Mark Knopfler looks back on the success of Dire Straits’ ‘Brothers in Arms’

This year marked the 40th anniversary of Dire Straits‘ blockbuster album Brothers in Arms, and frontman Mark Knopfler is reflecting on the album’s success in a new interview with Guitar World.

“Well, it’s tempting just to say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing’ and downplay it, but thinking about Brothers in Arms now, it seems like that record meant so much to so many people,” he tells the magazine, adding that the album’s success was “a combination of luck and events crashing into each other.”

Knopfler suggests timing had a lot to do with the album’s success, noting it helped that when it was released, they’d already had some hits in America. Plus, it was released just as the CD had been invented and got played in stores that sold audio systems to show off the equipment.

“That’s where a lot of people first heard it,” he says. “Then the singles made it in different countries and it became a worldwide thing. Next thing you know, you’re in the eye of the storm.”

Released May 17, 1985, Brothers in Arms was Dire Straits’ most successful album; it has been certified nine-times Platinum in the U.S. It was also the first album in history to sell over 1 million CDs.

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