Dire Straits is known as the biggest British rock band of the '80s, and for good reason. Bursting onto the music scene in 1977, the group was founded by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. “Sultans of Swing” gives Dire Straits its first streaming hit in ...

It was a rainy night in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, when Mark Knopfler found himself in a small pub watching a Dixieland jazz band playing to an audience of less than a handful of drunken patrons. The ...

View post: 37 Years Ago Today: Iconic James Bond Movie Broke the Mold - And It Was a Screen Legend's Last Dire Straits debuted in 1978 with the hit single “Sultans of Swing.” Mark Knopfler’s guitar ...

In 1978, a song about a little-known pub band quietly transformed Dire Straits into international stars. "Sultans of Swing" became the band's breakthrough hit and eventually one of the defining rock ...