Dire Straits

Dire Straits formed in Deptford in 1977 and quickly set themselves apart with a lean, precise take on rock built around Mark Knopfler's guitar playing and unshowy, sharply observed songwriting. The original line-up of Knopfler, David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers introduced a band whose songs could be spare and conversational or expansive and dramatic without losing their sense of craft.

That range runs from Dire Straits and Communique through Making Movies and Love Over Gold to the huge reach of Brothers in Arms. Tracks such as Sultans of Swing, Money for Nothing, Walk of Life and Brothers in Arms remain central to the band's story, but so does the measured musicianship that made them more than a singles act.