Album · Live
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live is the first live album from the British band, a double record released in March 1984 on Vertigo, with Warner Bros. handling the US. It was taped over two nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 22 and 23 July 1983, and the cover uses a painting by Brett Whiteley.
It arrived after Love Over Gold and before Brothers in Arms, and it gathers songs from the band's first four albums, the ExtendedancEPlay EP and Mark Knopfler's Local Hero soundtrack. What makes it worth hearing is how freely the band treats its own material: many songs have reworked arrangements and stretched-out instrumental passages, so these are fresh takes rather than note-for-note replays. It was remastered in 1996 and again for the US in 2001, and it appears in the Live 1978-1992 box set from November 2023.
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 1:28:33Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1Once Upon a Time in the WestMark Knopfler13:01
- 2Romeo and JulietMark Knopfler8:24
- 3Expresso LoveMark Knopfler5:41
- 4Private InvestigationsMark Knopfler7:16
- 5Sultans of SwingMark Knopfler10:53
- Disc 2
- 1Two Young LoversMark Knopfler4:51
- 2Intro: The Carousel Waltz / Tunnel of LoveRichard Rodgers14:43
- 3Telegraph RoadMark Knopfler13:00
- 4Solid RockMark Knopfler5:35
- 5Going Home – Theme From ‘Local Hero’Mark Knopfler5:09
- Produced by
- Mark Knopfler
- Recorded at
- Hammersmith Apollo
- Recorded
- 22–23 July 1983
- Labels
- Vertigo, Warner Bros. (US)
- Length
- 1:28:33
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1984 | 3 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1984 | 46 |
| Australian Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 1 |
| Dutch Charts Chart · 1984 | 1 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 2 |
| New Zealand Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 2 |
| UK Music Videos Chart · 2010 | 2 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1984 | 3 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 3 |
| Danish Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 3 |
All 22 charts
| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) · 1984 | 3 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart · 1984 | 3 |
| Swiss Albums Chart · 1984 | 3 |
| Austrian Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 5 |
| Dutch Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 5 |
| Spanish Albums Chart · 1984 | 6 |
| Finnish Music DVDs Chart · 2010 | 7 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart · 1984 | 7 |
| German Albums Chart · 1984 | 8 |
| Austrian Albums Chart · 1984 | 9 |
| Swedish Albums Chart · 1984 | 19 |
| Canadian RPM Albums Chart · 1984 | 26 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2010 | Gold |
| Brazil | Platinum |
| Canada | Gold |
| France · 1984 | Gold |
| Germany | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1992 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Spain · 1984 | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Platinum |
| United States | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
74.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
92k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
76k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 16 March
Every year →
More from Dire Straits
Full discography →
Dire Straits
1978
Communiqué
1979
Making Movies
1980
Love Over Gold
1982
ExtendedancEPlay
1983
Brothers in Arms
1985
Money for Nothing
1988
On Every Street
1991
On the Night
1993
Encores
1993
Live at the BBC
1995
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits
1998
The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations
2005
The best of 1984
All of 1984 →
Ride the Lightning
Metallica · 1984
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
The Unforgettable Fire
U2 · 1984
1984
Van Halen · 1984
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers · 1984
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi · 1984
The Top
The Cure · 1984
Tonight
David Bowie · 1984
The Works
Queen · 1984
Iron Maiden Christmas EP 1984
Christmas EP
Iron Maiden · 1984
Perfect Strangers
Deep Purple · 1984
Defenders of the Faith
Judas Priest · 1984
More on Vertigo
The label →
Metallica
Metallica · 1991
…And Justice for All
Metallica · 1988
Brothers in Arms
Dire Straits · 1985
Death Magnetic
Metallica · 2008
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
Dire Straits
Dire Straits · 1978
Making Movies
Dire Straits · 1980
Load
Metallica · 1996
Love Over Gold
Dire Straits · 1982
On Every Street
Dire Straits · 1991
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1984-03-16 vs 1984-03-12 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | March 1984 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 16 March 1984 | |
| Wikidata | 12 March 1984 | |
| US release | 1984 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1984 | earliest UK or European date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042281824326 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992508520 | other |
| 1984 | PT | Vertigo | other | |
| 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 042281824319 | other |
| 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 042281824326 | other |
| 1984 | GB | Vertigo | other | |
| 1984 | CA | Vertigo | 042281824326 | other |
| 1984 | — | Vertigo | other | |
| 1984 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992508513 | other |
| 1984 | GB | Vertigo | other | |
| March 1984 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992508520 | original |
| 1996 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210861133 | other |
| 3 June 1996 | GB | Vertigo | 042281824326 | remaster |
| 30 April 2007 | XW | EMI | 042281824326 | other |
| 22 October 2008 | JP | Universal International | 4988005532411 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Universal Music | 602527336312 | other |
| 10 May 2010 | FR | — | 602527336305 | other |
| 24 June 2010 | XE | Universal Music | 602527336312 | other |
| 22 February 2012 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005697707 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1417x1410, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1417×1410 | upscaled: minor: best source 1417x1410, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |