Top ten Dire Straits songs

Mark Knopfler is not an ugly man but Dire Straits were never exactly the best looking or coolest band around. Even so, they were huge in the 1980s, with their 1985 album Brothers in Arms album shifting some 30 million copies. Looking back at Knofler in those days, no, not an ugly man, but kinda average, with bad hair and a bit weedy, and when seen sporting a red suit with a pastel T-shirt and a head sweatband, it’s like he committed some of the worst crimes against fashion ever.

In fact, he’s looking the best he’s ever looked right now, judging by the recent BBC4 documentary about the man, which got me digging out my old Dire Straits records. I was kinda into them as a young teenager when Brothers in Arms came out. Then I didn’t listen to them for years; but they’re good, a bit pub rock but low-key and melancholic with Knopfler’s vocals sometimes just a whisper. He plays the guitar pretty good too.

1. Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits, 1978)
Apparently the perfect song length to boil a hard boiled egg to (5:34).
2. Romeo and Juliet (Making Movies, 1980)
3. Brothers in Arms (Brothers in Arms, 1985)
4. Tunnel of Love (Making Movies, 1980)
5. Walk of Life (Brothers in Arms, 1985)
6. Money for Nothing (Brothers in Arms, 1985)
7. Why Worry? (Brothers in Arms, 1985)
8. Where Do You Think You’re Going? (Comminique, 1979)
9. Your Latest Trick (Brothers in Arms, 1985)
10. Telegraph Road (Love Over Gold, 1982)