Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with John Illsley, Founding Member & Bass Guitarist of Legendary Rock Band DIRE STRAITS
About Harvey's guest:
Today’s special guest, John Illsley, is a founding member of one of the greatest rock bands of all time: Dire Straits.
He played bass guitar and sang backing vocals throughout the entire duration of the band, from 1977 to 1995, during which time they recorded 6 studio albums and 2 live albums and performed well over 1,000 concerts at major venues throughout the world, on 6 world tours.
Dire Straits sold a phenomenal 120 million albums. In fact, their album “Brothers in Arms”, is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Dire Straits earned 6 Grammy Awards, 3 Brit Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, and a Juno Award. In 1989, our guest, along with the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, Mark Knopfler, received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. In 2009, Dire Straits received the Heritage Award, and in 2018, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Our guest has also had an impressive solo career, with 8 studio albums including “Never Told a Soul”, “Glass”, “Streets of Heaven”, “Long Shadows”, “Beautiful You”, and 2 live albums, including my favourite, “Live in Les Baux de Provence” with the Keltic rock group CUNLA, and Greg Pearle.
His latest album, is simply entitled “EIGHT”, and it’s a collection of compelling songs reflecting both his musical roots and his strong vision of what really matters in life. After Dire Straits disbanded, our guest became heavily engaged in his other passion besides music – he’s a renowned artist. His paintings have been displayed in some of the world’s most prestigious galleries, and he’s had solo exhibitions in London, New York, Sydney and across Europe.
Last year, he released his absorbing and poignant memoir, “My Life in Dire Straits”, which gives us a candid look inside the extraordinary journey of his life as a member of this legendary band.
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