Album
Making Movies
Making Movies is the third studio album by Dire Straits, following their self-titled debut in 1978 and Communiqué in 1979. It came out on 17 October 1980 through Vertigo, with Warner Bros. handling the United States and Mercury releasing it in Canada. Its sound sits across rock, blues rock and roots rock, with touches of pop and country.
Two songs stand out. "Romeo and Juliet" reached number 8 on the UK singles chart, and "Tunnel of Love" was later heard in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. The album topped the charts in Italy and Norway, reached number 4 in the UK and number 19 in the US, and went on to earn platinum status in America and double-platinum in Britain. It's a good place to hear the band between their debut and the later hits of Love Over Gold.
Making Movies: tracklist, credits and charts
7 tracks · 37:40Tracklist
- 1Tunnel of LoveII, Knopfler, Rodgers8:09
- 2Romeo and JulietMark Knopfler5:54
- 3SkateawayMark Knopfler6:19
- 4Expresso LoveMark Knopfler5:03
- 5Hand in HandMark Knopfler4:49
- 6Solid RockMark Knopfler3:20
- 7Les BoysMark Knopfler4:06
- Produced by
- Jimmy Iovine, Mark Knopfler
- Recorded at
- Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Power Station, New York City
- Recorded
- 20 June – 25 August 1980
- Engineered by
- Shelly Yakus
- Artwork
- Neil Terk
- Photography
- Brian Griffin
- Labels
- Vertigo, Warner Bros. (US), Mercury (Canada)
- Length
- 37:40
Line-up
- Roy Bittan · keyboard · guest
- John Illsley · bass guitar, background vocals
- Mark Knopfler · guitar, lead vocals
- Pick Withers · drums (drum set), background vocals
Singles
- “Tunnel of Love” · 24 October 1980 (EU)
- “Skateaway” · December 1980 (US)
- “Romeo and Juliet” · 9 January 1981
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1980–2009 | 4 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1980–2009 | 19 |
| Italian Albums · 1980–2009 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1980–2009 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1980–2009 | 3 |
| Swedish Albums · 1980–2009 | 4 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1980–2009 | 6 |
| Dutch Albums · 1980–2009 | 6 |
| Spanish Albums (AFE) · 1980–2009 | 6 |
| German Albums · 1980–2009 | 7 |
All 12 charts
| Austrian Albums · 1980–2009 | 15 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1980–2009 | 21 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1989 | 2× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2026 | Gold |
| Finland · 1995 | Platinum |
| France · 1981 | Gold |
| Germany · 1981 | Gold |
| Italy · 2021 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1980 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Spain · 1981 | Gold |
| Switzerland · 1996 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1985 | 2× Platinum |
| United States · 2001 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
87.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
6.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
142k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
41k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 17 October
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More from Dire Straits
Full discography →
Dire Straits
1978
Communiqué
1979
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 1980
All of 1980 →
Back in Black
AC/DC · 1980
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
David Bowie · 1980
Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne · 1980
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden · 1980
Seventeen Seconds
The Cure · 1980
Boy
U2 · 1980
British Steel
Judas Priest · 1980
Sandinista!
The Clash · 1980
Permanent Waves
Rush · 1980
The Game
Queen · 1980
Emotional Rescue
The Rolling Stones · 1980
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
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
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 + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 17 October 1980 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 17 October 1980 | |
| Wikidata | 17 October 1980 | |
| US release | 1980 | earliest US date |
44 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| — | UA | Vertigo | 042280005023 | remaster |
| — | AU | Vertigo | 3259180005023 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| — | XW | EMI | 042280005023 | other |
| — | GB | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| 1980 | PT | Vertigo | other | |
| 1980 | NZ | Vertigo | other | |
| 1980 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992348010 | other |
| 1980 | AU | Vertigo | other | |
| 1980 | AT | Vertigo | other | |
| 17 October 1980 | CA | Mercury Records | original | |
| 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005023 | other |
| 15 March 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005023 | other |
| 15 March 1984 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005023 | other |
| 1985 | CA | Columbia House | 042280005023 | other |
| 1985 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005023 | other |
| 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992348027 | other |
| 1985 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1986 | DE | Vertigo | 3259180005023 | other |
| 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992348027 | other |
| 17 June 1991 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210525608 | other |
| 25 November 1991 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011329326 | other |
| 1993 | FR | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| 1996 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210861638 | other |
| 1996 | NL | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| 16 January 1996 | GB | Vertigo | 042280005023 | remaster |
| 1999 | US | Simply Vinyl | 643346014715 | other |
| 19 September 2000 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624777120 | remaster |
| 2003 | ES | Vertigo | 8431588027325 | other |
| 1 July 2004 | AU | Vertigo | 042280005023 | other |
| 22 October 2008 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005532398 | other |
| 22 October 2008 | JP | Universal International | 4988005532398 | other |
| 9 December 2008 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624777168 | other |
| 2010 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624969716 | other |
| 22 February 2012 | JP | Universal International | 4988005697677 | other |
| 20 February 2013 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005748874 | remaster |
| 19 May 2014 | XE | Mercury Records | 602537529056 | remaster |
| 22 May 2018 | GB | Mercury Records | other | |
| 29 October 2019 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797218665 | deluxe |
| 13 November 2019 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797246811 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1423x1411, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1423×1411 | upscaled: minor: best source 1423x1411, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |