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Alan Clark | |
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 Alan Clark on stage | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 5 March 1952 County Durham, England |
| Genres | Rock and roll, classical, |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, musical director |
| Instrument | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Website | alanclarkmusic |
Alan Clark (born 5 March 1952) is an English musician who was the first keyboardist and co-producer of the rock band Dire Straits. [1] In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a significant member of the band. [2]
As a six-year-old child, Clark received piano lessons. From the age of nine years, he taught himself. At the age of 13 and while still a pupil at Chester-le-Street Grammar School, he began to play Hammond organ in working men's clubs in the northeast of England, and thereafter forged a successful career in music which included playing with a reformed Geordie which featured Brian Johnson (who would later join AC/DC), playing and recording with a duo called Splinter who were signed to George Harrison's Dark Horse label, playing and recording with Gallagher & Lyle, and playing on a tour of major UK festivals with Lindisfarne.
Clark joined Dire Straits in 1980 [3] and remained a major influence on the band's music until the band's eventual dissolution in 1995. He co-produced the band's final album, On Every Street . [1]
In 1983 he played on Bob Dylan's album Infidels and also on Dylan's following Empire Burlesque album. Clark also worked with Knopfler on some of his film soundtrack work, most notably Knopfler's most successful soundtrack on the film Local Hero , in which he also makes an appearance as a piano player. He has also worked with Mark's brother David on his solo albums. Throughout his time with Dire Straits, he was also Tina Turner's musical director and played on/arranged her hit "Private Dancer", toured and recorded with Eric Clapton (Journeyman) as well as playing in the "Orchestra Nights" performances with the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Michael Kamen during Clapton's 24 Nights concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in 1990 and 1991. He co-wrote with Clapton the score for the movie Communion .
Clark has also played and recorded with other artists including, among others:
In 2001 Clark composed the music for the long-running paranormal show Most Haunted . He has also composed music for TV shows and commercials.
In 2004 he performed the theme from Local Hero with Mark Knopfler at the opening of Alan Shearer's bar in Newcastle United football ground.
In 2005 he wrote, directed and scored a film, The Inspiration, to commemorate 25 years of the Great North Run, which was screened and performed live with the northern Philharmonic at Sage Gateshead.
In 2009, Clark reunited with Dire Straits band member John Illsley for a concert in San Vigilio, Italy, and with Illsley and Phil Palmer in 2010 at the XRoads club in Rome, playing a set of Dire Straits songs.
In 2011, he formed a band, the Straits, to play the music of Dire Straits at a charity show at the Albert Hall, which featured drummer Steve Ferrone from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Dire Straits' guitarist Phil Palmer. They went on to perform other successful shows as the Dire Straits Legacy, which included Dire Straits members Danny Cummings, Mel Collins, Jack Sonni, and producer/bass player Trevor Horn. [4]
He is a member of a band called Dire Straits Legacy, which features himself, Phil Palmer, Steve Ferrone, Trevor Horn, Danny Cummings, Mel Collins, Primi de Biasse and Marco Caviglia, and in 2017 he wrote and produced, with Phil Palmer, an album for the band called Three Chord Trick.
In 2017 he recorded in Real World studios with Italian artist Pacifico.
He is a member of Trevor Horn's band and works/records with Horn on other projects.
In 2019 he co-produced with Trevor Horn and Phil Palmer, Renato Zero's hugely successful record Zero Il Folle and played on several major records including Trevor HornReimagines the Eighties and Rod Stewart's You're In My Heart .
In June 2019, he played a solo piano concert at the Milan Piano Festival.
In 2020, he co-wrote and co-produced several tracks on Renato Zero's hugely successful Zerosettanta album.
In Sept 2021, he released his solo piano record Backstory.
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers. The band was active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995.
Mark Freuder Knopfler is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995. He pursued a solo career after the band dissolved, and is now an independent artist.
On Every Street is the sixth and final studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 9 September 1991 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The follow-up to the band's massively successful album Brothers in Arms, On Every Street reached the top of the UK Albums Chart and was also certified platinum by the RIAA.
Love over Gold is the fourth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 24 September 1982 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album featured two singles: "Private Investigations," which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and "Industrial Disease," which reached No. 9 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States. The title track was never released as a single, but two years later a live version from Alchemy: Dire Straits Live reached #15 in France, #29 in New Zealand, #43 in the Netherlands and #50 in the band's native United Kingdom. The album reached number one on album charts in Australia, Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as number 19 in the United States. Love over Gold was later certified gold in the United States, platinum in France and Germany and double-platinum in Canada and the United Kingdom.
David Knopfler is a British musician. Together with his older brother Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, and Pick Withers, he founded the rock band Dire Straits in 1977, serving as rhythm guitarist on their first two albums. After quitting the band in 1980 during the recording of their third album, Knopfler embarked upon a solo career as a recording artist. Knopfler initially created smaller record labels, publishing companies, and indie labels.
"Money for Nothing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, the second track on their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms (1985). It was released as the album's second single on 28 June 1985 through Vertigo Records. The song's lyrics are written from the point of view of two working-class men watching music videos and commenting on what they see. The song features a guest appearance by Sting who sings the signature falsetto introduction, background vocals and a backing chorus of "I want my MTV". The groundbreaking video was the first to be aired on MTV Europe when the network launched on 1 August 1987.
Extendedance Play is a studio 12" EP by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 14 January 1983 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The record contains three tracks on the international version and four on the U.S. version, which also included the song "Badges, Posters, Stickers, T-Shirts," an outtake from the Love over Gold sessions that had been released in other territories as the b-side to "Private Investigations".
Melvyn Desmond Collins is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician.
David "Pick" Withers is an English drummer. He was the original drummer of the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations". Withers was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018.
John Edward Illsley is an English musician, best known as bassist of the rock band Dire Straits. He has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award.
On the Night is the second live album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released on 10 May 1993 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album features many of the band's later hits, including the singles "Walk of Life" and "Money for Nothing". The cover art of the album features dishes of the Very Large Array in central New Mexico.
Local Hero is the debut soundtrack album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released in April 1983 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It contains music composed for the 1983 film Local Hero, produced by David Puttnam and both written and directed by Bill Forsyth.
Philip John Palmer is a British rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits.
Sleepwalking is the fifth studio album by Scottish rock singer Gerry Rafferty, released in September 1982. It is the follow-up to the 1980 album Snakes and Ladders. It would be Rafferty's last studio album for Liberty/United Artists, and his last for six years.
"Tunnel of Love" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits. It appears on the 1980 album Making Movies, and subsequently on the live albums Alchemy and Live at the BBC and the greatest hits albums Money for Nothing, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, and The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations. The song was also featured in the 1982 Richard Gere film An Officer and a Gentleman and was included in the film’s accompanying soundtrack album.
Chris White is an English jazz/rock saxophonist who toured with Dire Straits from 1985 to 1995, and who has played with many bands and artists, including Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Chris De Burgh and Mick Jagger.
British Grove Studios is a recording studio located at 20 British Grove in Chiswick, West London, and owned by musician Mark Knopfler.
The On Every Street Tour was the final concert tour by British rock band Dire Straits, supporting their sixth and final album, On Every Street. It lasted from 23 August 1991 to 9 October 1992, and included 229 shows in 19 countries throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The world tour sold 7.1 million tickets.
The Mark Knopfler discography consists of recordings by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, not including his work with Dire Straits. Knopfler began recording apart from Dire Straits in 1983, when he released his first soundtrack album Local Hero. That same year he produced his first album, Infidels for Bob Dylan. Between 1983 and 2016, Knopfler composed and released nine soundtrack albums, the last of which was with Evelyn Glennie.
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| Live albums | |
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| International | |
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