Album · Compilation
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits is the band's second greatest hits collection, released in October 1998. It arrived three years after Dire Straits dissolved in 1995, and takes its title from their 1978 hit single. Robert Sandall wrote the liner notes. It came out as a single CD and as a limited edition double, and a DVD of the same name followed.
For anyone wanting the band's story in one sitting, the single disc is the obvious place to start. The double edition adds a second disc of live recordings from Mark Knopfler's first solo tour in 1996, a neat look at where he went next. The DVD gathers the music videos for every song on the single CD, with short interviews in which Knopfler talks about each track. In 2002 the two CDs and the DVD were bundled in a limited edition box set in Universal's "Sight and Sound" series.
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits: tracklist, credits and charts
16 tracks · 1:18:32Tracklist
- 1Sultans of SwingMark Knopfler5:44
- 2Lady WriterMark Knopfler3:44
- 3Romeo and JulietMark Knopfler5:59
- 4Tunnel of LoveII, Knopfler, Rodgers8:21
- 5Private InvestigationsMark Knopfler5:49
- 6Twisting by the PoolMark Knopfler3:41
- 7Love Over Gold (live)Mark Knopfler3:38
- 8So Far AwayMark Knopfler4:01
- 9Money for NothingMark Knopfler and Sting4:09
- 10Brothers in ArmsMark Knopfler4:49
- 11Walk of LifeMark Knopfler4:08
- 12Calling ElvisMark Knopfler4:36
- 13Heavy FuelMark Knopfler5:00
- 14On Every StreetMark Knopfler4:38
- 15Your Latest Trick (live)Mark Knopfler5:43
- 16Local Hero / Wild Theme (live)Mark Knopfler4:31
- Produced by
- Muff Winwood, Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler, Jimmy Iovine, Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman
- Recorded at
- Basing Street Studios, Compass Point Studios, Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Jam Studios, AIR Studios Montserrat, AIR Studios, Stadion Feijenoord
- Recorded
- 1978–1992
- Mixed by
- Gregg Hamm, Bob Clearmountain
- Mixed at
- Portside Sound Studios, Power Station at BerkleeNYC
- Engineered by
- Rhett Davies, Jack Nuber, Shelly Yakus, John Etchells, Neil Dorfsman, Chuck Ainlay, Jack Joseph‐Puig, Bill Schnee
- Labels
- Vertigo, Mercury, Warner (US)
- Length
- 1:18:32
Line-up
- John Illsley · bass guitar, background vocals, bass
- David Knopfler · guitar, electric guitar, background vocals · guest
- Mark Knopfler · guitar, lead vocals, electric guitar, guitar family, vocals
- Pick Withers · drums (drum set), background vocals · guest
- Barry Beckett · keyboard · guest
- Roy Bittan · keyboard · guest
- Alan Clark · piano, keyboard · guest
- Hal Lindes · guitar · guest
- Terry Williams · drums (drum set) · guest
- Guy Fletcher · keyboard, background vocals · guest
- Omar Hakim · drums (drum set) · guest
- Sting · vocals · guest
- Dire Straits · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1998 | 6 |
| Finnish Albums · 1998 | 1 |
| French Compilations Chart · 1998 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1998 | 2 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1998 | 3 |
| European Albums Chart · 1998 | 3 |
| Swiss Albums · 1998 | 3 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1998 | 4 |
| Austrian Albums · 1998 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1998 | 6 |
All 21 charts
| Danish Albums · 1998 | 6 |
| Dutch Albums · 1998 | 6 |
| German Albums · 1998 | 6 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1998 | 6 |
| Swedish Albums · 1998 | 7 |
| Scottish Albums · 1998 | 9 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1998 | 10 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1998 | 10 |
| Italian Albums · 1998 | 44 |
| Spanish Albums · 1998 | 44 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1998 | 60 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Platinum |
| Australia · 1998 | 6× Platinum |
| Austria | Gold |
| Belgium · 1998 | Platinum |
| Finland | Platinum |
| France · 1999 | Platinum |
| Germany | Gold |
| Greece · 2002 | Gold |
| Hungary · 2001 | Gold |
| Italy | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1998 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Norway | Platinum |
| Spain · 2005 | 2× Platinum |
| Sweden · 1998 | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2025 | 3× Platinum |
| Europe · 2009 | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
64.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
616
ListenBrainz listeners
32k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
62k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1998-10-19 vs 1998-10-16 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 16 October 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 19 October 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 1998 | |
| US release | 19 October 1998 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 16 October 1998 | earliest UK or European date |
16 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Vertigo | 731453800328 | other |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 731455865820 | other |
| 1998 | FR | Vertigo | 731455865820 | other |
| 1998 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210127031 | other |
| 16 October 1998 | GB | Vertigo | 731453800328 | original |
| 19 October 1998 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 9362471302 | other |
| 19 October 1998 | XE | Vertigo | 731453800328 | other |
| 19 October 1998 | GB | Vertigo | 731455865820 | other |
| 19 October 1998 | CA | Vertigo | 731455865820 | other |
| 27 October 1998 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624713029 | other |
| 10 November 1998 | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| 2003 | XE | Mercury Records | 602498134757 | other |
| 2004 | XE | Universal Music DVD Video | 602498231814 | other |
| 18 November 2008 | DE | Mercury Records | 600753016121 | other |
| 20 June 2012 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005712844 | other |
| — | — | EMI | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 510×500 | upscaled |