Dire Straits tour

Dire Straits Tour
Promotional tour by Dire Straits
Associated album	Dire Straits
Start date	June 9, 1978 (1978-06-09)
End date	November 18, 1978 (1978-11-18)
Legs	2
Shows	55
Dire Straits tour chronology
Pre-Dire Straits Tour (1977) Dire Straits Tour (1978) Communiqué Tour (1979)

Dire Straits tour was the first concert tour of Dire Straits held in 1978. On it, songs from the debut album of the group Dire Straits were played.

Overview

The tour travelled through Europe, including concerts in the UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. It was the Dire Straits' first performance before a large audience.

The first part of the tour promoted their first single release, Sultans of Swing. Dire Straits traveled around Great Britain in June and July 1978, performing in England, Scotland and Wales. The group typically performed in small halls with a maximum capacity of one thousand.

The second part of the tour was to promote their debut album, Dire Straits. The group performed in several European countries, met journalists, and was also seen on television.

Band members

• Mark Knopfler – lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar.
• John Illsley – bass, backing vocals
• David Knopfler – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Pick Withers – drums

Songs

The debut album version performed, with all the songs being written by Mark Knopfler, was as follows:

Dire Straits album's tracklist:

1. "Down to the Waterline" – 3:55
2. "Water of Love" – 5:23
3. "Setting Me Up" – 3:18
4. "Six Blade Knife" – 4:10
5. "Southbound Again" – 2:58
6. "Sultans of Swing" – 5:47
7. "In the Gallery" – 6:16
8. "Wild West End" – 4:42
9. "Lions" – 5:05

The song "Eastbound Train" was also performed. Whilst it did not appear on the album, a live version was released as the B Side to "Sultans Of Swing" the same year.

Tour dates

6 10 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 1 2 4,9 5-6, 19 8 Dire Straits tour dates of June (Red): 6-Wolverhampton, 10-Dudley, 13-Sheffield, 14-Huddersfield, 15-Leicester, 16-Kirklevington, 17-Middlesbrough, 18-Leeds, 20-Edinburgh, 21-Dundee, 23-Burton-on-Trent, 24-Nottingham, 25-Newbridge, 27-Manchester, 28-Lowestoft, 29-Bristol, 30-Plymouth Dire Straits tour dates of July (Blue): 1-Oxford 2-Deptford, London, 4-Birmingham, 5, 6&19-Soho, London

2 5-6 8 19 Dire Straits tour dates of July: 2-Deptford, 5&6-Soho, 19-Soho

Number	Date	City	Country	Venue	Capacity
First leg: June 1978 - United Kingdom
1	June 6, 1978	Wolverhampton	England	Lafayette Club	600
2	June 10, 1978	Dudley		JB's Dudley	1000
3	June 13, 1978	Sheffield		University of Sheffield
4	June 14, 1978	Huddersfield		University of Huddersfield
5	June 15, 1978	Leicester		University of Leicester
6	June 16, 1978	Kirklevington		Country Club	375
7	June 17, 1978	Middlesbrough		Rock Garden
8	June 18, 1978	Leeds		Fforde Green Hotel
9	June 20, 1978	Edinburgh	Scotland	Tiffany's
10	June 21, 1978	Dundee		Technical College
11	June 23, 1978	Burton upon Trent	England	76 Club
12	June 24, 1978	Nottingham		Boat Hall
13	June 25, 1978	Newbridge	Wales	Workingman's Institute and Memorial Hall
14	June 27, 1978	Manchester	England	Rafters	1000
15	June 28, 1978	Lowestoft		Talk of the East
16	June 29, 1978	Bristol		Granary
17	June 30, 1978	Plymouth		Metro Club
18	July 1, 1978	Oxford		Oxford Brookes University
19	July 2, 1978	London		Albany Theatre	600
20	July 4, 1978	Birmingham		Barbarella's Birmingham at Barbarella recorded
21	July 5, 1978	London		Marquee Club
22	July 6, 1978
23	July 8, 1978	St Albans		Alban Arena
24	July 9, 1978	Birmingham		ATV
25	July 19, 1978	London		Paris Theatre

External links

• "Dire Straits tour 1978". Tours. Canada: Mark Knopfler official site. http://www.mark-knopfler.info/tour1978.htm. Retrieved 13 February 2010.