Some Mark Knopfler songs begin with a guitar riff. Others begin with a person, a book, or a story that refuses to leave his mind.
“Beryl”, one of the most distinctive songs from Mark Knopfler’s 2015 album Tracker, belongs firmly to the second category.
The song was inspired by British novelist Beryl Bainbridge, an author Knopfler greatly admired.
In a short interview, he explained why Bainbridge’s life and work inspired him and revealed an especially interesting detail about the recording: the song was deliberately given an early Dire Straits-style sound.
For fans of Knopfler’s songwriting, “Beryl” offers a fascinating example of how literature, memory, guitar playing, and musical history can come together in one composition.
Who Was Beryl Bainbridge?
Beryl Bainbridge was one of Britain’s most respected novelists. She was nominated for the Booker Prize five times, including for novels such as The Bottle Factory Outing and An Awfully Big Adventure. Despite those nominations, she never won the prize during her lifetime.
Bainbridge died in 2010. In 2011, she was awarded the Man Booker Special Prize, recognizing her outstanding contribution to British literature.
For Knopfler, however, the interesting part of her story went deeper than awards.
He admired Bainbridge as a writer, but he was also fascinated by her background. In the interview, he describes her as a self-deprecating, working-class woman from Liverpool who did not follow the traditional path associated with Britain’s literary establishment.
Knopfler felt that these circumstances had contributed to Bainbridge being overlooked despite her repeated Booker nominations.
That sense of injustice became the foundation for “Beryl.”
Mark Knopfler Explains the Inspiration Behind “Beryl”
Knopfler’s comments about the song provide a rare insight into how he transforms real people into music. He describes Bainbridge as a “marvellous writer” and explains that several aspects of her life seemed to come together in his mind.
Her background, her writing, and the recognition she received all became part of the story he wanted to tell.
But Knopfler did not simply write a conventional tribute. He created a musical setting that reflected the period in which Bainbridge’s story took place. That decision is crucial to understanding the song.
Why “Beryl” Sounds Like Early Dire Straits
One of the most interesting revelations from the interview is that the early Dire Straits influence was completely deliberate.
Knopfler explains that he wanted “Beryl” to sound as though it belonged to an earlier period.
“There was a definite nod to the early Straits with ‘Beryl’… that was deliberate, going back to a period, because it seemed to me to suit Beryl.”
He then describes the approach as a “Sultans of Swing” style.
The choice was not simply nostalgia. Knopfler believed that the guitar sound and musical character associated with early Dire Straits were appropriate for Bainbridge’s story.
In other words, the arrangement became part of the storytelling. The music helps establish a sense of time and place before the lyrics even begin to tell us the story.
“Beryl” and the Sound of “Sultans of Swing”
Fans who listen closely can hear the connection.
The song features a relaxed guitar groove, melodic lead lines, and the kind of understated rhythmic movement that became one of Knopfler’s trademarks during the early Dire Straits years.
Yet “Beryl” is not simply an attempt to recreate “Sultans of Swing.”
Knopfler had spent decades developing as a songwriter and guitarist by the time Tracker was recorded. The early Dire Straits influence is therefore filtered through his later solo sound.
That gives the song an interesting character. It sounds familiar without sounding like a copy of the past.
Mark Knopfler’s Tracker Album
“Beryl” appears on Tracker, Knopfler’s eighth solo studio album, released in March 2015 in the United Kingdom through Virgin EMI.
The album explores many of the themes that have appeared throughout Knopfler’s solo career: literature, historical characters, memories, travel, loneliness, relationships, and ordinary people living extraordinary stories.
In that context, “Beryl” fits naturally into the album. Knopfler is interested not only in famous historical figures, but also in people whose stories deserve another look.
Bainbridge’s career gave him exactly that kind of subject.
Mark Knopfler’s Songwriting: Turning People Into Characters
One of the defining characteristics of Knopfler’s writing is his ability to step outside his own perspective.
Instead of writing only about his personal experiences, he often creates songs around people he has encountered through books, journalism, conversations, history, and observation.
“Beryl” is a particularly good example. Knopfler found a fascinating human story in the life of an author who had achieved considerable recognition but was repeatedly denied one of Britain’s most prestigious literary prizes.
He then turned that story into music. The result is neither a traditional biography nor a simple tribute. It is Knopfler’s musical interpretation of the person and the circumstances surrounding her life.
Listen to Mark Knopfler Talk About “Beryl”
The short interview is particularly valuable because Knopfler explains the song himself.
He discusses Beryl Bainbridge, her literary career, her working-class background, and the reasons he felt that an early Dire Straits approach was the right musical setting for the composition.
You can listen to the interview below:
Listen to “Beryl” From Tracker
After hearing Knopfler explain the idea behind the song, listening to “Beryl” becomes a different experience.
The guitar sound is no longer simply a stylistic choice. It becomes part of the story.
The familiar early Dire Straits character helps place the listener inside the world Knopfler imagined for Bainbridge, while the songwriting brings the author’s life and career into focus.
A Song That Connects Knopfler’s Past and Present
“Beryl” is particularly interesting because it connects two periods of Mark Knopfler’s career.
On one side, there is the unmistakable influence of early Dire Straits and the sound associated with “Sultans of Swing.”
On the other, there is the mature songwriter who created Tracker, using literature and real-life characters as the starting point for new stories.
That combination makes “Beryl” more than an interesting track from Tracker. It is an example of Knopfler deliberately looking backward in order to tell someone else’s story.
And perhaps that is the most fascinating part. For Mark Knopfler, the guitar sound is never only about the guitar. Sometimes, the sound itself becomes part of the story.
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