Dear everyone,

Surprise, surprise! Just when you thought you were in for a long wait before you saw the band play live again, here's some good news: Dire Straits are headlining a charity concert this summer in London...

The date: Saturday June 11th. The place: Wembley Stadium.

This has all been arranged within the last six weeks, and the reason this newsletter is early, and has been sent first class mail, is because the official announcement of the concert is scheduled for March 16th, and I wanted you to get this at the same time.

Although the band wouldn't normally CHOOSE to play a venue the size of the Stadium, they felt they really wanted to do this one - it's a concert for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday, and is to raise money for the fight against apartheid, and to help children in Southern Africa. June 11th 1988 is also the 24th anniversary of the day Mandela was convicted. As you probably know, the group are totally opposed to the regime in South Africa, and we're hoping this concert will not only raise a lot of money, but will also draw attention to the appalling situation there.

Tickets for the show are £25.00 each. I know it's expensive, but the bulk of this goes to charity, and then there is the cost of putting on the show (hire of the Stadium alone is over £200,000.00!), plus VAT, PRS, etc. The concert starts at about midday, and there will be several major acts and guest artists appearing throughout the afternoon and evening. Apart from the Straits, Simple Minds, Whitney Houston and George Michael have already confirmed that they will be appearing. I can't tell you the other acts being considered at this stage because they are not 100% confirmed yet, but I think you'll find it's a pretty good bill! Dire Straits will be the last band on (apart from a finale) at about 8pm, and will play a set of approx. one hour.

We have made it a condition of the band's contract to appear at this show that Info. Service members may get their tickets through this office, and we have block-booked several thousand for you. You will find a booking form at the back of this newsletter. Please try and get your order in fairly soon, because obviously nearer the concert date I will have to return any tickets we have left so they can be sold to the general public (this will probably be early-May).

You may order AS MANY TICKETS AS YOU LIKE, for yourself and friends. In saying this, I am relying on you not to sell them for more than their face value. If it ever comes to our attention that any of you has done this, those concerned will automatically be taken off the mailing list. You would also cause a situation whereby I could not in future provide priority tickets through the Info. Service, so all members would suffer. Also, don't forget, it IS a charity gig!

We think we have block-booked more than enough tickets to let all Info. Service members receive their full ticket requirement (I've estimated the guantity from last year's D.S.I.S. Questionnaire "tickets" section:) so we are practically guaranteeing tickets for you. However, in the extremely unlikely event that we find we're rnnning out, people who have ordered very large quantities may have to accept a couple of tickets less than they asked for. I'm sure you'll realise how difficult it is to make an accurate estimate of the number needed... I'm not sure when we will receive our allocation here (the tickets haven't been printed yet) so please don't panic if a few weeks go by. I'll send them out as soon as I can.

As those of you who have attended Wembley Stadium shows before will know, all tickets are "general admission" tickets. In other words, there is no seat allocation there. When you arrive on the day of the show, you can select anywhere you like. It's standing on the pitch, and seating all around the sides, so make sure you get there early to get a good place.

Because there are houses very close to the Stadium, there will be a curfew set (a time by which the music MUST finish). It will probably be about 10pm, so there will be no problem for people getting public transport.

WHERE YOUR CHARITY MONEY WILL GO: 50% will go to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and the other 50% will be split between Oxfam, Christian Aid, War On Want, Save The Children, The Catholic Fund For Overseas Development, The International Defence And Aid Fund, and The Bishop Ambrose Reeves Trust.

The intention is that the concert be filmed and shown live on television in most countries in the world, but that's not absolutely definite. It may end up being shown at a later date in some or all countries. I will be able to give you fuller details in the May newsletter. Incidently, it is our intention to play whatever the weather (well, within reason... obviously if there's a hurricane or something, we won't be able to). Of course, if it does end up going out LIVE on TV, that means the TV companies will have reserved the air-time, so it's GOT to go ahead! We're just praying it doesn't bucket down with rain all day...

OTHER NEWS
Jack surprised us all at the beginning of February by announcing that he was marrying his Australian girlfriend Maria. The wedding was on February 14th (Valentine's Day) in Los Angeles, and they are expecting twins in July. (Twins are obviously in fashion at the moment!).

Then yesterday, Guy came into the office with his girlfriend Lori-Ann (Jack's cousin...) and they announced that they had just got engaged! Must be the time of the year or something!

Mark, Lourdes & their twins went to New York a couple of weeks back, after which Mark goes to L.A. to produce some tracks for Randy Newman's next LP. Guy, who will also be working on the album, is flying out to join them there. When that is finished (May) Mark MAY be writing the theme music for the British TV presentation of the Seoul Olympic Games, although this isn't confirmed yet - he may not have time to do it! Obviously the band are going to have to do some rehearsals during May for the Wembley concert -it's a long time since they played together! I don't know where rehearsals will take place yet - this is all being planned right now.

I know from your letters that a lot of you saw Mark at the Clapton shows in January and February - glad you enjoyed them so much. Since then, Mark has done quite a few things: On February 11th he went to Manchester to take part in a Granada TV documentary about his mate Steve Phillips. (Incidently, those of you who are interested in "little known facts about the band" should note that Steve's dad - a sculptor - was actually the inspiration for the Straits song "In The Gallery"!). Anyway, back to the point: Granada TV area fans will be able to see the documentary in mid-April (I think the 14th) and it is part of a series called "Celebration". There are no plans for it to be shown on the rest of the ITV network yet, but you never know... keep a lookout for it just in case the powers-that-be change their minds. Part of the documentary footage is of Mark, Steve and Brendan playing - filmed at The Band On The Wall club in Manchester.

The day after this, Mark and Brendan met up with Guy and Alan, and they all played at a small restaurant called "Le Papillon" in Corbridge (between Hexham and Newcastle). The restaurant owner is a friend of Mark and Alan. Mark then spent the next few days at Gleneagles in Scotland, taking part in a charity clay-pigeon shoot for racing-driver Jackie Stewart's JPS Team. Apparently he was surprisingly good for a beginner...

Grammy award nominations: Mark got a nomination in the category "Best Instrumental Score For A Motion Picture" for the "Princess Bride" soundtrack, and the band got a nomination in the category "Best Performance In A Music Video" for their part in the Prince's Trust videocassette. Unfortunately, neither won! Incidently, Willy deVille's theme song for "Princess Bride" ("Storybook Love" - which is also included on his own LP "Miracle") has been nominated for an OSCAR! Willy will be appearing live at the actual Academy Awards ceremony to sing it, on April 11th. This has one of the biggest TV audiences in the world, as it is televised either live or shortly afterwards in just about every country, so don't forget to watch.

Willy has spent the past week doing TV/radio/press promotion in Spain, UK, Ireland and Germany, so I'm trying to look after him at the same time as doing this newsletter, so if it seems a bit disjointed, it's because I keep having to break off to do other things!

Both Mark and Willy have nominations in the forthcoming New York Music Awards - Mark for "Best Producer", and Willy for "Best Record", "Best Male Vocalist" and "Best Songwriter" - all for the "Miracle" LP, so it's getting quite a bit of recognition. If you live in the UK, you'll be pleased to hear the album is now out (released February 29th). At last! The release date was delayed several times... It looks as if the "Princess Bride" film will open at the end of this month in the UK, so try and get to see it.

John's Album: Released in most countries on Phonogram/PolyGram on April 18th, with a single (track to be decided) on the same date. LP title is still "Glass". During April, John will be doing some radio/press promotion in the UK and some other European countries, and between now and then, he will be doing a video to go with the single.

Mark is currently working with Joan Armatrading on her next LP. You may have heard that a couple of weeks back, he appeared in a fund-raising concert at the Royal Albert Hall as part of Bill Wyman's All Star Band (also featuring Phil Collins, Chris Pea, Ian Dury, Eddy Grant, Terence Trent D'Arby, Ron Wood and Kenney Jones). The show was to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, and was filmed. Bill's company are intending to release the footage on videocassette, but I don't have any release date from them yet. (By the way, you will see Alan is a featured band member this month, along with Chris White).

To all those of you who asked: yes, thanks, I had a great holiday in Australia. Spent New Year's Eve on the beach at Melbourne, at a party to launch the start of Australia's bi-centenary year. Prime Minister Bob Hawke was also there so you can see I kept good company!!! I met up with John and Tracey in Sydney, and then travelled all up the east coast to Cairns before going across to Alice Springs and Perth. It was nice to see several Ozzie members of the Info. Service as I went around, and I'd like to say a special hello and thanks to Paul and Carmen in Brisbane, and to Stephanie at Sarina Beach, for looking after me so well! I can't wait to go back again, but unfortunately I'll have to, because I haven't got any money left now!

A FEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which band members smoke? Mark, Terry and Guy.

Which band members drink alcohol? All of them. Before Jack joined the band, he had given up drinking, but he started again when "Money For Nothing" went to No. 1 in the USA (the group's first No. 1 single there) and the champagne started flowing...

When you answer letters personally, you use "Damage Management" paper - what has the car logo got to do with Damage? Nothing really! The car at the top is supposed to represent Elvis's pink cadillac, and the crashed car at the bottom is the "damage" bit... Our old notepaper, which some of you may remember, was fluorescent pink, but we changed it when we moved to these offices (thank goodness - it gave me a headache just looking at it...)

When did you first start working for the band and what did you think of them at first? I started about nine and a half years ago (I think - lost count!) when Damage was a very small concern. I liked all of the band from the word go - they seemed very down-to-earth and friendly after some of the artists I'd worked for in the past. So many of you have written in asking about getting a job in the music business, and how I got started etc., I'm trying to compile some notes. I'd have probably had it done for this newsletter except that I've had to speed things up because of the concert. When I've finished it, I'll let you know in a future letter, then those of you who are interested can send me an s.a.e. for the notes - they may be of some use if you're thinking of working in this business.

How many "Money For Nothing" shaped picture discs were there? 7,500.

Have you got any calendars or t-shirts left? Yes, but not that many. If you want a calendar, they're £5.00, and available to UK fans only. Cheques/postal orders should be made payable to "Dire Straits Information Service". Mark your envelope "CALENDAR", and don' t forget to include your own name and address! I will send out all I have left, and once stocks have run out, you will simply get your cheques back. T-shirts are also £5.00, and again, cheques/postal orders should be made payable to "Dire Straits Information Service ". Mark your envelope "T-SHIRTS", and let me know the size you want (S, M, L or XL), and your name and address. Again, if we run out, you will simply get your cheques back.

You can also still get a list of Mark's guitars, a plan and list of Terry's drums, the "Communique" lyrics, and the "Twisting By The Pool" EP lyrics. All you have to do is send me a stamped addressed envelope, and let me know which you want - GUITARS, DRUMS, LYRICS 1 or LYRICS 2.

We don't have any photo-sets at this time, but I'm hoping to get a new set together for later in the year, so will let you know (probably after the June concert).

When ordering the above stuff, don't forget I will be dealing with ticket bookings for the show first, so if you have a bit of a wait before you get your goods, don't ring me up and yell at me!

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Those of you who are still waiting for replies to letters you have sent in in the past couple of months - don't despair. There were so many letters here when I got back from Australia, I still haven't finished answering them yet, I have about 120 left to do. I will get round to it as soon as possible If you have sent in a penpal request or a "for sale/wanted" request and it is not in this newsletter, it WILL be in the next one. I'm rather pushed for space in this particular newsletter, since if I add any more pages, it will be overweight postage-wise for all overseas destinations!

Next newsletter (May) will probably also be early, so you receive any additional details of the Wembley show in plenty of time.

Best wishes for now,

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PS. "Storybook Love" single (7", 12" and CD-single) released March 14th. Film featured on FILM 88 (BBC) March 15th (I think!).

FANS IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES AND N.IRELAND WILL FIND ENCLOSED POSTCARD OF BAND.