Mark Knopfler (Glasgow, 74 years old) waits patiently in a booth at the Bluebird, an elegant restaurant and bar in the London neighborhood of Chelsea. Drink a latte; dresses dark; the head, completely shaved. There is a mixture of skepticism, resignation and curiosity before the thousandth interview that she grants throughout so many years of musical career. One hundred million records sold worldwide as the frontman of the band Dire Straits. A personal fortune accumulated of almost ninety million euros. And the certainty of being a rock music legend. The look, the voice (especially the voice) and the irony immediately make him someone very close.
“There are so many new things in the world of music. That's why you and I are talking today. Because I need to raise my hand in the middle of the stampede. I have to pick it up and shake it, to let it be known that I've just recorded a new album,” explains Knopfler. “At the same time, probably another 55,000 people will also have released a new album. It's a ridiculous situation. But it's the way to try to sell your music. I could say: 'I'm not giving interviews anymore.' Tell me then what would happen. Or, rather, what would not happen.”
―That no one would pay attention, no matter how much it is already a legend.
– Exact. This is a stampede, she insists.
After a turbulent separation from the band, which also included his younger brother, David Knopfler, and bassist John Illsley, Mark launched a solo career that allowed him to sustain success and popularity over time. With great albums, and historic collaborations: Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Sting, The Killers… ”It keeps life interesting. Part of the pleasure it provides is allowing the music to breathe between different people. “I always give guitars to the people I play with,” he admits.
On April 12, his new album will go on sale, One Deep River, from which you can already hear songs like Two Pairs Of Hands, Ahead of the Game either Watch Me Gone. Knopfler returns to Britain. He never abandoned her, really. He returns to Newcastle, the city where he grew up, crossed by the River Tyne. That north of England almost more Scottish than English. “Everything continually brings me back to Britain, everything ties me to this country. I would even tell you that it happens a lot more now. Because, for example, the European response to the situation in Ukraine has been much more hesitant than the British one, which has not changed at all. And I like that,” he points out.
In a world that no longer has anything to do with the one that brought him fame and success, Knopfler is determined to continue composing and producing albums. The new one registers an overwhelming variety of styles and quality. It could have been a bomb thirty years ago. Today it will not be the same. But it is impossible for him to step aside. “I do not have any other option. I'm hooked on this. Little by little I realized that he was a composer and lyricist of songs, as well as a guitarist,” he says with a smile. “I take it philosophically. You have no choice but to be philosophical, and I can afford it. I have been very successful. And thanks to that I am in a very lucky situation, where I can even afford to have my own studio. Although it is not profitable. It's a wonderful thing, and I've never had a bad day when I'm there. Five kilometers from home. I no longer need to travel to the United States to record,” he explains.
The days with the band
Knopfler knew triumph when he was approaching thirty years old. He was previously a journalist and English teacher. Knowing the street, knowing what it means to work to earn a living, allowed him to anchor himself to the ground when the storm of fame arrived. And he left in his head the residue of future inspiration. “For me, being a journalist was something wonderful. I started when I was just seventeen or eighteen years old. In it Yorkshire Evening Post, a pretty good local newspaper. I had been offered work in many others, such as Manchester Evening News or the Liverpool Echo, because I had already made a name for myself at the School of Journalism,” he remembers, and his eyes light up. “It's something wonderful for a kid, because it helps you grow. You understand how life is built. I had no idea how a judicial investigation was launched until I was sent to cover courts. I had to be there at eight thirty in the morning, be well dressed and have my hair cut. All of that is good for a kid, because it teaches you to organize yourself,” he explains.
He still hasn't taken a sip of his coffee, and the desire to talk has been surpassing laziness. It's time to introduce questions about Dire Straits. It is not going to be as delicate as one might expect. “Just today I was having lunch with John [Illsley]. He is still one of my best friends,” she says. Mark Knopfler was the soul and driving force of that group. It was that absolute control that deteriorated things. But the past no longer belongs to him alone, to be hidden or thrown aside. “Brothers in Arms, Money for Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Sultans of Swing…we have played all those songs on stage so many times. I composed them, and I know they are important to many people. They changed their lives. I understand it, and that's why I continue playing them and try to do my best,” she says. “They have become part of many people's lives, and that is wonderful,” she explains. And fame? Do you miss it? “I was used to observing the world and writing about the things that caught my attention. And, suddenly, you have the impression that it is the world that is watching you. But it's just an impression. Actually, it's not like that, the world has more important things to do than give you its time,” she says, almost on the verge of winking.
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