Album
Dire Straits
Dire Straits is the debut album from the British band of the same name, and it arrived on Vertigo on 9 June 1978. It is where their story begins: a rock record with roots, blues, country and pop all mixed into its sound, rather than a single style held to rigidly.
The song most people know from it is "Sultans of Swing", which reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 8 in the UK. The album itself did well too, topping the charts in Germany, Australia and France, climbing to number 2 in the United States and number 5 in Britain. It went on to earn double platinum certification in both countries. If you want to hear where the band started, before Communiqué and Making Movies followed, this is the place.
Dire Straits: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 42:00Tracklist
- 1Down to the WaterlineMark Knopfler4:01
- 2Water of LoveMark Knopfler5:27
- 3Setting Me UpMark Knopfler3:20
- 4Six Blade KnifeMark Knopfler4:12
- 5Southbound AgainMark Knopfler2:59
- 6Sultans of SwingMark Knopfler5:52
- 7In the GalleryMark Knopfler6:19
- 8Wild West EndMark Knopfler4:43
- 9LionsMark Knopfler5:07
- Produced by
- Muff Winwood
- Recorded at
- Basing Street Studios (Notting Hill, London)
- Recorded
- February 1978
- Engineered by
- Rhett Davies
- Labels
- Vertigo, Warner Bros., Mercury
- Length
- 42:00
Line-up
- John Illsley · bass guitar
- David Knopfler · guitar
- Mark Knopfler · guitar, lead vocals
- Pick Withers · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Sultans of Swing” · May 1978
- “Water of Love” · October 1978 (NL)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1978–2010 | 2 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1978–2010 | 5 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1978–2010 | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1978–2010 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums · 1978–2010 | 3 |
| German Albums · 1978–2010 | 3 |
| Swedish Albums · 1978–2010 | 6 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1978–2010 | 10 |
| Spanish Albums Chart · 1978–2010 | 10 |
| Norwegian Rock Albums (IFPI Norge) · Combined | 11 |
All 14 charts
| Austrian Albums · 1978–2010 | 17 |
| Italian Albums · 1978–2010 | 66 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2025–2026 | 71 |
| French Albums · 1978–2010 | 194 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Austria | Gold |
| Brazil | Gold |
| Canada · 1985 | 4× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2024 | Platinum |
| France · 1982 | Platinum |
| Germany · 1979 | Platinum |
| Greece | Gold |
| Italy · 2023 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1978 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Sweden | Silver |
| Switzerland · 1991 | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1986 | 2× Platinum |
| United States · 1987 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
91.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
15k
ListenBrainz listeners
156k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
102k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 9 June
Every year →
Hail to the Thief
Radiohead · 2003
Some Girls
The Rolling Stones · 1978
A Bigger Bang
The Rolling Stones · 2005
Diabolus in Musica
Slayer · 1998
Night Songs
Cinderella · 1986
Adderall
Slipknot · 2023
Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls · 1987
The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
David Bowie · 1997
Quadrophenia: Live in London
The Who · 2014
In Rainbows Disk 2
Radiohead · 2009
Six
Extreme · 2023
Trouble Maker
Rancid · 2017
More from Dire Straits
Full discography →
Communiqué
1979
Making Movies
1980
Love Over Gold
1982
ExtendedancEPlay
1983
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
1984
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 1978
All of 1978 →The Rolling Stones Time Is on My Side 1978
Time Is on My Side
The Rolling Stones · 1978
Some Girls
The Rolling Stones · 1978
Van Halen
Van Halen · 1978
Powerage
AC/DC · 1978
Jazz
Queen · 1978
Road to Ruin
Ramones · 1978
Hemispheres
Rush · 1978
Give ’Em Enough Rope
The Clash · 1978
Stained Class
Judas Priest · 1978
Killing Machine
Judas Priest · 1978
Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll
Rainbow · 1978
Who Are You
The Who · 1978
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
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
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1978-06-02 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 2 June 1978 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 9 June 1978 | |
| Wikidata | 9 June 1978 | |
| US release | October 1978 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 2 June 1978 | earliest UK or European date |
55 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992737722 | other |
| — | XW | EMI | 042280005122 | other |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | GB | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624776963 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992737722 | other |
| — | AU | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | CA | Vertigo | 04228000512297 | other |
| — | UA | Vertigo | 042280005191 | remaster |
| — | DE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| — | AT | Vertigo | other | |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992737722 | other |
| 1978 | PT | Vertigo | other | |
| 1978 | JP | Vertigo | other | |
| 2 June 1978 | GB | Vertigo | original | |
| October 1978 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| October 1978 | DE | Vertigo | other | |
| 1982 | GB | Phonogram | other | |
| 1983 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1983 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1983 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 25 October 1983 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992737722 | other |
| 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1985 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1986 | DE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| 1986 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1986 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1987 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005122 | other |
| 1989 | FR | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| 17 June 1991 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210525400 | other |
| 17 June 1991 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210525400 | other |
| 1992 | FR | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| 1996 | AU | Vertigo | 042280005122 | remaster |
| 1996 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210861430 | remaster |
| 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
| 3 June 1996 | GB | Mercury Records | other | |
| 19 September 2000 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624776925 | remaster |
| 23 January 2008 | JP | Universal | 4988005502131 | other |
| 22 October 2008 | JP | Universal International | 4988005532374 | remaster |
| 29 December 2009 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624978305 | other |
| 25 August 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005623379 | other |
| 12 October 2011 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005677563 | remaster |
| 25 September 2013 | JP | Universal | 4988005782182 | other |
| 20 June 2018 | JP | Vertigo | 4988031277508 | other |
| 29 October 2019 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797218467 | deluxe |
| 13 November 2019 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797246613 | other |
| 22 January 2021 | US | Warner Records | 603497846337 | other |
| 22 January 2021 | US | Rhino | 603497848614 | other |
| — | — | Vertigo | 042280005122 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3600x3600, downscaled to 3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3600×3600 | native: native 3600x3600, downscaled to 3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |