[Closed] Dire Straits: Alchemy

Have seen it before, but thanks for the heads up. Now watching again!

No, I'm only 50.

Thanks for that invaluable contribution dez. Haven't you got another thread to manifest in?

Greatest version of Sultans of Swing ever!!

Meatloaf on BBC4.

😉

😆

Stunning, not a fan really but Romeo and Juliet is one of my all time fave songs and this sultans version is epic.

The drummer is amazing,

I'm 36, but a childhood of camping holidays in France and northern Spain with a father who was a great fan has left me be the rest of our family with an enormous fondness for them. Knopfler is completely effortless and stunningly good in this.

My best mate's father was into this in my formative years and it left a big impression on me.

Thanks for the heads up it's being shown again at 3AM so it's on the Sky+ now.

Yeah, top form (the whole band as well).

Tunnel of Love is a great choon as well.

Superb, one of my favourites. The drummer looks knackered, but really happy!

Gutted I haven't got the Sky.
Was raised on Dire Straits, and fortunately/unfortunately (delete as applicable) most of my iTunes top 20 is their material!

Will turn on the stereo methinks...

The drummer is awesome on the whole thing. he seriously puts everything into it.

I think the whole thing is on You Tube burg

Telegraph Road!!!! One of my favourites.

It's a bloody good job my next door neighbour is pretty much deaf!

that live version rules…

Good work!

I remember seeing them live around that time and being seriously unimpressed. The music was great (maybe too perfect?) but they couldn't seem to generate any sort of atmosphere that made you want to be there.

For years I have kept my expensive Sony VCR as I spent ages trying to find Alchemy Live on tape and finally getting it in ebay.
I've been bought it on Blu-Ray since.

I literally wore out my dads copy of the double tape he had, I am pretty sure if I could keep one album as my desert island disc it would be that one. I know every word and note!

I kinda like it I suppose. 🙂

I had it on double tape, the one with the cardboard sliding sleeve. I played it to death. I also had the VHS that wore out.

+1 I realised that not only did I know every word, but also every note of the guitar parts too!

I played along on my acoustic for a while, until social media discussions took over 😳

I think the whole thing is on You Tube burg

Loads of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler stuff on over this weekend and next week. Sweeeeeeeeet.

I could probably replay the whole album from memory note perfect in my head from beginning to end.

Yet I can't remember the names of half my former work colleagues.

Lovely stuff. Got a particular fondness for Tunnel of Love, cos I live in Cullercoats, and before that Whitley Bay 🙂

39 here and dad was a massive fan, we saw them live in Gateshead in mid 80's, guess around the release of Brothers in arms, still a huge fan to this day, probably mainly due to the reminisivalue!

Ah nuts, wish I'd seen this yesterday. Alchemy popped up on Spotify's shuffle the other day and I ended up listening to it end-to-end. Still a classic.

I live in Cullercoats,

I remember spending time with a mate trying to work out all the lyrics and that one defeated us as we'd never heard of the place; "coloured coats in Whitley Bay? What's he on about?" It was years later when I actually went to Whitley Bay and saw it on the map, I got all excited that I'd finally worked it out, tried to explain to my OH who just looked at me like I was a mentalist.

It's being repeated a few times on Sky Arts 1 over the weekend.
There is the On Every Street concert on too, as well as a few other docs about Mark Knopfler.

Cheers for the heads-up. Downloading from on demand.

Went to see them live at the NEC on the Sultans of Swing tour courtesy of a free ticket from my sister. Was my first "stadium" large venue concert and I fell asleep 🙁 . Would like to listen to the album again though. 🙂

+1 guilty pleasure here.

30 years ago 😯

I was 10. I'm not really sure why people refer to them as a "guilty pleasure". Since when should you feel guilty about liking a band made of talented musicians playing well written music?

Hear Hear.

🙂

Still amazes me how good they are.
Brilliant songs, played with love by great musicians.

[i] talented musicians playing well written music?[/i]

Ooh, wow. I'm sold! 😆

DezB - Member
talented musicians playing well written music?

Ooh, wow. I'm sold!

I didn't react to your post on the gig thread by taking the mick out of your liking of Young Fathers or Underworld. So please keep your snide comments to yourself please.

You can say what you like, it's all just a bit of banter 😉

Is the the "On the night: 1992"?

oops - no its not but it's on Sky catchup.

Wasn't the drummer Terry Williams, who used to drum for that great Welsh "west coast" band, Man?

Wasn't the drummer Terry Williams, who used to drum for that great Welsh "west coast" band, Man?

That's the one.

I always thought the drummer in 'alchemy' was Pick Withers?

Just checked the sleeve notes for Alchemy & it was Terry Williams - as has been said before, brilliant drummer.

Dammit! Missed it!

Saw them live in Sydney 1983, just watched Sultans of Swing on You Tube and have now downloaded the album.

I got the Blu-Ray re-release of Alchemy for my birthday a couple of years ago. One of the special features was an Arena documentary about the band from a few years before the Alchemy tour. It included footage of some sessions leading up to Making Movies, just prior to David Knopfler leaving the band. It also had some gig footage from about that time.

Up until I saw that documentary I always wished I'd seen Dire Straits on the Alchemy tour. After seeing the earlier live footage in the Arena documentary I changed my mind. The earlier performances seemed to have more immediacy. The songs had yet to be arranged for the extended percussion and keyboard parts they had by the time of Alchemy, it was just 4 blokes on stage. There was also a bit more of a rock swagger to the band which has been worn away in the public perception of them, which was unexpected and quite good to see.

The Live at the BBC CD manages to showcase the earlier, more raw Dire Straits a bit, but it's only really on What's the Matter Baby? that it really comes through on that album.

I got the Blu-Ray re-release of Alchemy for my birthday a couple of years ago. One of the special features was an Arena documentary about the band from a few years before the Alchemy tour. It included footage of some sessions leading up to Making Movies, just prior to David Knopfler leaving the band. It also had some gig footage from about that time.

Up until I saw that documentary I always wished I'd seen Dire Straits on the Alchemy tour. After seeing the earlier live footage in the Arena documentary I changed my mind. The earlier performances seemed to have more immediacy. The songs had yet to be arranged for the extended percussion and keyboard parts they had by the time of Alchemy, it was just 4 blokes on stage. There was also a bit more of a rock swagger to the band which has been worn away in the public perception of them, which was unexpected and quite good to see.

The Live at the BBC CD manages to showcase the earlier, more raw Dire Straits a bit, but it's only really on What's the Matter Baby? that it really comes through on that album.

I actually prefer the more "prog" Dire Straits to the more "rock n roll" version.

Just spotted this thread....and yes spotted it on Sky as I was flicking through the channels on Friday night. Telegraph Rd, theme from Local Hero....two of my all time faves. Seeing them perform something I know so well made it even more special.

You don't get bands like them anymore! 🙁

You don't get bands like them anymore!

Ha! Age? Showing? 😉

[i]Ha! Age? Showing? [/i]

indeed....I am my Dad! 🙁

mikey74 - Member

I actually prefer the more "prog" Dire Straits to the more "rock n roll" version.

I think they both have their good points. Telegraph Road is amazing. However I think I prefer the rock n roll versions of their rock n roll songs rather than the longer versions they played later. That's not to say that Alchemy's Sultans of Swing is anything other than great, it's just there's something about those snippets of an earlier performance that appealed to me even more.

I am (just) too young to have seen Dire Straits live. I may have just about been able to see their final tour, but I'm not sure that's how I'd have wanted to see them. I did see Mark Knopfler a few years ago and I'm tempted to again, but I am a bit sad that I missed the early days of Dire Straits.

<hijack>

I've always meant to ask you Rockape63 - which squadron where you in?

I took the guys from 1 Sqdn out in the Austrian Alps back in '09.

I even applied to join, but running injuries and a car crash kept me out.

</hijack>

I've always meant to ask you Rockape63 - which squadron where you in?

Funnily enough....63sqn!

I left way back in 85, don't really have any connections any more, but I suppose I use my name as a code for people like you to spot. 63sqn was then a Rapier sqn doing the Falklands rota. (was actually the first RAF Regt sqn into the Falklands cruising down on the QE2), but based in Gutersloh at the time.

Happy Days....occasionally! 😀

Funnily enough....back on track! When I was in the Falklands around 84/85, I borrowed a video camera and videoed the base fram a C130, inc take off and landing via South Georgia and using a combination of vid recorder (audio dub) and earphones as a mic, set a musical backdrop to most of it.

Yes, it was Alchemy and if I do say so myself, was pretty awesome! 8)

I'm possibly one of the few people in the civilised world who never bought a copy of [i]Brothers In Arms[/i], the only DS album I own is [i]Love Over Gold[/i], and two tracks, [i]Romeo and Juliet[/i], and [i]Going Home[/i] the [i]Local Hero[/i] theme.
I love [i]Love Over Gold[/i], except for one track, [i]Industrial Disease[/i], which is just jarring, and should never have been included, it's just not a very good song, IMHO, of course.
I saw Dire Straits as a support band, btw. Supporting Talking Heads.
[edit]Thanks for the heads up, just set to record it on HD on Wednesday.

Pick withers left a little before alchemy - he was a better drummer in my opinion.

Cougar, suddenly working out lyrics like that is something I do - and yes, OH thinks I'm a mentalist too......! Nice to know there's someone else.

I love Love Over Gold, except for one track, Industrial Disease

Yeah, I've heard a lot of people say that. I actually quite like it though, there's some great one-liners in it. I agree though that it does appear out of place on that particular album, it'd have fit right in on Making Movies.

Yeah, I guess if it had been included with a bunch of their more upbeat songs, it wouldn't jar so much. Probably like it more in that case.
Always amazes me that [i]Private Investigations[/i] was a hit single! Number 1, IIRC.
But then, so was Laurie Anderson's [i]O Superman[/i], which is really out there!

Always amazes me that Private Investigations was a hit single! Number 1, IIRC.

Number 2 I thought? But yeah, bit leftfield that.

Yeah, didn't make it to number 1. But [i]went straight in[/i] at number 2 - at a time when nothing went straight in near the top of the charts. Off now to dig up what shite kept it off number 1. 😀

Ah, my mistake, didn't go straight in. I misremembered that one. Seems Eye Of The Tiger was number 1 around the same time.

Funnily enough....63sqn!

Just got that. 😳

I remember my dad picking up the Alchemy album in HMV when it first came out. He studied the gatefold sleeve, pointed to Terry Williams and proudly said " I was in school with him." My dad regularly used to tell us how he played rugby against Merv the Swerve, as well. 😆

Williams is also Godfather to one of my work colleagues as well, or something like that. Her father was heavily involved in the music industry and she used to find various well-known musicians in her house.

(Swansea's a small town - can you tell?) 🙂

Incidentally it was Terry Williams 67th birthday earlier in the week. Happy birthday Terry!

Loads of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler stuff on over this weekend and next week. Sweeeeeeeeet.

The one about where he talks about six different guitars is well worth a watch if it's on. (or YouTube if its not)

Funny, I really like Industrial Disease. 🙂

I've never been particularly perceptive about the relative abilities of drummers but there have been occasions when listening to the first Dire Straits album that I've realised that Pick Withers is doing some really pretty clever, but subtle, stuff. By the time Alchemy happened the drumming was more traditionally rock, I think.

I remember Alchemy coming out and buying the double vinyl and playing it start to finish in front of a bunch of enthralled friends in the school common room. I think we did the same with Brothers in Arms too. Definitely my favourite band from my school days.

Talking of Terry Williams, I once saw Chuck Berry play live in New York. He famously doesn't have a band, but gets the promoter to put together a band of good musicians that know his material and he just turns up without rehearsal and launches into 'Maybellene in G!' or whatever. The 'pick-up band' that supported Chuck Berry (this is in 1987) that night had Terry Williams on drums, Alan Clark (Dire Straits' keyboard player), Dave Edmunds on rhythm guitar, and on bass - John Entwhistle! Quite the night.

Anyway, saw them on the Brothers in Arms tour, once at Wembley Arena (same day as Live Aid was on in the stadium) and then front row, twice at the Shepton Mallet cow sheds that they played in for two nights.

Might have to get the record player out!

Chuck Berry always played with the same pianist, Johnnie Johnson until the 70s. He's the original Johnnie B Goode that the song's about. Johnson co-wrote many of the songs.

Sorry to hijack the post but allow me to indulge myself with a bit of nostalgia - it does involve Terry Williams 🙂