Communiqué (Dire Straits album)

Communiqué
Studio album by Dire Straits
Released	15 June 1979
Recorded	28 November - 12 December 1978 at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre	Rock
Length	42:24
Label	Vertigo Warner Bros. (US)
Producer	Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler
Dire Straits chronology
Dire Straits (1978) Communiqué (1979) Making Movies (1980)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B-)[2]

Communiqué is the second album by British rock band Dire Straits.

History

Communiqué was recorded in November and December 1978, at Compass Point Studios, Nassau and was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett. The album became the first LP ever to enter the German charts at number 1 in its first week of release (while their debut LP Dire Straits was still at number 3 in that country). Communiqué went on to sell over 7 million copies worldwide; in Europe, it sold 3.6 million copies and in the U.S. it reached gold status.

It was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world outside the U.S. and on 19 September 2000 in the United States.

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Knopfler.

1. "Once Upon a Time in the West" – 5:25
2. "News" – 4:14
3. "Where Do You Think You're Going?" – 3:49
4. "Communiqué" – 5:49
5. "Lady Writer" – 3:45
6. "Angel of Mercy" – 4:36
7. "Portobello Belle" – 4:29
8. "Single-Handed Sailor" – 4:42
9. "Follow Me Home" – 5:50

Personnel

• Mark Knopfler: lead guitar, lead vocals
• John Illsley: bass, vocals
• David Knopfler: rhythm guitar, vocals
• Pick Withers: drums
• B. Bear (Barry Beckett): keyboard

Production

• Producers: Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler
• Engineer: Jack Nuber
• Tape Operator: Thelbert Rigby
• Mixing: Gregg Hamm
• Mastering: Bobby Hata
• Mastering supervisor: Paul Wexler
• Remastering: Bob Ludwig
• Project coordinator: Jo Motta
• Series concept: Gregg Geller
• Art direction: Alan Schmidt
• Illustrations: Geoff Halpin

Charts

Communiqué has spent only 30 weeks in the UK Albums Chart. [1]

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1979	German Albums Chart	1
1979	New Zealand Albums Chart	1
1979	Swedish Albums Chart	1
1979	Norwegian Albums Chart	2
1979	UK Albums Chart	5
1979	Australian Albums Chart	5
1979	Austrian Albums Chart	7
1979	U.S. Billboard Pop Albums	11
1979	Italian Albums Chart	17

Singles

Year	Song	Billboard Hot 100	UK Singles
1979	"Lady Writer"	45	51

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA - U.S.	Gold	26 June 1979
RISA – South Africa	Gold	September 1979
RISA – South Africa	Platinum	September 1979
IFPI – Denmark	Gold	September 1979
IFPI – Denmark	Platinum	September 1979
IFPI – Finland	Gold	September 1979
IFPI – Finland	Platinum	September 1979
IFPI – Norway	Gold	September 1979
IFPI – Norway	Platinum	September 1979
IFPI – Sweden	Gold	September 1979
IFPI – Sweden	Platinum	September 1979
IFPI – Switzerland	Gold	September 1979
IFPI – Switzerland	Platinum	September 1979
PROMUSICAE – Spain	Gold	September 1979
PROMUSICAE – Spain	Platinum	September 1979
IFPI – Germany	Gold	September 1979
IFPI – Germany	Platinum	September 1979
BPI – UK	Silver	29 October 1985
BPI – UK	Gold	29 October 1985
BPI – UK	Platinum	29 October 1985
SNEP – France	2x Platinum	1991

External links

• Communiqué at MusicBrainz

References

1. ^ Ruhlmann, William (2011 [last update]). "Communiqué - Dire Straits | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/communiqu-r35451. Retrieved 5 July 2011. 
2. ^ Christgau, Robert (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: CG: dire straits". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=dire+straits. Retrieved 5 July 2011.