Mark Knopfler Tickets

Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. His group, Dire Straits, was formed in London in 1977 and went on to become an international success after the release of its debut album in 1978. Though it began as a group with a permanent lineup led by Knopfler, in its first few years it evolved into a brand name for Knopfler with varying personnel.

Mark Knopfler (born August 12, 1949) is a Scottish guitarist, singer, songwriter and former journalist and lecturer. He is most well known as the lead guitarist and vocalist for Dire Straits, but has also played in other bands (such as the Notting Hillbillies) and produced a number of albums as a solo performer. In addition, he scored the music to several films, including Local Hero, The Princess Bride and Last Exit to Brooklyn.

He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved with his family to Newcastle upon Tyne in the mid 1950s. He learned to play the guitar as a teenager, and after completing tertiary education and working for the Yorkshire Evening Post and then Loughton College, he became a full time musician in the 1970s. He is noted for being left-handed, but playing right-handed, and for finger picking instead of strumming or using a plectrum; finger picking is usually associated with the acoustic guitar, but Knopfler usually (but not always) plays an electric guitar, particularly the Fender Stratocaster.