[MTV Europe]] was launched with Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-RMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54 Billboard 28 Jul 2001]. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Retrieved: 29 December 2010.</ref>