As a rock group Dire Straits had been building their audience, both in the UK and around the world for years by the time they achieved their first British No.1 album in the autumn of 1982 with Love Over Gold.
Within two weeks on 14 October that year, it had them back on the US chart, and straight into the top 40 at that. The LP’s No. 38 was second only to Billy Joel’s No. 29 debut with The Nylon Curtain.
The album was recorded at the Power Station in New York and at the time Mark reach new levels of sophistication in the way of his songwriting skills. Mark showed it immediately on the album’s first single opening track – the 14-minute long “Telegraph Road”.
Indeed, Love Over Gold contained only five tracks, the shortest of which, “Industrial Disease” came in at just under six minutes. The latter song became a major rock radio hit in USA helping the album to No. 19 there.
When Love Over Gold came out, Dire Straits were already climbing the singles charts with “Private Investigations”, which went to be their joint highest-charting UK hit, reaching No. 2, as did “Walk Of Life” four years later.
Love Over Gold – was the album who emphasized just how big the band’s audience is, and at the same time become by going straight to No. 1 in the UK, on its way to double platinum status. It also topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy and Norway.
Mark Knopfler also wrote the song “Private Dancer” for the album, that song is really amazing and have different power. Mark’s decision was that song, is not compatible for men’s voice, so he decided to give the song to Tina Turner, which later have play a major part in her career revival in 1984.
That year, for The Times, Knopfler told that he felt that Dire Straits’ audience appreciated their creative motivation behind the band’s work.
With 29 platinum and 31 gold records behind them it’s not surprising that Dire Straits’ new album “Love Over Gold” went gold in the UK before it was even released. Or that their new single “Private Investigations” has bolted to number 2 in the charts in only three weeks.
“Love Over Gold”. Five tracks, over forty minutes of electrifying music, destined for platinum.
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