Mark Knopfler has more than earned his title as one of Rolling Stone‘s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”
His distinct voice, clever lyrics and insanely fast guitar work have kept his fans dancing to old tunes and eating up the new ones for decades. In 2009, he played live at the Hurlington Club in London, performing for an intimate audience and recording his set. The capacity of that venue is only about 1200 at most!
We can all agree that not all musicians sound good live.
But a talented guitarist like Mark Knopfler certainly does. Many would say he sounds even better.
He uses his time on stage to talk about his love for music, and how specific songs can affect people.
He always tries to play his songs exactly as he recorded them, and he explains why:
“They’re landmarks for people. The songs are milestones for people in their lives. And they use them to live with.”
Truer words have never been spoken! The magic and importance of a good song cannot be compared.
They can spark memories from years or decades before.
It can bring you right back to that place you were in time, when you heard the song for the first time, or maybe when you were sharing a moment with someone significant to you.
The crowd roars with agreement. And then without missing a beat, Knopfler starts plucking the strings to one of his most famous songs: “Sultans of Swing.”
Technically, I should say one of their most famous songs, as it actually belongs on a Dire Straits album.
But the band famously broke up in the ’80s, at the peak of their rise to fame.
The breakup was devastating to a lot of music lovers, but at least he and his brother are still putting out their own solo stuff! And audiences still get to hear their favorite Dire Straits tunes live on occasions like these.
If you thought the crowd was excited before, you should hear them now.
This is the moment they’ve been waiting for!
Even just the first few notes make you want to get up and start dancing. He makes it look easy, strumming away like he could do it in his sleep.
He’s not even looking at the guitar!
Earlier in his set, he talks about how the guitar is a difficult instrument to play:
“The thing about the guitar is, it’s a hard instrument. You have to make your fingers go where they don’t really want to go.”
But I can’t imagine he remembers what it’s like to learn or struggle with the guitar.
Did he ever struggle? Or was he born able to riff like this? I assume it’s the latter.
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He loves performing, but offstage he hates to be the center of attention. In an interview with Anthony Mason of CBS, he once said:
“I can’t think of anything good about fame, can you?”
But Knopfler trades his discomfort with being famous for his love of music.
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So maybe if you ever see him on the street… don’t run up to ask for an autograph!
Give the man some peace and quiet.
When he gets to his iconic solo, filled with unreasonably high-speed plucking, the audience cheers him along.
Seriously, how does he do that?
Click the video below to see his incredible performance for yourself.
But first, move some furniture out of the way to give yourself lots of dancing room!
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