Dear everyone,

The June shows seem a long time ago now, don´t they? Anyway, i´m glad those of you who went to Hammersmith or Wembley, or watched the Mandela show on TV, enjoyed it, and thanks for all your letters - seems like you only had one complaint - that the shows were too short! All of your letters about the concerts were passed on to Mark so he could get some audience feedback. It was nice for me to meet so many of you at Hammersmith and I´m glad those of you who waited around afterwards managed to meet various band members and get autographs, photos, etc.

Unfortunately we did have a problem with touts asking ridiculous sums of money for Hammersmith tickets. Quite a number of people phoned the office the week before the shows to say the had queued up for hours to buy some of the few tickets the Odeon were selling direct, but had been unable to get any because there were so many touts in the queue ahead of them. Most of them joined the Info. Service on the spot so they could get tickets from us! Also, advertisements like the one on the right started appearing in the papers before the show, so I think a few people decided to make a quick profit, and miss the show… Anyway, we did have a number of plain clothes police outside the Odeon, plus we held back a few tickets each night for sale on the door, so the problem wasn´t as bad as it might have been.

The special t-shirts proved so popular they completely sold out on the second night (including even the display ones!) but we have had some extra ones made up for those of you who were too late, or couldn´t attend the shows. There´s an order form further on this newsletter. Hope you like your t-shirts baggy, as they 're all one size - huge! All proceeds from the sale of these will go to the various charities which received the money from the Nelson Mandela concert, i.e. The Anti-Apartheid Movement, 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.

Also later in this newsletter is an order from for a set of live colour photographs of the band, all of which were taken at Hammersmith Odeon (20 photos in all). Some were taken by photographer Edward Poore, and some by Douglas Forrest (the artist we featured in one of last year´s newsletter). Inevitably, Mark, John and Eric Clapton are featured most as it´s much more difficult to get shots of the other guys, but the set does contain some of Alan, Guy and Chris. Terry unfortunately isn´t featured since he is always hidden behind that vast drumkit. If you want to order a set, PLEASE try and do so before about September 23rd, so I have some idea how many sets I need to get printed –it´s much easier for me if I can get all done at once!

Ok, on with the rest of the news. By the time you read this, Guy will be married! He and Lauri-Ann were married on August 13th at a tiny village in Devon, where Guy´s parents live. They were both hoping there would be no publicity before the wedding, so it was kept a closely guarded secret. However, somehow the local paper there managed to find out, and carried a highly inaccurate front-page story the week before, in which Lauri-Ann was called Lois and was described as an American actress! It also said there would be “a galaxy of pop and rock stars” in attendance, plus “other members of Dire Straits including Mark Knopfler and Hal Lindes”. Mark did indeed attend, as did Alan (who was best-man) but the press and the onlookers who turned up on the day expecting a star-studded turn-out would have been disappointed, as nobody else famous was there! Luckily the day didn’t turninto a circus –it was quiet, mainly family affair –just how Guy and Lauri-Ann wanted it.

Jack, meanwhile, is getting usd to being a dad. As you will probably have heard Mark announce at the Mandela concert, Jack and his wife Maria now have twin daughters, born just before the shows (June 1st). They are called Caitlin and Nadine, and are doing fine. The Sonni family have just moved from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, and Jack is currently working for a guitar company, dealing in research into new amplifiers, etc.

John is also about to become a dad, for the second time. His girlfriend Tracey is due to have her baby in a few weeks time (as far as we know, it´s ONE baby –not more twins…)

Now to the question I am asked ALL the time: when is the band going to do more gigs/club dates? I know Mark indicated that they might do some during the summer –he said on stage at Hammersmith one night. However, this was a “spur of the moment” announcement, and so far it has been impossible for them to do any shows.

Apart from anything else, Alan was in Hawaii on holiday, Terry has been in the USA touring with Paul Carrack (support to Belinda Carlisle), and John has been all over the place doing promotion for the “Glass” album. Mark himself has, in fact, played a couple of times in London since the June shows, once at the Brixton Academy with a group called The Bhundu Boys, and once at The Mean Fiddler with Brendan Crocker –both were very last-minute appearances.

Alan, Terry and John are all back in the UK now, but in a couple of days, Mark and Alan fly to Dallas to start rehearsals with Eric Clapton´s band. They are both in his group for the forth coming US tour, and for those of you in the US who would like to get to one of the shows, here are the dates:

September 1st: Starplex Amphitheatre, Dallas, 2: Lakefront Arena, New Orleáns, 4: Civic Arena, Pittsburg, 6: Meadowlands Arena, Rutherford, 7: Spectrum, Philadelphia, 8: Capitol Centre, Largo, 10: Civic Centre, Hartford, 11: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, 13 & 14: Great Woods, Boston, 16: Palace, Detroit, 17: Alpine Valley, Milwaukee, 19: Fiddlers Green, Denver, 21: Shoreline Amphitheatre, San Francisco, 22: Arco Arena, Sacramento, 23: irving Meadows, Laguna Hills, 26: Coliseum, Pórtland, 27: The Dome, Tacoma, 28: PNE Coliseum, Vacouver, 30: Olympic Saddledone, Calgary, October 1st: Saskatchewan Place, Saskatoon, 3: The Arena, Winnipeg, 4: Met Centre, Minneapolis, 6: Forum, Montreal, 7: Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, 8: Copps Coliseum, Hamilton.

Terry Williams is also heading for the US, just a few days after Alan and Mark. He´s working on the forthcoming Dave Edmunds album in New York from August 24th until September 6th, and then there´s an album with Dion to do (also in New York) until the middle of October.

So… as you can see, there can be no Dire Straits gigs in the foreseeable future. Sorry! I wish I DID have some news for you, but there you go –nothing I can do about it… it seems that none of the guys have anything set for the end of the year though, so we´ll have to see what happens then.

On or about October 25th, a Dire Straits compilation album will be released worldwide (title: Money for Nothing). This will feature the following tracks: “Sultans of Swing”, “Down to the Waterline”, “Portobello Belle” (live from Paris 1983), “Twisting by the pool”, “Romeo & Juliet”, “Where do you think you are going”, “Walk of life”, “Private Investigations”, “Money for Nothing”, “Tunnel of love” and “Brothers in Arms”. “Telegraph Road” will be on the cassette and compact disc versions, but doesn’t fit on the LP version.

Most of you will of course have all these tracks except for the live version of “Portobello Belle” and possibly “Twisting by the pool”, but the record company are, under the terms of their contract with the band, allowed to release one “Greatest Hits” –type record during the period of the contract, and now is the time they have chosen, presumably because there is no other Dire Straits product out at the moment for it to clash with.

Now for some of your questions:

Was the Ben E. King album which Mark worked on ever released? Yes, it´s called “Save the Last Dance for me” (EMI-Manhattan/Capitol). Mark and Guy are on a couple of tracks including the title track, and other musicians featured include John Paul Jones, Jimmy Helms and Ruby Turner.

Where can I get information about David Knopfler? Trish Hillis, who is actually on the D.S.I.S. mailing list, has just started the O.D.K.I.S. (Official David Knopfler Information Service) with David´s approval. So you can write to her at 18 Church Street, Swadlincote, Burton on Trent, DE11 8LE, UK, and she´ll be able to answer your questions. Please note: the service is to promote David´s work and will no be dealing with any aspect of his personal life.

When is Randy Newman album Mark worked on coming out? Scheduled worldwide release date is September 11th, on the Warner/Reprise label. Title: Land of Dreams. Mark produced about seven tracks, and also played on the record (as did Guy).

Can i still order portraits of the band from Douglas Forrest (as featured in one of the 1987 newsletters)? Yes, although, I know Doug has a full time job now, so is very busy. You should note he has moved –his new address is Flat 1, Graham Lodge, Cephas Street, Whitechapel, London E1.

Did Mark race at Silverstone this year? No, but Guy did (his first race!) and he came 2nd in the Celebrity race.

Will there be a Dire Straits 1989 calendar? We have not done one ourselves, and although there is an unofficial coming out (like there was for 1988) we won´t be selling them through this office this time, mainly because we don´t like the pictures… However, if you want one, it is published by Cultureshock in London, and will be sold in various high street stores in the UK later this year.

When are you going to run another competition? NOW! And here´s the question: At the Nelson Mandela concert in June, Dire Stratis were joined by Eric Clapton, and one of the songs they did was Eric´s “Wonderful Tonight”. Which three musicians played a/drums, b/bass, and c/keyboards on the original studio version of this song? Answers on POSTCARDS only please –send to COMPETITION, D.S.I.S., 10 SOUTHWICK MEWS, LONDON W2 1JG, UK, and don´t forget to put your own name and address on too. Please try and get your cards here by October 1st. first correct card out of the box after that date will win a gold disc. There will be many runner-up prizes, including 25 copies of the forthcoming “Greatest Hits” album, John Illsley “Glass” albums, and signed photos of Mark.

Can you list any obtainable Brendan Croker albums? Brendan´s had two albums out in the past: the first was called “A close shave”, released on the independent label “Unamerican Activities”, and the second was called “Boat Trips in the Bay”, released on another independent label “Red Rhino”. As far as Brendan knows, neither have been deleted, so you should be able to order them if you can´t find them in the shops.

I´m sure a lot of you are wondering where Mark´s questionnaire is –you may recall it was supposed to be in this newsletter. Well, I´m afraid he hasn´t done it yet. He has the questions at home, but in the last few weeks, he´s been remixing at Air Studios for the Greatest Hits album practically every day. In addition, he has posed for Madame Tussauds, who are currently making a waxwork of him to be featured in a rock´n roll exhibition next summer at the London Pavillion, Picadilly Circus (more about that nearer the time), and before that he was working on the recently released Joan Armatrading album “The shouting Stage” (A&M). so… i´m afraid you´ll have to wait…

I will get Jack to do the one for the October newsletter, because Mark will not have time to do it between now and then as he will be on the road with Eric Clapton. I´ll try Mark again for the December newsletter.

That´s about it for now,

Best wishes,

P.S. lots of you have asked which one I was at Hammersmith Odeon in June… well, I´m fairly tall, fairly thin, and with longish wavy blonde hair. The first night I was wearing faded tatty jeans and a t-shirt, and the second night I was wearing a black mini-skirt and green cut-off top, if that gives you any clues. For those of you who DID recognise me, and have asked who the tall blonde girl with me was (mostly GUYS who asked, of course!!!) –that was Anna-Brit, and you can forget any ideas you may have because she lives with Pat Cash!

PPS- if you happen to see a black Mini Special, registration number EAD 170 Y, with tinted windows and sunroof, please, let me know –it´s my car and I´ve had it stolen…