Dire Straits

The British rock band whose stripped-down, blues-tinged guitar sound cut straight across the punk and synth-pop of its era and outsold nearly all of it. Formed in Deptford, south London, in 1977 by brothers Mark and David Knopfler with bassist John Illsley and drummer Pick Withers, Dire Straits arrived fully formed on their 1978 debut, carried by the talking-blues storytelling of "Sultans of Swing". Across six studio albums — Dire Straits, Communiqué, Making Movies, Love over Gold, Brothers in Arms, and On Every Street — Mark Knopfler's fingerpicked Stratocaster and unhurried, novelistic lyrics became one of the most recognizable signatures in rock.

Brothers in Arms (1985) turned them into one of the biggest bands in the world, powered by "Money for Nothing," their only American No. 1, and it became the first album to sell a million copies on compact disc — helping push the format itself into the mainstream. The band sold an estimated 100 to 120 million records worldwide and won four Grammy Awards before Knopfler wound the group down, splitting first in 1988, reuniting in 1990–91, and disbanding for good in 1995 as he turned to a solo career. Dire Straits were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.