Born on August 12: Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), accomplished guitarist and storyteller

Mark Freuder Knopfler was born in 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland. His fluid yet technical guitar playing became Dire Straits' trademark.

The son of a Jewish Hungarian architect who fled Nazism and an English teacher grew up in Newcastle. He developed a keen interest in music at a very early age. He played every vinyl record he could find. He gradually developed his passion by listening to blues, folk, and the first stirrings of rock. His early influences included Hank Marvin (The Shadows), Bob Dylan (whose album "Infidels" he produced in 1983), and Chet Atkins. "I never really wanted to be a rock star. I just wanted to be good at playing guitar and tell stories," he told Guitar World magazine in 2000. Since the mid-1980s, he has chosen to escape the constraints of Dire Straits' global success by writing music for small, but otherwise very touching, British films such as "Local Hero" (1983) and "Cal" (1984).

Before devoting himself to music full-time, Mark Knopfler worked as a journalist like Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) and Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), and also as a teacher like Sting. But his passion for the guitar never left him, and in 1977, he founded Dire Straits with his brother David. They may have dreamed of it, but they didn't know that the band would become one of the biggest names in rock in the 1980s.

From the self-titled debut album in 1978, "Sultans of Swing" and its legendary riff propelled the band to the forefront of the international scene. From the outset, Dire Straits focused entirely on the music. It was the polar opposite of the fading glam-rock as well as the extravagant trappings of the New Romantics. And just as much of punk, of course! With Dire Straits, it was all about the music, with real stories wrapped up in Mark's guitar.

The album "Brothers in Arms" (1985), with tracks like "Money For Nothing" (at the time of the explosion of the MTV music channel) and "Walk Of Life," became ambassadors of the Compact Disc, a new format particularly suited to the band's subtle arpeggios. "When we recorded "Brothers in Arms," I didn't think it would be such a tidal wave. I just wanted to make a good record," Mark Knopfler said with retrospective humility on the BBC in 2005.

But success comes at a price. Not attracted to the spotlight, the guitarist-singer begins to tire of the pressures of show business. "Fame isn't real life. Real life is writing a song alone in a room, or playing in a small club and feeling like you're touching someone," he confided to Rolling Stone in 2010.

In 1995, after selling over 120 million albums, Mark Knopfler turned to a more discreet solo career, already underway with his film scores. Proud of this newfound artistic freedom, he indulges in escapades to the roots of folk and country music. He now tells his stories like a modern troubadour. He also collaborates with numerous artists, from Emmylou Harris to Van Morrison. In 1990, he even recorded "Neck and Neck" with Chet Atkins, one of his childhood idols.

His solo albums, such as "Sailing to Philadelphia" (2000), "Shangri-La" (2004), and "Down the Road Wherever" (2018), confirm his talent as a storyteller and timeless melodist. He engages in a more intimate way by exploring themes such as memory and the passage of time. In 2024, he released "One Deep River," his tenth studio album, which is among his most personal to date. ..."I've always been drawn to stories. To me, each song is a bit like a short story."

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Mark Knopfler with Dire Staries on stage at Forest-National in Brussels (Belgium) on May 31, 1983