Dire Straits is known as the biggest British rock band of the '80s, and for good reason. Bursting onto the music scene in 1977, the group was founded by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler, ...

In 1978, a song about a little-known pub band quietly transformed Dire Straits into international stars. "Sultans of Swing" became the band's breakthrough hit and eventually one of the defining rock ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. “Sultans of Swing” gives Dire Straits its first streaming hit in ...

Released as the first single from Dire Straits‘ eponymous 1978 debut, “Sultans of Swing” hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has remained a staple song within the British rockers’ classic catalog.

It was a rainy night in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, when Mark Knopfler found himself in a small pub watching a Dixieland jazz band playing to an audience of less than a handful of drunken patrons. The ...

Dire Straits earns chart success in the U.K. as two greatest hits albums reenter the Official Albums chart, while “Sultans of Swing” surges once again. AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 01: Photo of DIRE STRAITS ...

It really was a dark and stormy night in 1977 when guitarist Mark Knopfler popped into a tumbledown bar in London and happened upon some song inspiration. Inside, as Knopfler would later recall, was a ...