Knopfler, Mark

1949 – He was born on the 12th day of August this year in Glasglow, Scotland. He is best-known as the lead guitarist and vocalist for the band Dire Straits, but has also made albums as a solo performer and played in other groups (such as The Notting Hillbillies).

1965 – He made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo along with school-friend Sue Hercombe. Like many other schoolboys of the 1960s, he served an early apprenticeship by forming and joining anonymous schoolboy bands and listening to guitarists such as Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and James Burton.

1967 – Having displayed a flair for English at school, he studied journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College. At the end of the course he secured a job in Leeds as a junior reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post.

1969 – This year, he decided to further his studies and commenced a degree in English at Leeds University.

1978 – While he was with the band Dire Straits, they recorded and released their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits in this year to little fanfare, but five months later a single release, "Sultans of Swing" became a chart hit and album sales took off.

1982 Dire Straits released their fourth album, Love Over Gold. Love over Gold showcased the epic soundscape "Telegraph Road", the humorous "Industrial Disease", and the #2 hit "Private Investigations", which became a popular live song.

1983 – The film “Hero” was released this year, Around this time Mark Knopfler was also involved in writing the music score for this film.

1985 – The band made over 230 shows in their successful world tour.

1988 - Dire Straits was regrouped in this year for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act and were accompanied by Eric Clapton.

1991 – The final original studcio album of Dire Straits “On Every Street” was recorded and which was released in this year.

1993 - He was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Newcastle University.

1995 - Mark Knopfler launched his solo career and quietly disbanded Dire Straits in this year. However, the band's keyboardist Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost every piece of Knopfler's solo material following Dire Straits' dissolution.

1996 - The year after Dire Straits officially disbanded, Knopfler released his first solo album, Golden Heart. Formed during the Golden Heart sessions, the main line-up of his solo band, also known as "The 96'ers", has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up. In August the same year, Brothers in Arms was certified nine times platinum.

1997 – He recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. In October a hits collection of Dire Straits was released: Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits. It would, however, be three years before he was to release his next album, Sailing to Philadelphia.

2002 - Mark Knopfler did four charity concerts with Dire Straits members John Illsley, Chris White, Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher playing some old Dire Straits songs. The session also included The Notting Hillbillies. He also released his third solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream.

2004 – He was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosevnor Rd., Belgravia. He was severely injured. The accident was caused by a South American woman who was in England illegally and was subsequently deported. The planned Ragpicker's Dream tour was subsequently cancelled, but he recovered and was able to return to the stage in this year for his fourth album, Shangri-La.