National steel guitar mark knopfler biography

British musician (born 1949)

"Knopfler" redirects here. For his brother, see David Knopfler.

Musical artist

Mark Freuder KnopflerOBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995. He pursued a solo career after the band dissolved, and is now an independent artist.

Knopfler was born in Glasgow, and raised in Blyth, near Newcastle. After graduating from the University of Leeds and working for three years as a college lecturer, Knopfler co-founded Dire Straits with his younger brother, David Knopfler. The band recorded six albums, including Brothers in Arms (1985), one of the best-selling albums in history. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler began a solo career, and has produced ten solo albums to date.^[1] He has composed and produced film scores for nine films, including Local Hero (1983), Cal (1984), The Princess Bride (1987), Wag the