Dire Straits released Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms Dire Straits

Released: May 13, 1985 Peak: 19 US, 114 UK, 118 CN, 134 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 13.5 US, 4.15 UK, 32.6 world (includes US and UK), 47.64 EAS Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. So Far Away [5:12] Money for Nothing [8:25] Walk of Life [4:12] Your Latest Trick [6:33] Why Worry [8:30] Ride Across the River [6:58] The Man’s Too Strong [4:40] One World [3:40] Brothers in Arms [6:59] Total Running Time: 55:07 The Players: Mark Knopfler (vocals, guitar) John Illsley (bass, vocals) Alan Clark (keyboards) Guy Fletcher (keyboards, vocals) Omar Hakim, Terry Williams (drums)

Rating: 4.343 out of 5.00 (average of 33 ratings) Quotable: “The first album to sell one million copies in the CD format” – Wikipedia Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Taking Advantage of a New Medium “Dire Straits were fortunate enough to be the right band at the right time with the right product to benefit from a new music medium.” TBA “When the clamour of punk began to die down at the beginning of the eighties, ex-pub rockers Dire Straits emerged with a lucrative brand of laid-back rock tailor-made for the more mature end of the market and the fledging CD format.” PR At a time when most albums were still recorded on analog equipment, Arms was recorded digitally making it a “must-have record for serious audiophiles.” ZS It was “the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format and to outsell its LP version.” WK “Industry insiders suggested everyone who owned a CD player also owned a copy of this disc.” PR The one downside – due to limitations of the latter’s format, tracks had to be edited to fit. A Mix of Rock, Jazz, and Blues “Brothers in Arms brought the atmospheric, jazz-rock inclinations of Love Over Gold into a pop setting, resulting in a surprise international best-seller.” AM The album topped the charts in 25 countries. TBA One of the keys to their success “was that their music wasn’t too dynamic, nor demanding.” PR “It rocks – but not too much – and it doesn’t scream at you, so millions who would normally never buy a rock album bought it.” TBA “The whole album maintains the original Dire Straits’ bluesy and laid back guitar-based sound whilst retaining a more lavish and bombastic production and overall sound.” WK “Knopfler’s laid-back guitar licks looked back to Clapton, Rory Gallagher, and Martin Barre of Jethro Tull” PR and “his mid-Atlantic drawl reminded older fans of J.J. Cale, Springsteen, and Bob Dylan” PR positioning Knopfler as “an unpretentious Man Of The People.” TBA Hit Songs and Folk Rock What sent the album into the stratosphere was the band’s development on the first half of the record “of their unique brand of arena rock which had evolved in their music since the 1980 album Making Movies.” WK This is best exemplified by Knopfler’s “incisive songwriting and lush guitar riffs on Walk of Life and So Far Away,” 500 both of which were released as singles. “Dire Straits had never been so concise or pop-oriented, and it wore well on them.” AM Meanwhile “the second half consists of more folk-influenced material.” WK These “semi-acoustic folk-rock tracks…have an enduring and unassuming appeal.” PR The Lineup: Other than Mark Knopfler, the band’s only original member was bassist John Illsley. Mark’s brother David was the original rhythm guitarist and departed in 1980. Hal Lindes replaced him, but was either fired or quit at the beginning of sessions for Brothers in Arms. WK He was replaced in December 1984 by Jack Sonni, who contributed minimally to the album, not even being listed as a band member. Keyboards were handled by Alan Clark, who joined in 1980, as well as Guy Fletcher, who became a member in 1984. Original drummer Pick Withers left in 1982 and was replaced by Terry Williams. Williams was credited on Brothers in Arms, but jazz session drummer Omar Hakim came in to re-record drum parts after it was decided that Terry Williams’ style didn’t fit the goal of the album. WK Hakim had worked with Weather Report, David Sanborn, George Benson, and David Bowie (Let’s Dance, Tonight) and was also on Sting’s debut album, released just a few weeks later. He went on to work with Miles Davis, Mick Jagger (Primitive Cool), Sammy Hagar, Carole King, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey (1990’s Mariah Carey), Tracy Chapman, Lionel Richie, and Daft Punk (2013’s Random Access Memories). Conclusion “Brothers in Arms remains one of their most focused and accomplished albums, and in its succinct pop sense, it’s distinctive within their catalog.” AM It “perfectly evokes its period (great for flashbacks to Miami Vice) with a terrific mix of commercial pop…and musical exploration crafted in an atmosphere of power and mystery.” ZS The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

So Far Away Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: 4/8/85 (single), Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 4/20/85 Peak: 19 BB, 17 BA, 15 CB, 12 GR, 3 AC, 16 RR, 29 AR, 20 UK, 24 CN, 22 AU, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 215.50 streaming About the Song: “The approachably pretty” ‘So Far Away’” SER was a top 20 hit in both the U.S. and UK. It “is a catchy up-tempo boogie variation on ‘Sultans of Swing,’” AM that “was nearly left off the album, but was included after the band out-voted producer Neil Dorfsman.” WK

Money for Nothing Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler, Sting (see lyrics here) Released: 6/24/85 (single), Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 6/1/85 Peak: 13 BB, 14 CB, 13 GR, 13 RR, 13 AR, 4 UK, 11 CN, 4 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 1.2 UK, 3.96 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 5.0 radio, 515.61 video, 792.43 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Money for Nothing” was significant in reframing how Dire Straits were viewed as a band. Through four albums, they’d established themselves as a critics’ favorite, but they’d slipped a bit commercially since their debut album reached #2 in the U.S. and sold two million copies. With their fifth album, Brothers in Arms, the band became a commercial juggernaut. “Money for Nothing” was “the knockout punch” which “satirized MTV and rock stardom while getting high rotation MTV exposure.” TC With its “indelible guitar riff,” AM the “harmonic-popping distant relative of ‘Jumping Jack Flash’” TBA and “the album’s liveliest track” TBA was a #1 hit. The song “is proof that inspiration can strike anywhere.” SJ It owes its existence to an appliance store. Dire Straits’ frontman Mark Knopfler and his wife Lourdes were shopping for kitchen supplies. They overheard a delivery man commenting on the wall of television sets tuned to MTV. As Knopfler said, “I managed to eavesdrop for a couple of minutes, then I got a piece of paper and started writing down the lines.” TBS He wrote down lines like, “That ain’t workin’” and that these artists got “money for nothing and chicks for free.” WK Knopfler sat down at a table in the store to write down some of the actual comments. As he said, “I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used…It just went better with the song. It was more muscular.” FB One line about “that little faggot with the earring and the make-up” generated controversy. Knopfler commented on the attacks that the song was homophobic. “An editor of Gay News attacked the song. What surprises me is that an intelligent journalist can misunderstand it.” Knopfler also said, “The same thing happened when Randy Newman recorded ‘Short People,’ a song that was clearly about the stupidity of prejudice.” FB The video played up that idea, featuring computer-animated versions of two working-class guys commenting on music videos. It was considered groundbreaking for its early use of computer animation and won MTV’s Video of the Year award. The director, Steve Barron, also helmed A-ha’s “Take on Me,” another widely celebrated video for its innovative use of animation. “Money for Nothing” was the first video played on MTV Europe when the network launched on August 1, 1987. WK “Money for Nothing “is the only Dire Straits song on a studio album to not be solely credited to Mark Knopfler.” WK Sting got a reluctant credit on the song. Dire Straits was recording in Montserrat. The bassist, John Illsley, said Sting was there windsurfing “and he came up for supper at the studio. We played him ‘Money for Nothing’” and Mark suggested Sting add something to it. WK Sting contributed the classic “I want my MTV” lines, sung to the melody of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” by his band The Police. For that, Sting’s publishing company insisted he get a share of the profits from the song. Illsley relayed that “Sting said that it was completely ridiculous, but you know what record companies are like.” FB

Walk of Life Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: 10/14/85 (single), Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 6/1/85 Peak: 7 BB, 6 BA, 10 CB, 8 GR, 6 RR, 6 AR, 4 AC, 2 UK, 7 CN, 11 AU, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.8 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1047.73 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Walk of Life” is “a delightful, jaunty single with a touch of rockabilly.” TC It was written as a celebration of London buskers. DSB It reached the top ten in the U.S. and the UK; in fact, it was a bigger hit in the UK than “Money for Nothing.” It has also gone on to be the most streamed song from the Brothers in Arms album. The original video featured a busker, but the U.S. version of the video featured a sports bloopers montage, DSB causing reviewer Nick Deriso to wrongly call the song a “silly baseball-park ditty” SER and saying that it and “Money for Nothing” were “jokey songs.” SER

Your Latest Trick Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: 4/25/86 (single), Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 5/3/86 Peak: 26 UK, 6 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.20 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 185.78 streaming About the Song: “The jazzy Your Latest Trick” AM is also a standout.” AM Aft first, it “seems like a simpler song about love-gone wrong” SER but in the context of the album’s musings on war, it sounds more “like another swipe at political leaders with their own wartime agendas.” SER

Why Worry Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: Brothers in Arms (1985) Peak: 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 81.86 streaming About the Song: “The melodies of the bluesy ‘So Far Away’ and the down-tempo, Everly Brothers-style Why Worry were wistful and lovely.” AM

Ride Across the River Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 1/11/86 Peak: 21 AR, 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 27.62 streaming About the Song: “Ride Across the River is built on an off-beat rhythm. The song uses immersive Latin American rain forest imagery, accompanied by pan flute and eerie background noises, to allude to the elements of guerilla warfare.” WK

The Man’s Too Strong Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: Brothers in Arms (1985) Peak: 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 38.78 streaming About the Song: The Man’s Too Strong is “lyrically focused on the guerrilla wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua of the 1980s.” WK Between this song, “Ride Across the River,” and the title cut, Brothers in Arms becomes a somewhat thematical album making a commentary on war.

One World Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 8/24/85 Peak: 8 AR, 9 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 29.18 streaming

Brothers in Arms Dire Straits

Writer(s): Mark Knopfler Released: 10/18/85 (single), Brothers in Arms (1985) First Charted: 10/26/85 Peak: 16 UK, 57 AU, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.60 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 443.39 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The title of the album was inspired by a conversation in which Knopfler’s father remarked, ‘We shouldn’t be at war with our brothers in arms.’” WK The song is “an epic ode to solidarity, painted in both words and tone.” DT Knopfler wrote “Brothers in Arms” in 1982 during the Falklands War, a two-month conflict which claimed the lives of 258 soldiers. DSB The song is a “meditation on suffering – in battle and afterward.” SER It “is one of Knopfler’s greatest moments. Refusing to show off, he wrests from the Les Paul something magisterial. Rarely has the electric guitar possessed such dignity.” TBA

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 617. BC Brad Carl (2015). 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up. Pages 38-39. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Page 201. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 645. DSB DireStraitsBlog.com (6/24/2017). “10 things you never knew about Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms” PR Paul Roland (2001). CD Guide to Pop & Rock. B.T. Batsford LTD: London. 500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Brothers, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 153. SER SomethingElseReviews.com (5/13/2015). “Past the Big Hits, Dire Straits’ ‘Brothers in Arms’ Offered Moving Examination of War” by Nick Deriso SF Songfacts DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 151. TBA Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 228-9. TBS Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 218. WK Wikipedia page for Brothers in Arms WK Wikipedia page for “Money for Nothing” ZS Zagat Survey (2003). Music Guide: 1,000 Top Albums of All Time. Coordinator: Pat Blashill. Music Editor: Holly George-Warren. Editors: Betsy Andrews and Randi Gollin. Zagat Survey, LLC: New York, NY. Page 88. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/7/2008; last updated 7/19/2026.