David Knopfler Responds to Pick Withers Comment on Mark Knopfler

[@peterrimmington7100]

Mk was Direstaits, any of the other band members could be replaced at any time but not Mark.

[@mattschaffer987]

Gracious response without any digging up old wounds.

[@palynch7459]

Actually listening to David here I get the impression that there may be a sence of reconciliation between the brothers , his comments about mark were very chilled compared to old interviews I have seen David give

[@michelbonnet584]

The benefit of age...

[@Cloxxki]

One can also reconcile within oneself.

[@MarkusBoettner]

David said in another interview about the Dire Straits induction to the Rock 'n roll Hall of Fame that he didn't go because he wasn't willing nor able to fork out 10K Dollars (or there about) just to be part of this show. And he said that Mark rang him to ask if he was going and said that Mark wasn't going if David wasn't going. There is some truth in your comment, I believe.

[@imgoodatmoaning9561]

@@MarkusBoettner mark could have paid for them both. He’s made millions.

[@donharrold1375]

Intelligent philosophical guy. It’s a shame he doesn’t work with Mark anymore. I think they’d gel much better musically today than they did 40 years ago.

[@derhandtrommler]

If he';d stayed in DS, he wouldn't have had such a prolific solo career. That's a win-win for him. Probably for us as well, if we get into his material.Seems to me that it worked out well for everyone involved.

[@sheldonwheaton881]

Communique' is still my favorite album!🗿

[@juanjoseoterolourido5674]

And mine..

[@dommccaffry3802]

Me too

[@sylvainswift3234]

Not easy to say which one is my fave but I think Communiqué is the One too! And "Once Upon A Time In The West" my prefered track.

[@jamesspalten5977]

Making Movies my favorite !!

[@brorlarsen1473]

Communique is the very best and most mature album. Best sound,style and poetry. And i love it and like all the albums more or less. Communique sounds as if it was the third album where they discovered the meaning of a "outside" producer and recording envoirments.😅 Makingmovies sounds as it was their second release with mark as the terrorist singlehanded producer. Sultans of swing is a very good "demo album" but it sounds like fast made garage/demo arrangements&recordings. Telegraphroad was where mark showed the world his enormous ego at that time. I had been looking so much forward to that album,but i could hear it as soon as the overtones started the first track; "oh no ,another ego guitarhero produced album" ,sounds and mix was very modern but the 2trackmix only a little better than making movies. Brothers in arms seems Iike even mark thought the telegraphroad was too borring. I think "the mans too strong" is his real personal confession covered up with some war hints.

[@MarkusBoettner]

Interesting the way David talks about Germany and his following in our country. I don't know what it is about us Germans and music: Dire Straits were and are huge in Germany, MK solo fills arenas solid on tour, David has a loyal bunch of followers, Joe cocker said in an interview that he doesn't really know why the Germans love him so much, James Taylor has a loyal fan base here. I think we Germans just appreciate very good music. :)

[@RehabProjectSRCB]

It allows the angry German soul to enjoy the lightness of the Anglo-American spirit, lol Kidding of course, but I think it's because Germans are more reserved, it seems in daily life, and music frees us all.

[@melissakhalar1842]

Interesting interview with David, I learned things that I never knew. Thanks for your good questions John once again.

[@kingcurry6594]

He seems to have summed up Boris Johnson rather well. Intelligent guy, very grounded and lacking ego.

[@derhandtrommler]

Gary Talent is right, Bands need egos. Without them you get terminal shoe gazers and most people find that really boring.Thanks David.

[@odettepross2435]

Both Mark and David are now chilled and well mannered ... The only thing that makes it look shit is the MEDIA

[@MegaVector2011]

Amen

[@UlyssesM]

They don't get along to this day

[@ARichardP]

Can detect distance between them.

[@ramonmoreno8014]

yes the news has kept them apart for 40 years 🤣

[@TorToroPorco]

A very nuanced response from David. When most bands achieve initial success the members are generally very young and maturity is not usually a hallmark of their personalities. So for bands to survive their formative years without damaging scars is quite a feat but hopefully the passage of time and the accumulation of life experience lets them get beyond past animosities. Sadly creative and businesses differences are often impossible to overcome.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

I would not call age 30 "very young"

[@captmcneil]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver Maybe not "very", but look at how well people like Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison and Winehouse had their lives in check just 3 years younger. Mark himself admitted that the success might have done much worse to him if he wasn't as old as he was. David seems like a nice guy to me, and I also don't have a bad impression of Mark. He was the boss and very much the creative guy. Iirc Ed Bicknell said that at the time of the third album, Dire Straits felt very much like "Mark's band". His songs at that time obviously were better than David's. I think Mark's point about David being too bad a guitar player was ostensible. It takes a certain age to realize that there's always time for diplomacy - when you're 30 and an upshot, I can very well imagine that ambition does not go well with patience. When you're in the studio, the clock is ticking, you have "the big ideas" and someone else has their own, it can get stressful. I mean, we weren't there. The point is, it does not matter who is right and wrong, it has to "work". Everyone needs to be on the same page. And I am pretty sure David had his fair share of arguments to get his big brother back down on the carpet as well ;-) For all I can see they were and are quite different characters, and we will never know everything that happened. I wouldn't call either one better or worse - I also know people I've had big disagreements with a long time ago, with whom I would probably get along with just fine nowadays - but I just don't feel the need. It may be a bit different if it's family, but on the other hand it probably also doesn't make it easier.

[@JTRocks4Ever]

I wish he would have played more in America. I know his brother was a megastar here, but David is a very accomplished musician....and a lovely man....and being that his wife is American and he used to live upstate NY, I'm surprised and happy just now being exposed to his work on youtube. 😊❤️

[@regaltip8A]

The best non answer of all time about the Withers incident.

[@joevining2603]

Bill Withers?

[@tribeshift]

@@joevining2603 - Pick Withers

[@jamesdaniel2363]

Lol. Yep, he dodged that, and then kinda made a bit of an apologist move didn’t he?

[@RidgeRunner-lz5ko]

You're a very good interview because you give the subject space to elaborate and think a bit. Good quality for an interviewer to have. Listening, Howard?

[@willystiles1665]

Nice 👍

[@beyondhorizon7697]

Pick weather is my favourite drum player ever he's was the best he had the gift and rythem and music sense.

[@Cloxxki]

That his name then?

[@surfwriter8461]

David Knopfler seems like a reasonable and decent guy with good perspective on his past and present. I agree that it's challenging to be a leader of a band and do so without offending the other band members. I gather that Mark has been assertive about leadership from the start but also over time has become known as a very gracious and considerate guy with the other musicians he surrounds himself with. People speak of him in very complimentary terms.

[@claytonchaney9171]

David was a dancer...great sense of rhythm

[@jamesfitzgerald6636]

Everyone misses the point! Simple really! Mark was jealous of David’s looks and Hair!

[@JimiBegbaaji]

And David's social skills.

[@dommccaffry3802]

That's it

[@albertarthurparsnips5141]

Probably true to some extent, sadly. Things as simple as that do propel people’s feelings. And it didn’t help that David’s looks were well above average in every respect. But ! As cynical as it sounds, Mark ought to have known that a band containing ‘pretty ‘ faces can only benefit. How far does anyone really suppose that FM would’ve gone sans Buckingham & Nicks ? Does anyone suppose that Mark employed Hal Lindes solely on account of his playing ? Even he ended up recognising the importance of all that not to long after David was out.

[@Cartier_specialist]

I guess based on this interview that David and Mark have irreconcilable differences. I hope they can reconcile as brothers.

[@johncollins5552]

Brothers fight often, its only natural, doesnt mean they dont ❤ each other, its because they care that it hurts in the first place. Being famous probably makes that tension far worse.

[@thomaszonkowski2115]

Pure class

[@thegodfatherofthesec1748]

Dire Straits! Legendary Band !

[@1rwjwith]

Well my favorite Dire Straits albums were the first 3 BY FAR, with the original band. Odd David is the introverted one …he is the one with Pop Star looks!

[@BillNeilan]

He didn’t say very much in response to Pick Wither’s story.

[@patrickmoreau7592]

Great interview

[@mrmansville9340]

Interesting. I think the first two albums are my favorites.

[@timpricedrums]

Would be great to have a chat with Terry Williams if he’s still about. I played at his blues club in Swansea years ago and we chatted for ages about his time in Dire Straits. He wasn’t treated great regarding his recording (or lack of) drums on brothers in arms.

[@tompaulcampbell]

I don't know why. I saw that tour in the Bay Area and he played the songs great!

[@markusrose9667]

He’s played in several great bands.

[@y5jml]

So in light of the Boris comments how do you feel about Stamers

[@mrindecisive100]

Still waiting for his response to Pick Withers' comments on Mark Knopfler...

[@edgreen8140]

I agree w Don!! Interesting he mentions winnie the pooh. His brother in jungian terms has a puer. Complex.

[@melchi777]

David had a much bigger ego than his brother at that time ....i loved him back then as à great support for mark... As for pick he s à legend because of mark..... Make peace brothers in arm 😃❤

[@markusrose9667]

I don’t know why he didn’t just stay in Dire Straits and do solo albums on the side. That’s what their bass player did.

[@sriramkalaga9300]

Even though he's not as talented as his big brother Mark, he was still treated badly by MK. The dictatorial attitude of "my way or the highway" is a bad way to want to be in a creative act. I listened to Pick's interview and he was very candid in his assessment of MK. I am not surprised that Pick (and David) left Dire Straits. Any self-respecting artist would. I wish David the best in all his activities. PS: Pick is hands-down the best drummer DS ever had. The band's sound isn't the same afterwards.

[@NToombes]

Guess it was marks band really and his way, lets face it made DS what they were.

[@yes79]

You can read some interesting things about DS in Phil Palmer's book, Session Man 😉

[@dennisneo1608]

I don't think Mark is a very nice person. Although, one cannot argue he was the one with the talent.

[@christianjward]

John Illsley said that David Knopfler parted ways with Dire Straits mainly because Dire Straits needed a rhythm guitarist who was more skilled than David. I can believe it, from watching early live shows - David was quite heavy-handed at times and didn't always adjust his playing to match the dynamics in the song.

[@yinoveryang4246]

Of the two of them David and Mark, It’s clear from their demeanour who is the most well-balanced and the most well-preserved these days. At one point, he uses the phrase about Springsteen, that he’s not a “malignant narcissist“, there’s meaning in there. He’s obviously been through his own therapy, and Marks character, has sucked so much of the joy from Marks life.

[@zoltanrudolf]

I don't think so. Mark was and is friends with everyone: Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins, Tina Turner, Emmylou Harris. He must be doing something right!

[@MrComarter]

Do we still talk about this? Rather, Mark has been doing his solo career for nearly 30 years without a member change. He's a stronger backband than DS. Isn't that great?

[@librarymusicfanchannel70s80s]

Without eyes i hear Mark with a little Helium

[@palynch7459]

Ed bicknell summed up mark perfectly , it probably describes most of us as people in general, he said mark is a singer a song writer , a guitar player player, a husband, a father, a friend to many , but a dick head to a few , I think that describes most of us , we are all human

[@derekroberts6654]

i’m pretty sure that they get a long better than the Fogerty brothers did, don’t they?

[@frankiefourfingers6717]

Nasty piece of work

[@AnalogueGround]

David seems happy. His views on Brexit were welcome as he’s a true international artist thinking beyond the ‘four walls’ of a little island with half the population hanging on to obsolete nationalistic ideals. As a fan of the original A.A.Milne Winnie the Pooh books I totally agree with him on the sugary Disney portrayal but at least through that mass market portrayal, younger generations got to know the characters.

[@kelrogers8480]

I think the last few years have more than vindicated those who supported Brexit. Thank God they left the EU!

[@1959Ludwig]

@@kelrogers8480 Total nonsense for us UK musicians techs etc its the end of our careers & the end of the UK music industry

[@amandajstar]

'obsolete nationalistic ideals': a complete misreading on your part of what Brexit is for and what motivated it! Brexit exists to defend our sovereignty, and to promote the maintenance and protection of our genuine and essential freedoms -- nothing to do with outworn nationalism.

[@Swizzenator]

Bruce Whosteam?

[@robkay278]

I’ve always been a Dire straits fan but the best albums are for me the 1st 3 , I really like David’s albums,and my wife much prefers David’s music over Marks newer albums,I think I agree too.

[@nigelmadeley7798]

Yes. I thought Mark K went a bit transatlantic. I love the great sense of place on the first 3 albums.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@nigelmadeley7798 _Making Movies_ has Springsteen and Tom Petty all over it!

[@edgarsouzajr.5266]

Let me see: David go on in a solo carreer but didn't 10% of sucsses about your brother, and MK played e recording wth several guitar players, singers, several stiles musics, and he is wrong? Terry Willians is better then Pick Whiters, in my opinion, but each other have yours.

[@AzErradi]

A bit of trivia: On the first 2 albums, Mark played rhythm guitar as well.

[@JohannesYtterstrom]

Very interesting to hear from David Knopfler but why is Winnie the Pooh, the Disney years, so bad? lol.

[@REM1956]

It may be the original Milne Pooh books had a more pastoral English vibe to them.

[@adrianbrown1492]

Well he's wrong about Brexit so he is probably wrong about other stuff.

[@tomcoryell]

I get a kick out of listening to the Geordie accent.

[@Clodhopping]

To be fair, David doesn't have much Geordie in his accent. You need to listen to Brian Johnson - lived in LA for years but sounds like he's just stepped off the plane from Newcastle.

[@kelrogers8480]

What Geordie accent? He barely has a trace.

[@lynnechrisp591]

He doesn't have one lol. I went to school with him and despite the fact that he was the heartthrob, he was a really lovely lad who had a great sense of fairness

[@ep8029]

Leaving the EU isn't silly, David. Allowing the UK to be ruled from Brussels/Berlin would have been stupid, though.

[@jamesspalten5977]

Entertainers need to stay out of politics!!!

[@amandajstar]

Agree! It was one of the best choices Britain has made in the modern era!

[@MrSparklespring]

@@amandajstar Nope a disaster and it will show in the coming years.

[@nicklevitt6395]

Billy connelly lookalike

[@DeOmnibusDubitandum76]

David K. comes across to me as the good-hearted of the two brothers. The mag episode with Pick W. is contemptible. MK shows signs of sociopathic tendencies. Incidentally, being a prick is not a necessary condition for leadership.

[@casper1240]

Never even Knew Mark had a brother

[@ivantopolcic]

And sister...

[@jacobhansen6450]

WELL, Mr. Marshall...NOW you DO know!! And the brothers were sistered by RUTH KNOPFLER...she was the ELDEST one!! WAS?? The SAD story is that she passed away, due to an aggressive cancer illness, for a little less than a couple of years ago, aged 73!! ALL the best to you, Mr. Marshall, and the coming up yuletide!! Regards...Jacob Hansen, once a STRAITS FAN...

[@lebe220]

Mark is boring, somehow. I love Roger Waters, Otis Redding. Van Morrison, Eric Clapton...More soul and stronger backbone

[@cs0rpc]

Another original Brexit opinion

[@canadianroot]

@@melvynobrien6193 It is verboten to go against the leftist media. When will you ever learn? We have only one opinion, and that goes for covid, as well.

[@chasleask8533]

It must have been a money spinner for certain sections of society . I've seen a few opinions from performers that have surprised me . Maybe there are EU grants for the right people .

[@chasleask8533]

@@melvynobrien6193 They are communists , working under cover.

[@67Parsifal]

@@melvynobrien6193 nope, Boris ‘Blow Job’ Johnson and his crew of narcissistic lightweights are the REAL bad guys.

[@67Parsifal]

The only opinion worth having.