Dire Straits

Dire Straits is the self-titled debut album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in October 1978 (see 1978 in music) by Phonogram Records and in the United States by Warner Bros. Records.

Dire Straits's first album was an anachronism even when it debuted in 1978. It was a droplet of minimalist pub rock in a sea of punk. But against the odds, it succeeded, buoyed by lead guitarist and singer Mark Knopfler's gruff, Dylanesque delivery and the major hit single Sultans of Swing. Knopfler's lyrics paint a vivid picture of the London nightlife while taking time elsewhere to touch on subjects as diverse as obscurity in the art world, the versatility of a knife, and playing the fool in a relationship. Dire Straits's debut album proved to be one of their strongest and most enduring throughout their 17-year career.

The album 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 September 19, 2000 in the United States. For 2010 release of an anniversary album is planned. It will be devoted the 30 anniversary of the edition of a vinyl.

The cover image is taken from a painting by Chuck Loyola, while the Dire Straits Fender icon was designed by Geoff Halpern.

The original version of the album contained a slightly shorter version of "Sultans of Swing", omitting the last seconds of the guitar solo at the end of the song, but the full-length version was included on the remastered edition of the album.

Cassette versions of the album often featured the sides in reverse order to the original vinyl album: side 'A' comprised Tracks 6 through 9, while side 'B' featured Tracks 1 through 5. The French issue of the cassette saw 'Down to the Waterline' and 'Wild West End' interchanged in the order mentioned above to allow for a more equal playing time on each side.