I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard 'Sultans of Swing.' In a car passing a ploughed field outside the Yorkshire village of Drighlington near Bradford, on my way for a weekend in London with my cousins. It was March 1979, and when we got to London, this song was pouring out of every pub, cafe and shop It was the soundtrack of that whole weekend. For a while, I thought that Dire Straits were American, until I heard Tunnel of Love, where they sing about Whitley Bay and the Spanish City funfair. Having other family in the North East, I used to go to the Spanish City with my Geordie cousins in the 1960s. Before the start of Radio One, fairgrounds were one of the few places you could hear the latest pop and rock music. Of course, I have been a great fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler ever since and I'm 73 now. Great memories!
You missed a nice bit of trivia. He named the two players Harry and George after Harry Vanda and George Young - the rhythm section and songwriters of Aussie band The Easybeats (Friday on my Mind). They later became major producers in Australia and produced the first few albums of George’s younger brothers, Angus and Malcom band - AC/DC. They also wrote and produced John Paul Young’s Love is in the Air. And they also had chart success with their alter-egos Flash and the Pan - Waiting on a train.
After an interview I saw with David Knopfler, I suspect 'Harry' was actually Harry Bogdanovs, who made his own impact in Australia. He was the songwriter of "Pressure Down", a single and opening track on John Farnham's "Whispering Jack", still one of Australia's best-selling albums.
I was listening to that song not too long ago, and though I've heard it ever since it was released (yes, I'm that old) I was knocked out by how assured and masterful the playing sounds. It's so hard to believe that this was their debut single from their very first record. They sound like complete pros. Great, great song.
When I was a kid listening to songs I didn't fully understand on the radio in the late '70s I just instinctively knew that Sultans of Swing and Walk on the Wild Side were two of the coolest songs I ever heard and possibly ever would hear
Dutchie here: As phonogram was a Dutch lable owned by Phillips, the first time Sultans came out was as a 7"single in the Netherlands (Vertigo 6059 206). It was a different version and based on the original Pathway demo.
You also have to describe the specific situation of the 2nd half of the 1970's, with on the one hand the disco craze and on the other hand punk. For people hoping for something else, the arrival of Dire Straits was a present from heaven. It filled an enormous gap for people wanting to hear something else (for a while) than dancing music à la Chic or Bee Gees, and who got "not exactly" a high esteem or admiration for the deliberately un-musical punkers. To me, this first record has never been surpassed by the band, it remains my favorite one, second, the one with Private Investigations, third the one with Lady Writer.
@Retroscoop I remember back then thinking Van Halen had saved rock and roll. The B-52s (Rock Lobster), along with Blonde- Rapture (with rap lyrics), Cheap Trick tunes, Abba, and so many more.
Graduated high school in 1979 🎸 I remember this gorgeous tune was all over the radio the fall of 78. Never knew that those guys could barely pay the gas man when this gem was written. This was an awesome history lesson. Ta Very Much! 🇬🇧
This is close . My uncle Harry Holbird played piano in a swing band in Deptford my uncle Tom played drums . The Admiral Ben Bow pub They played ok . Harry's big gig was to play for Tony Bennet at the Albert Hall . Bennett pianist didn't have a work permit so they asked Harry to step in.
I suspect Knopfler’s story reflects an amalgam of memories, ideas, and daydreams. So there may not be a real “Sultans of Swing,” but of course there is, too.
I always smile when I hear the line "Way down South, London Town". I don't think you could ever really get the full irony unless you knew South London.
GREAT work Sir ! I Absolutely remember the first time I heard this song all those years ago, I knew it was a very special tune. Unbelieveable guitar work !!
Simple ? It's not simple. Bluesy ? It's not Blusey. It's a standard "Gypsy" chord progression, Dm C Bb A7 followed by a Countryish F C Bb C Dm. When I first heard this I Bb thought it was Bob Dylan with a hot guitar player (maybe Albert Lee). The fills/solos are one of the best solos of all time. Knopfler, had to play those fills, live (while he sang lead) whichnis no easy task. He ended up doing the B.B. King thing (singing while doing his own fills).I guess he must've practiced it for hours & hours.
🥰The demo version of 'Sultans Of Swing' sounds even better than the re-recorded album version!🧡It is raw, unpolished and kind of edgy that makes me want to listen to it over & over again.💖
I was living in Holland when it came out. It was everywhere. In all the bars and clubs in The Hague. Magic days.....that whole album was great. 'Sultans' is still my favourite track.
The demo was recorded at Pathway Studios in Islington which I was using in the mid 80’s, it had a great reputation even though it was only 8 track and a lot of well known bands were using it
I was hanging out in a coffee shop which hosted, bluegrass, folk, jazz, various types of rock. Every body who played there immediately worked on learning this song. Even people who were never going to play it live - they wanted to know how to play Guitar George's chords! A country song, about jazz music, played by a rock band!
In the 1980s we went on holiday to Yugoslavia (present day Croatia) It was a communist country and although it was lovely, life was very basic and non-western. The hotel was very "soviet" but there was a beach bar next door to the hotel. The played Sultans of Swing back to back all day every day. Turned out it was the only song they had. We became friendly with the bar owner and loaned him some other cassettes that we had taken with us. We left them with him when we left.
Always assumed the same thing that they were called that name but if you were listening to the story I'm not sure why you say this still because knoffler was just saying that was an offhand remark at the end of the night he didn't actually say that was the name of the band. I took it he meant that was how the bandleader described his band.
I knew the band he was singing about - once passed the clarinettist at London Bridge station on his way home from the day job. My memory is that they were actually quite good.
I arrived in Sicily May 6th of 78. Dire Straits was playing along with other good groups whilst I was there until my departure on August 12th, 1981, the same day as one of the band members birthday. Dire Straits songs were so good and fit in so well that I thought the music the band played had been influenced by them having a stay in Sicily. Taormina in Sicily turned out to be a place that was very special to the guy who wore headbands from sweating. Something else that went on August of 78 in Malta was that the place was playing nonstop Elvis music marking the 1st anniversary of his death. Also it may have been the summer of hearing "Funkytown" everywhere in the tourist seaside sunshine areas.
On it's first release it was on The old grey whistle test. I Loved it immediately and bought the album. I Expected it to be a massive hit And It went nowhere. I Remember playing the song to any of my mates that came round ,for about a year. They All loved it. And About a year later it took off. I saw them live in Edinburgh On the Making Movies tour. They were brilliant The Next morning my flatmate was banging on my door. I Thought it was about the concert No He was knocking on my door to tell me John Lennon had been shot. At The concert the night before There had been a radio one interview with lennon and before the gig,that's all anybody was talking about. So The two are forever intertwined with me! 😻🏴
@neildwmcfarlane3402 I was down in Sicily when John Lennon was killed, I then went to visit London as it mourned. I was drinking in a pub with a British World War 2 veteran who said he didn't understand what all the big fuss was about. I was passing through Germany when news came in that American actor John Wayne had died. I witnessed young people that normally may have made fun of him being somewhat shocked and at a loss for words.
I have heard this story about the "real" Sultans of Swing in various versions, but it always comes down to: why haven't they never come out? One of the possible reasons could have been that they were indeed so mediocre that they didn't want anybody to know the song was about them. But what struck me more was: the pub owner never took to publicly announcing that one of the greatest pop/rock songs ever was about a band playing in HIS pub. He, as well as the pub, would have been world famous at the spot, and no reason to be ashamed for the poor quality of the band. But, unto this day, no pub owner ever stated that Sultans of Swing was about a band performing in his pub. Maybe Mr Knopfler could shed a light on this?
The song is almost 50 years old Whilst it was important when the song came out that the band that inspired the song remained nameless I think now some effort should be made to track them down & the pub they were playing in After all the band name inspired the song Plus some of their stage quotes are in the song
There's nothing in the lyrics to suggest that Knopfler thought of the Sultans as mediocre; quite the opposite if anything. He even gives them an excuse for playing to a virtually empty pub: "Competition in other places...", and jazz isn't exactly mainstream. What tickled him was the way they addressed their "audience" as if they were playing Wembley stadium.
The best bands I ever heard were unknown bands that stayed that way. Ever heard of the Coyote Kings? Maybe the Slow Rollers? Probably not. My favorite bands are bands that never quite made the big time. Never became household names. The Replacements, and The Del Fuegos, for example.
Seeing bands before becoming big is enjoyable also. Ted Nugent played the high school prom in Bad Axe, Michigan. I saw Rush perform in the Harbor Beach High School Gym in Michigan. My sister watched Bob Seger play in bars. A movie called "The Replacements" with Keanu Reeves is quite good. The Replacements and other musical entertainment as you have mentioned must have sounded quite good and special.
@@John-isAround I've never seen a good Keanu Reeves movie. The Replacements are not connected in any way. My oldest sister lived in Illinois back in the 70s. REO speedwagon played bars around where she lived a lot. My youngest sister saw Kansas play at a senior prom, before they were known anywhere. Seeing Nugent at a prom had to be a shock to any parents there. I did sound for the Coyote Kings and the Slow Rollers. Both bands really knew how to entertain a crowd. The Slow Rollers became the Rowdy James band. Rowdy James, AKA James Pomeroy, was an amazing front man. RIP Rowdy. We miss you.
@onusgumboot5565 Thanks for responding, I'm heading to a Libertyville Illinois football game. That's where actor Marlon Brando was fired from his job in the movie theater. Point Break with Keanu is a great movie and soundtrack. A legendary Cheap Trick guitar player visited Lake Bluff and guitar players lined up to get their guitars autographed. The Doobie Brothers performed in Guam when I saw them. The Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, California.
Sultans of Swing does NOT represent Dire Straits. Don't know the exact circumstances but it DOES sound like the name of a Jazz band. Don't know if the band was good or not but that's a GREAT name.
Savile was a Yorkshireman, and sounded nothing like this. Also his verbal idiosyncrasies made him even less like Music Mongoose, and distinctive even from other Yorkshiremen.
So lame that Bob Dylan immediately employed Knopfler and Pick Withers to play on his upcoming Slow Train Coming album. But of course, unlike you, Bob Dylan couldn't recognise musicianship.
What’s your favourite Dire Straits tune? 🤔
Love Over Gold.
@@StamfordBridge Great choice
Besides Sultans of Swing, I also like Telegraph Road and Twisting by the Pool.
Skateaway "Toro, toro, taxi, see ya tomorrow, my son"
Private Investigations.
I once proposed that my cover band should be called ”Consultants of Swing” but I was voted down.
Brilliant 🤣
I think that's a great name, and works on at least a few levels.
So the rest of the band knew you were an idiot….nice.
I vote yes
Well, your band mates were wrong! 😅
I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard 'Sultans of Swing.' In a car passing a ploughed field outside the Yorkshire village of Drighlington near Bradford, on my way for a weekend in London with my cousins. It was March 1979, and when we got to London, this song was pouring out of every pub, cafe and shop
It was the soundtrack of that whole weekend. For a while, I thought that Dire Straits were American, until I heard Tunnel of Love, where they sing about Whitley Bay and the Spanish City funfair. Having other family in the North East, I used to go to the Spanish City with my Geordie cousins in the 1960s. Before the start of Radio One, fairgrounds were one of the few places you could hear the latest pop and rock music. Of course, I have been a great fan of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler ever since and I'm 73 now. Great memories!
That’s an epic story - thanks so much for sharing! 😁
You missed a nice bit of trivia. He named the two players Harry and George after Harry Vanda and George Young - the rhythm section and songwriters of Aussie band The Easybeats (Friday on my Mind). They later became major producers in Australia and produced the first few albums of George’s younger brothers, Angus and Malcom band - AC/DC. They also wrote and produced John Paul Young’s Love is in the Air. And they also had chart success with their alter-egos Flash and the Pan - Waiting on a train.
Ooh, I did miss that! That’s brilliant, thanks for sharing 😀
More trivia: both Dire Straits and AC/DC are bands formed by brothers from Glasgow after they had left the city. 😁
After an interview I saw with David Knopfler, I suspect 'Harry' was actually Harry Bogdanovs, who made his own impact in Australia. He was the songwriter of "Pressure Down", a single and opening track on John Farnham's "Whispering Jack", still one of Australia's best-selling albums.
Came here to say the same thing
@@stephenmcg4299 Interesting, I thought he was a Geordie, but it seems he was born in Glasgow and brought up in Newcastle.
I was listening to that song not too long ago, and though I've heard it ever since it was released (yes, I'm that old) I was knocked out by how assured and masterful the playing sounds. It's so hard to believe that this was their debut single from their very first record. They sound like complete pros. Great, great song.
When I was a kid listening to songs I didn't fully understand on the radio in the late '70s I just instinctively knew that Sultans of Swing and Walk on the Wild Side were two of the coolest songs I ever heard and possibly ever would hear
Dutchie here: As phonogram was a Dutch lable owned by Phillips, the first time Sultans came out was as a 7"single in the Netherlands (Vertigo 6059 206). It was a different version and based on the original Pathway demo.
You also have to describe the specific situation of the 2nd half of the 1970's, with on the one hand the disco craze and on the other hand punk. For people hoping for something else, the arrival of Dire Straits was a present from heaven. It filled an enormous gap for people wanting to hear something else (for a while) than dancing music à la Chic or Bee Gees, and who got "not exactly" a high esteem or admiration for the deliberately un-musical punkers. To me, this first record has never been surpassed by the band, it remains my favorite one, second, the one with Private Investigations, third the one with Lady Writer.
@Retroscoop I remember back then thinking Van Halen had saved rock and roll. The B-52s (Rock Lobster), along with Blonde- Rapture (with rap lyrics), Cheap Trick tunes, Abba, and so many more.
Graduated high school in 1979 🎸
I remember this gorgeous tune was all over the radio the fall of 78. Never knew that those guys could barely pay the gas man when this gem was written. This was an awesome history lesson.
Ta Very Much! 🇬🇧
Just remembered. I recorded this debut album on a Memorex Cassette Tape, right off FM Radio.
"In The Gallery" is my other favorite. 😎
This is close . My uncle Harry Holbird played piano in a swing band in Deptford my uncle Tom played drums .
The Admiral Ben Bow pub They played ok . Harry's big gig was to play for Tony Bennet at the Albert Hall . Bennett pianist didn't have a work permit so they asked Harry to step in.
I suspect Knopfler’s story reflects an amalgam of memories, ideas, and daydreams. So there may not be a real “Sultans of Swing,” but of course there is, too.
I always smile when I hear the line "Way down South, London Town". I don't think you could ever really get the full irony unless you knew South London.
From Newcastle, London is 'way down south'.
No maps of S London back then, the pages in thr AZ were blank. Dragons, people with no heads , faces on their chests,
For sure!😂
GREAT work Sir ! I Absolutely remember the first time I heard this song all those years ago, I knew it was a very special tune. Unbelieveable guitar work !!
Simple ? It's not simple. Bluesy ? It's not Blusey. It's a standard "Gypsy" chord progression, Dm C Bb A7 followed by a Countryish F C Bb C Dm. When I first heard this I Bb thought it was Bob Dylan with a hot guitar player (maybe Albert Lee). The fills/solos are one of the best solos of all time. Knopfler, had to play those fills, live (while he sang lead) whichnis no easy task. He ended up doing the B.B. King thing (singing while doing his own fills).I guess he must've practiced it for hours & hours.
It's ashamed that even with the "fair use" laws a fine video like this can't afford to play part of the song out of fear of being demonetized. Absurd.
Yep, it’s a shame
🥰The demo version of 'Sultans Of Swing' sounds even better than the re-recorded album version!🧡It is raw, unpolished and kind of edgy that makes me want to listen to it over & over again.💖
I was living in Holland when it came out. It was everywhere. In all the bars and clubs in The Hague. Magic days.....that whole album was great. 'Sultans' is still my favourite track.
The demo was recorded at Pathway Studios in Islington which I was using in the mid 80’s, it had a great reputation even though it was only 8 track and a lot of well known bands were using it
I was hanging out in a coffee shop which hosted, bluegrass, folk, jazz, various types of rock. Every body who played there immediately worked on learning this song. Even people who were never going to play it live - they wanted to know how to play Guitar George's chords! A country song, about jazz music, played by a rock band!
In the 1980s we went on holiday to Yugoslavia (present day Croatia)
It was a communist country and although it was lovely, life was very basic and non-western. The hotel was very "soviet" but there was a beach bar next door to the hotel.
The played Sultans of Swing back to back all day every day. Turned out it was the only song they had.
We became friendly with the bar owner and loaned him some other cassettes that we had taken with us. We left them with him when we left.
Always assumed the same thing that they were called that name but if you were listening to the story I'm not sure why you say this still because knoffler was just saying that was an offhand remark at the end of the night he didn't actually say that was the name of the band. I took it he meant that was how the bandleader described his band.
I knew the band he was singing about - once passed the clarinettist at London Bridge station on his way home from the day job. My memory is that they were actually quite good.
Were they called Sultans of Swing or something else?
I arrived in Sicily May 6th of 78. Dire Straits was playing along with other good groups whilst I was there until my departure on August 12th, 1981, the same day as one of the band members birthday. Dire Straits songs were so good and fit in so well that I thought the music the band played had been influenced by them having a stay in Sicily. Taormina in Sicily turned out to be a place that was very special to the guy who wore headbands from sweating. Something else that went on August of 78 in Malta was that the place was playing nonstop Elvis music marking the 1st anniversary of his death. Also it may have been the summer of hearing "Funkytown" everywhere in the tourist seaside sunshine areas.
First time i heard Sultans of Swing was on Charlie Gillets Honky Tonk show on Radio London, it sounds as good today as it did then - never gets old!
I always thought a member of the band just made the joke that they were the Sultans of Swing but that was not the band's actual name.
ps, I didnt realise mark and co had a strong part in slow train coming, that makes so much sence now. Thanks
One of the best albums, top 10 on my list !
When I first heard this song I thought "Oh, Bob Dylan has taken vioice lessons"
😄 Me too, first heard it Johannesburg late 70's. Thought Oh... Bob Dylan got a new one out. 😄🇬🇧
On it's first release it was on The old grey whistle test.
I
Loved it immediately and bought the album.
I
Expected it to be a massive hit
And
It went nowhere.
I
Remember playing the song to any of my mates that came round ,for about a year.
They
All loved it.
And
About a year later it took off.
I saw them live in Edinburgh
On the Making Movies tour.
They were brilliant
The
Next morning my flatmate was banging on my door.
I
Thought it was about the concert
No
He was knocking on my door to tell me John Lennon had been shot.
At
The concert the night before
There had been a radio one interview with lennon and before the gig,that's all anybody was talking about.
So
The two are forever intertwined with me!
😻🏴
@neildwmcfarlane3402 I was down in Sicily when John Lennon was killed, I then went to visit London as it mourned. I was drinking in a pub with a British World War 2 veteran who said he didn't understand what all the big fuss was about. I was passing through Germany when news came in that American actor John Wayne had died. I witnessed young people that normally may have made fun of him being somewhat shocked and at a loss for words.
Excellent!! Thank you!!!
No, no. Thank YOU!
Knopfler is my favourite guitarist of all time …you gotta be on top of your game if you wanna share the stage with him
I have heard this story about the "real" Sultans of Swing in various versions, but it always comes down to: why haven't they never come out? One of the possible reasons could have been that they were indeed so mediocre that they didn't want anybody to know the song was about them. But what struck me more was: the pub owner never took to publicly announcing that one of the greatest pop/rock songs ever was about a band playing in HIS pub. He, as well as the pub, would have been world famous at the spot, and no reason to be ashamed for the poor quality of the band. But, unto this day, no pub owner ever stated that Sultans of Swing was about a band performing in his pub. Maybe Mr Knopfler could shed a light on this?
The song is almost 50 years old
Whilst it was important when the song came out that the band that inspired the song remained nameless
I think now some effort should be made to track them down & the pub they were playing in
After all the band name inspired the song
Plus some of their stage quotes are in the song
They would likely be in their 90's😂
I have always heard the line about Guitar George as “Left-handed old guitar is all he can afford…”
Somehow I’m disappointed with the real lyrics 😊
Such an unlikely hit especially for 1978. It wasn't like anything else going on at that time.
Great music rises above!
There's nothing in the lyrics to suggest that Knopfler thought of the Sultans as mediocre; quite the opposite if anything. He even gives them an excuse for playing to a virtually empty pub: "Competition in other places...", and jazz isn't exactly mainstream. What tickled him was the way they addressed their "audience" as if they were playing Wembley stadium.
my band, Snake Suspenderz, would often introduce ourselves as the Serpents Of Swing.
Mongoose you are so wrong, Harry is Harry Vanda and George is George Young check with Mark. Our ask ACDsee
Never said they weren’t 😉
Thanks!
Thanks very much! 🙌
The best bands I ever heard were unknown bands that stayed that way. Ever heard of the Coyote Kings? Maybe the Slow Rollers? Probably not. My favorite bands are bands that never quite made the big time. Never became household names. The Replacements, and The Del Fuegos, for example.
Seeing bands before becoming big is enjoyable also. Ted Nugent played the high school prom in Bad Axe, Michigan. I saw Rush perform in the Harbor Beach High School Gym in Michigan. My sister watched Bob Seger play in bars. A movie called "The Replacements" with Keanu Reeves is quite good. The Replacements and other musical entertainment as you have mentioned must have sounded quite good and special.
@@John-isAround I've never seen a good Keanu Reeves movie. The Replacements are not connected in any way.
My oldest sister lived in Illinois back in the 70s. REO speedwagon played bars around where she lived a lot. My youngest sister saw Kansas play at a senior prom, before they were known anywhere. Seeing Nugent at a prom had to be a shock to any parents there.
I did sound for the Coyote Kings and the Slow Rollers. Both bands really knew how to entertain a crowd. The Slow Rollers became the Rowdy James band. Rowdy James, AKA James Pomeroy, was an amazing front man.
RIP Rowdy. We miss you.
@onusgumboot5565 Thanks for responding, I'm heading to a Libertyville Illinois football game. That's where actor Marlon Brando was fired from his job in the movie theater. Point Break with Keanu is a great movie and soundtrack. A legendary Cheap Trick guitar player visited Lake Bluff and guitar players lined up to get their guitars autographed. The Doobie Brothers performed in Guam when I saw them. The Grateful Dead, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, California.
Thanks so much,
No worries!
What are the chances of talking about a song.........and never playing a note of it......this guy 100%
Ever heard of copyright?
@@MusicMongoose if only youtube had a way around this.......
Many people believe Sultans of Swing is a rip off of Rory Gallagher's Shadow Play. It surprises me that it's not mentioned here...
Sultans of Swing does NOT represent Dire Straits. Don't know the exact circumstances but it DOES sound like the name of a Jazz band. Don't know if the band was good or not but that's a GREAT name.
That's Marks way. Look up what inspired him to write money for nothing.
My favorite "Planet of New Orleans"
Knopfler's father bought him the Strat, not Mark. Didn't even have an amp for it.
Nope…check your sources
@thehaughtcorner @hilogreg5216 has it right. Knopfler's dad bought him a German knock off of a Stratocaster. It was Red Höfner V2 Super Solid guitar
Charlie Gillett as in billet not gillette
(RIP)
Steve Winwood brother
Does Mark look like Jerry Seinfeld or am I just delusional.
Another guy with one one of those .. British RUclips accents..
That’ll be on account of me being British
Refreshing isn’t it ? Intelligent and not shouting 🤔
61 Strat
BLABLABLA
It was Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.. only joking lol
Wnyis Vladymyr Zelensky doing RUclips?
Hobby
Yeah, this true story is so weird.
Music Mongoose, You have the voice of somebody that I don't want my daughter to meet (like Jimmy Savile)
Not sure how to respond to this
Savile was a Yorkshireman, and sounded nothing like this. Also his verbal idiosyncrasies made him even less like Music Mongoose, and distinctive even from other Yorkshiremen.
Dire Straits were the lame pub band they were singing about.
Very meta!
So lame that Bob Dylan immediately employed Knopfler and Pick Withers to play on his upcoming Slow Train Coming album. But of course, unlike you, Bob Dylan couldn't recognise musicianship.
Fine music - rubbish lyrics.