A Breath of Fresh Air Aug 16

Hope it’s been another fruitful week for you. Thanks to those of you who’ve been willing to share my website address www.abreathoffreshair.com.au on your own websites or socials. I really appreciate it.

Another big episode this week but slightly different format. Dire Straits founder, John Illsley was simply too interesting to cut into a single segment so I’ve let him carry us through the entire episode coupled with the band’s brilliant music.

DIRE STRAITS filled giant stadiums around the world and sold hundreds of millions of records. Throughout the eighties they were one of the biggest bands on the planet. Their classic songs – ‘Sultans of Swing’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Money for Nothing’, ‘Brothers In Arms’ – formed the soundtrack of a generation and live on today: still racking up sales, still being played on the radio on every continent.

This week we devote the entire episode of A Breath of Fresh Air to Dire Straits’ founding member and bassist, JOHN ILLSLEY who shares the story of one of the greatest live acts in rock history. Starting with his own unlikely beginnings in Middle England, he recounts the band’s rise from humble origins in London’s spit-and-sawdust pubs to the best-known venues in the world, the working man’s clubs to Madison Square Garden, gigging with wild punk bands to the Live Aid stage at Wembley. Until, ultimately, the shattering demands of touring on a global scale and living life in the spotlight took their inevitable toll.

John chats about meeting and working with his great friend Mark Knopfler. He walks us through some of the band’s best known tracks and discusses his latest solo album, simply called 8. He also details his newly released autobiography ‘My Life in Dire Straits’.

It’s a fascinating chat. One that will keep you glued to your radio.