About this episode
Recorded at the West Hampstead Arts Club - we're back in the outside world! - the band’s bassist remembers their label’s hopes of selling 5,000 copies of their first album in the autumn of ’77. His just-published memoir recounts the rollercoaster that followed, from the London pub circuit to Compass Point, Live Aid, the gigantic world tours that took in the Eastern Bloc, the sales-boosting arrival of MTV and the CD boom, and how it felt to land back on earth when they called a halt in the mid-‘90s. The early days are fascinating too, a friendship forged with Mark Knopfler over Little Feat, JJ Cale and Ry Cooder albums and the dream-like events of their record deal and rapid ascent. @John_Illsley My Life In Dire Straits … https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Life-Dire-Straits-Biggest-ebook/dp/B08WBXZCQ1 Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon and receive early access to Word In Your Ear Live tickets, and every future Word Podcast before the rest of the world!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.