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David Knopfler (born 27 December 1952) is a British musician. Together with his older brother Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, and Pick Withers, he founded the rock band Dire Straits in 1977, serving as rhythm guitarist on their first two albums. After quitting the band in 1980 during the recording of their third album, Knopfler embarked upon a solo career as a recording artist.
Knopfler played rhythm guitar beside his brother, who was the lead guitarist, lead vocalist and the main composer in the band. David Knopfler appeared on Dire Straits' first two albums: Dire Straits (1978) and Communiqué (1979). The stress of composing, arrangement songs, recording the then-requisite two albums and tours to support them took its toll on the brothers, and David left the band during the recording of their third album, Making Movies (1980), leaving him uncredited on the album.
Behind the Lines, his second album, was released in 1985 and his third solo album, Cut the Wire, followed in 1986. In 1988, the U.S. label Cypress Records released his fourth album, Lips Against the Steel.
Knopfler Sheet music the soundtracks for the films Shergar (1984) and Laser Mission (1989), and the German productions Treffer (1984), Jakob hinter der blauen Tür (1989) and The Great Bellheim.
Lifelines in 1991 released by Phonogram, was recorded in Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios. That album was followed in 1993 by The Giver, released by MESA/Bluemoon in the U.S., and Ariola Records in Europe. Its sparse, acoustic arrangements received positive reviews, as did 1995's Small Mercies, which Knopfler co-produced with Harry Bogdanovs, featuring Chris White on saxophone. In 2001, Knopfler worked with Bogdanovs again to co-produce the album Wishbones, which has guest appearances by Chris Rea and Eddi Reader. His ninth solo album, Ship of Dreams, which featured Chris Rea as guest guitarist, was released in 2004.
In May 2005, Knopfler published a book of poetry, Blood Stones and Rhythmic Beasts, which was released by the UK's BlackWing books ().
The Canadian jazz label Justin Time Records released Ship of Dreams in October 2005 with an alternate rendition of "Tears Fall" featuring Megan Slankard (replacing Julia Neigel on the original European release). Knopfler's tenth solo album Songs for the Siren was released in 2006. Songwriting projects with other artists have included sessions with Amilia Spicer, Mack Starks, Megan Slankard and Wendy Lands.
He played various acoustic and electric gigs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Turkey and Australia from 2007 to 2009 with Harry Bogdanovs and his band. The double CD Acoustic, containing unplugged renditions of new and old songs, was released in 2011.
Knopfler continued to tour in Spain, Germany, the UK, the United States and Canada in 2012 to 2015. The first-ever limited edition live album, Made in Germany (recorded in Erfurt, Germany during the 2012 tour with Bogdanovs), was released in April 2013 exclusively via CDBaby.com.
The album Last Train Leaving was released in 2020. Songs of Loss and Love was released in December 2020, with Shooting for the Moon (2021) and Skating on the Lake (2022). Crow Gifts was released in 2024.
Discography with Dire Straits
Solo discography
See also
External links
Categories: Knopfler.com Official Website, 1952 Births, Living People, 20th-century British Composers, 20th-century British Male Singers, 20th-century British Songwriters, 21st-century British Composers, 21st-century British Male Singers, 21st-century British Songwriters, Alumni Of The University Of The West Of England, Bristol, British Jazz Guitarists, British Jazz Singers, British Male Film Score Composers, British Male Guitarists, British Male Jazz Musicians, British Male Poets, British Multi-instrumentalists, British People Of Hungarian-jewish Descent, British Record Producers, British Rock Guitarists, British Rock Keyboardists, British Rock Singers, British Male Singer-songwriters, British Founders, Dire Straits Members, Musicians From Newcastle Upon Tyne, People Educated At Gosforth Academy, British Rhythm Guitarists, 21st-century Scottish Male Singers, Scottish People Of English Descent, Anglo-scots, Scottish Male Singer-songwriters, 20th-century Scottish Male Singers
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