On this date in 1978 Dire Straits released Sultans of Swing. 10 things you might not know about the song.
It was Dire Straits’s first single, one of five songs they’d included on a demo tape they’d made in July 1977.
The song was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler.
He got the idea for the song when he visited a pub in Deptford, South London, where a mediocre Dixieland Jazz band were playing. The pub was almost empty. When the band finished their set and announced their name as the Sultans of Swing, Knopfler thought the contrast between the name and reality was quite amusing and wrote a song about it.
Knopfler wasn’t that impressed with the song when he first wrote it. It was only when he played it on a new Guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, that he realised the song had potential. He said, "It just came alive as soon as I played it on that '61 Strat ... the new chord changes just presented themselves and fell into place."
The song is about a similar band called Sultans Of Swing. The band in the song aren’t bad, but aren’t bothered about taking things any further. At least one member – Harry – has a daytime job and is doing alright.
"The band was playing Dixie double four time," say the lyrics. Dixie double is an actual style which was popularised by Django Reinhradt. The guitar plays fast, together with the bass.
The line “Then a crowd a young boys they're foolin' around in the corner, Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles” was inspired by an actual group of young men who were in the pub at the time, ignoring the music.
The B-side, Eastbound Train, was a live track from the Live at the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival album.
Despite the name, the song is not played in a “swing” style.
"Guitar George" and "Harry", mentioned in the lyrics are George Young and Harry Vander, who were guitarists in the band The Easybeats. George Young was the older brother of Angus Young of AC/DC.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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