Dear everyone,

Yes, I know the newsletter is late AGAIN! In retrospect, the end of May was not a very sensible time to plan on doing one, because from the middle of May until this week, i´ve been unable to do anything at all part from work on the UK shows. Anyway, now that the biggest show of the tour (Wobburn Abbey) is over, I am doing the newsletter straight away before getting down to the task of answering the massive backlog of mail, enrolling the new fans, and doing the UK ticket accounts (my biggest nightmare!).

I hope all of you in Europe and the UK have enjoyed the past few months of concerts. Judging from the mail we´ve been getting in, nearly everyone thinks the shows are 100 percent better that the ones at the beginning of the tour. As usual the European audiences did the band proud, especially at the Spanish shows, so muchas gracias to all of you over there for making them something special. On a personal note, i´d like to say a special thanks to DSIS members Cesar and Ignacio, who took me on a quick guided tour of Barcelona –see you again in October!

Glad to see at least some of you got up and danced about at Earls Court –it was very noticeable that the Friday and Saturday nights were by far the most lively and we can only assume it was because those were the nights that had the largest DSIS contingent in attendance. Gateshead we thought was pretty quiet for a “home town” show, although it was a baking hot day.. Ipswich by contrast was perishing cold –it really is hard to predict the weather in this country. The day before Woburn, we were fearing the worst since it was like a monsoon and we had visions of thousands of people standing in a field in Berdfordshire getting soaked to the skin, and thousands of cars stuck in the mud at the end. However, someone Up There must like the band, because when Saturday arrived, the sun arrived with it, and the whole day was perfect. The general concensus of opinion here is that it is one of the most enjoyable shows the band have ever done: 60.000 plus in the audience, and even those with reserved seats didn’t sit in them –everyone danced! The concert went out live on BBC Radio 1, something I intended to tell you in advance in the May newsletter, but my other job (Box Office/guest list organiser) took precedence. Hope some of you managed to record it anyway and maybe others will be able to get hold of copies via “Buy/Sell/Exchange”. The journey to and from Woburn from the south was a bit of a pain because of the roadworks on the M1, so sorry if it took you forever to get there an dback again –we can arrange most things here, but the timing of re-surfacing Britain´s motorways unfortunately isn´t one of them… if it´s any consolations, the band and all the rest of us got stuck too! I left Woburn at about 1:30 am. And was so knackered I had to pull off the motorway at the Services, where I promptly fell asleep in the car. Woke up in a pitch dark car park at 4am. Wondering where on earth I was…

So what is happening next? Well, basically from now to October, the band are touring all over Europe, and the plan is for the tour to finish mid-October now. Everyone is very tired, and can´t face the prospect of continuing into 1993. overleaf you will find a list of the remaining shows: I know some of these have been listed previously, but there have been one or two minor changes and people are constantly ringing to ask about concerts in various countries, so I thought I would put the complete list in this letter so you can make your plans. I have also listed the relevant telephone numbers for each country so you can phone for further information.

Fans from the UK who are intending to go to any of the European shows should send me a note detailing the date and show they wish to attend –we will see what we can do –but can´t guarantee to sort you all out, it depends on the demand. Only this week I have taken at least 20 calls from fans who attended Woburn and now want to go to an European show! When sending in , please clearly mark the outside of your envelope “EUROPE”. Just so you know, we will probably charge you a flat fee of 20 pounds cash per European ticket. It´s too complicated for us to start converting all the European currencies exactly. Don´t send any money yet though.

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

Anyone in the Wolverhampton areal of the UK may be interested to know that there is an exhibition of Thunderbirds memorabilia at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street, which runs from now until August 29th. Part of the exhibition will include the original Dire Straits marionettes from the “Calling Elvis” video. Further information can be obtained from Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council (Leisure Services Department): Tel: 0902 312 03 12. Also included in the exhibition are original models and puppets from the Thunderbirds TV series, some of which are owned by DSIS member Philip Rae, who was also involved in the making for the “Calling Elvis” video.

SINGLE NEWS

In the UK “The Bug” has been released as a single (I think in France and a couple of other countries too). The B-side features “Twisting by the pool”. (See the “souvenir passes section” of this letter –you might get a free copy!).

DUTCH DIRE STRAITS DAY

Fans in Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany etc.. will have received a special interim note from me in May about the “Dutch Dire Straits Day” which took place on May 28th )just before the band´s four shows at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam). This was organised by five DSIS members: Bert Wijts, Marijn Schoo, Henk Broekmuelen, Martijn de Looze and Jan v Brakel, who held the party in the Discotheek Lunenburg in Loosbroek. DSIS and Philips supplied them with posters and various merchandise, and there were showings of various DS concerts on video. They got the band a big cake which they delivered to the Stadium (many thanks of behalf of the band) –hope all of you who attended had a great time.

BACKSTAGE PASSES

Not entirely surprisingly, when the band are on tour, I get a constant stream of phone calls from DSIS members (and non-members too) asking for backstage passes. This is just a note to those who have asked and been refused: EVERYONE thinks they deserve a pass more than the next person, and we cannot in all fairness hand passes out to some and not to others. Were we to give passes to everyone who asked, we would end up in a situation where several hundred extra people per night were backstage. There is nothing particularly spectacular about a backstage area –it´s usually full of trucks and equipment with a number of makeshift offices full of phones, fax machines and photocopiers, and people running from one place to another with “walkie-talkies” trying to sort thigs out. We have more that 150 working personnel on this tour, and it is primarily a WORKING area, not one big party. At certain shows where the band have many guests, we do have a room set aside for “hospitality” (commonly known as “hostility”!) where they can relax informally with people they know, and it is just impossible for us to have fans there too. Most fans are quite understanding when I explain the situation to them. Unfortunately, however, we have had several instances on this tour when people have got extremely stroppy when we expñain why we cannot give out passes at random, but only on a “lucky dip” basis. We also had a few problems with a couple of overseas fans who HAD been allocated pases at Earls Court and who ignored requests that they shouldn´t hassle band members for autographs and/or photos backstage. For this reason, i´m afraid we will not be able to issue any more to anyone. Very sorry, but it´s a case of the minority spoiling it for everyone else.

SOUVENIR PASSES

In the meantime, we have collected up a number of used backstage passes/car passes/party invites from the various shows on the world tour so far. There are not enough for everyone to have one (I think we have amassed about 300 of them) so if you would like one as a souvenir, here is what to do:

Send in an envelope, containing a card with your name and address on it, plus one of the following:
UK Fans 1 pound coin (enclosed in tissue or cardboard)
US Fans 1 dollar bill
Fans elsewhere 4 x international reply coupons
All cards will be put in a box and on July 31st the first 300 cards out of the box will get the passes. All monies will go to the Terrence Higgins Trust. Please note: do not send cheques or postal orders –it´s too time consuming for either us or the charity to process so many cheques for such small amounts!
**the first 10 out of the box will also get a free copy of “the Bug” 7” single.

Was not was will be supporting the band at all shows up to Helsinki. From Vigo to Bilbao the support band will be Cañizares, a three-piece acoustic flamenco act. And from Bordeaux to the end of the tour, the Blues Band will take over as second on the bill.

The second Nimes show (September 29th) is probably going to go out live on television in France and Italy and a couple of weeks later in Spain. It may well be shown in other countries later. I will find out more during the next few weeks, so all the info will be in the August newsletter.

DIRE STRAITS CONCERT LIVE ON TV

The second of the shows in Basel , Switzerland, on Sunday 28th June, is being shown live on Sky TV. I realise that by the time this newsletter gets to you, it will have already taken place. However, people with Sky can´t fail to have known it was on, because it was trailed so extensively in the preceding weeks! Of course, not everyone has Sky, but perhaps those of you who have could record it, and you could then give others fans the chance to see the video via our “Buy/Sell/Exchange” column. I´d do it myself, but I have only just got over the thrill of getting a Teletext TV with remote control. Having Sky as well would just be too much excitement to handle…

LIVE ALBUM VIDEO

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, we are definitely planning to issue a live album from the “On Every Street” tour. This is currently scheduled for March/April 1993 release, and yes, we are intending to release a video to go with it. We´ve already recorded shows in Paris, Rotterdam and Nimes and the Nimes shows were filmed too although it bucketed with rain throughout. We´ll probably record and film a few more on the next European section too, and then simply pick the best for the album. There are also plans in the pipeline for a compilation of most or all of the band´s videos from the very early days right up to “Calling Elvis”, “Heavy Fuel” and “The Bug”, also to be released next year. Some of these are somewhat less than artistic masterpieces, but nevertheless, we thought collectors would appreciate having them!

SET LIST

Lots of you have written in asking for a set list from the recent shows: it did change a little form night to night, but here´s the basic list:
CALLING ELVIS
WALK OF LIFE
HEAVY FUEL
ROMEO & JULIET
THE BUG
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS
SULTANS
Then any two of the following:
IRON HAND
WHEN IT COMES TO YOU
LOVE YOU TOO MUCH
YOUR LATEST TRICK
ON EVERY STREET

TWO YOUNG LOVERS

Then one of the following:
TUNNEL OF LOVE
TELEGRAPH ROAD

MONEY FOR NOTHING
BROTHERS IN ARMS

Then optional songs:
SOLID ROCK
THEME FROM LOCAL HERO INSTRUMENTAL

By the way, I have had a few letters asking if the two children in purple baseball jackets I was with the first night at Earls Court were Mark´s twin boys, and if I could put a photo of them in the newsletter. Well, the answer is yes, they were Benji and Joseph, but unfortunately for security purposes I can´t put a photo of them in the newsletter.

UK TICKETS

I´ve also had a number of requests from overseas fans who wanted to see what the UK concert tickets looked like, so i´ve photocopied a couple of them, although a black and white photocopy doesn´t really do them justice (see later in this newsletter). Anyone who has the complete set (for every UK gig on the June 1992 section) has now got a collector´s item –especially if they are in mint condition and are framed…

EARTHQUAKE IN BARCELONA

An amusing little anecdote for you: apparently Spanish police received several calls on the evening of 8th May from residents in the Barcelona area who thought they were experiencing an earthquake. Turned out to be the reverberations of Dire Straits show at The Bullring!

LONG WAY TO GO TO A SHOW

I think the award for travelling to a Dire Straits show must surely go to DSIS member Mark Wolverton –who did a five-hour bus journey from Iowa City to Chicago, and then got an 18 hours overnight coach from there to the show in Philadelphia. That´s over 1.000 miles. Anyone beat that?

A TYPICAL DAY

Another thing i´ve been asked quite a bit in the last few weeks is “what is a typical day for you?” so I thought i´d answer that one via the newsletter rather than do lots of individual answers. First thing to note is that there IS NO typical day, but I picked a day (June 5th) and noted down what I did.

07:30am Process guest-ticket orders that came in yesterday. Allocate car park passes for next three nights at Earls Court. Print up more backstage passes (run out).
10am Go to office. Start logging all tickets sent out in the past two days (Block/Row/Seats). Tea
11am have received approximately 50 phone calls relating to tickets already. Am not taking any calls that relate to anything else. Tea
12:00noon spend an hour sorting out duplicate tickets for people who have lost them, changing tickets for guests who have switched nights, and altering all the logging I have just done… have an argument about the budget for the backstage hospitality area at Earls Court, because I don´t think they are giving value for money re food/drink etc. Someone who is a friend of a friend of someone who used to know one of the road-crew wants tickets for Barcelona in October. She can wait. Tea
12:30pm try an sort out the charity tickets for tonight (for Terrence Higgins Trust, Body Positive Aids Drop-in Centre, and Charing Cross Hospital. Ed (the group´s manager) now has no staff in the office to do any dictation or faxes –I have commandeered everyone to work in the Box Office! Tea
1pm am trying to get ahead here –working on the organisation of a crechet Woburn Abbey for band/crew children. The quote I too high, trying to get it reduced. Tea
1:30pm by now all 12 phone lines in to the office are almost permanently lit. we have more orders than we have tickets here, and also can´t get them to people in time, so make arrangements for tickets to be collected on the Guest Box Office. Have lost count of the number of times i´ve said “it´s a Portacabin on the forecourt of the venue, next to the Philips tour bus, opposite Earls Court tube”. Tea
2pm there´s a sudden panic about car park passes at Earls court.the merchandiser doesn´t have one, and needs one for the driver that is collecting the takings at the end of the evening. Mad scramble trying to get a pass back off someone i´ve just biked one to, so I can supply it to him instead. Have to phone Ed´s girlfriend and get her to come in and help out at the office. Tea
3pm the phones just won´t stop ringing. Someone wants his guitar signed, a journalist wants an interview, two photographers claim to need photo passes but they both appear to be from the same publicatiosn. The person who is a friend of a friend of someone who used to know one of the road crew rings again. She´s changed her mind. Wants to go to Madrid now. She can still wait. Tea
3:30pm rush over the road, get lunch and eat it at desk. Someone who was in a wheelchair and has tickets for the disable platform has now got better and is no longer in a wheelchair. He is ringing to see if he can still sit at the platform, or should he go somewhere else? I have no other tickets left now, so say he should go on the platform, and ask for me if there´s a problem. Tea
4:15pm sudden panic. Realise that I have to fax through tonight´s guest list. By 4pm.!! I´m now supposed to be at Earls Court. Last minute ticket requests still coming in –am telling everyone the guest list is closed at this stage. The bank rings –someone ´s cheque has bounced, ring him and tell him if he doesn´t bring cash with him to box office, the tickets won´t be handed over. Tea. Load car up with various items that have been delivered to office but which are required at venue –odd bits of metal and plastic that i´m told are very very important.
5pm having driven like a maniac (well, as fast as possible bearing in mind the traffic) arrive at Earls Court. The Production Office backstage is as bad as the Damage Management Ofice –all the phones are ringing. Walk from the back of the venue to the forecourt to check that all faxes have been received and all tickets that are supposed to be on the Guest Box Office are in fact there. Walk back again. Someone hands me some tickets for the Guest Box Office…do the walk out front again…
5:30 have done The Walk about 15 times by now, and feel as if i´ve done the London Marathon. Things were much easier in the old days, the venues were smaller… Reserve some seats in a box for Mark´s guests. Go and see the hospitality organisers to make sure they have plenty of food and drink for tonight as we have twice the number of after-show guests tonight. They assure me they have plenty. Reserve some tables for VIPs-
6pm try and locate various people in the audience who I need to speak to. None of them are in their seats. Back in the production Office, some of the band have tickets in their hands –these are for their guests but no-one know where the guests are collecting them from. Another trip to the Guest Box Office… Two people who should have had tickets left by Was not Was don´t appear to have nay. Try and locate any member of Was not Was or staff on walkie-talkie. They do not have their walkie-talkie switched on. Wander aimlessly about venue trying to locate someone to sort it out.
7pm try and find people in their seats again. Some of them are there by now, but can´t hear me as Was not was are on. Pull various people out of their seats and hold the conversations in the main concourse.
8:15pm receive fax in production office about hospitality facilities at Gateshead and Woburn, Can´t concentrate on it now, will do it over the weekend, but at first glance it looks like it´s going to cost an extortionate amount of money. Will prepare for another argument, I think.
8:30pm just trying to locate my own guests when the building is plunged into darkness as the band come on. Can´t find their seats so give up, and after watching the first two songs, go and get a meal in band catering. While the band are on, I can catch up on some paperwork in the production office, collect the fanmail that has arrived at the venue, and discusse tomorrow and Sunday´s guest-list with Tony Wigens (the band´s tour manager)
10:40pm lead all guests with after-show passes to the hospitality area. Some bods have plonked themselves at the “reserved” tables, so get them moved. They are not amused.
11:15pm in spite of what went on earlier, the caterers have run out of hot food, and don´t have enough drink. They have obviously under-estimated the appetites of the guests. They are told they´d better get it right by tomorrow night. Can´t be too rude though, or i´ll be cooking it myself…
midnight collect a pile of stuff from Philips which hast go to the office. Drive home. Check through tomorrow´s “things to do” and fall asleep on sofa whilst reading it…
3am wake up. Tea. Go to bed…