John Illsley: The Life and Times of Dire Straits

An evening of memories and music.

JOHN ILLSLEY first took his ‘Life and Times of Dire Straits’ show on the road earlier this year. It played across nationwide venues, even taking in Glastonbury Festival, and proved such a rip-roaring success that he’s doing it again this Autumn.

Following tours of Germany, Holland and Spain, John plays a series of dates in the UK in November. Joined by old friend and Dire Straits co-manager Paul Cummins, who will be quizzing him on times past, he will also be playing many Dire Straits’ classics together with three members of his band.

Of course John Illsley is well placed to talk about life on the road and what it means to be in a band. He knows all about it, from humble beginnings to international travel, hectic schedules, massive arenas and exotic places to record.

A founder member and long-time bass player of DIRE STRAITS, John Illsley was a major part of one of the biggest bands of all time. Dire Straits sold well over 100 million albums, spent 1,100 weeks on the UK album charts alone and received countless awards including four Grammies and three Brits as well as an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So John knows exactly what it takes to be starting out, what it’s like when you’ve arrived and what a rollercoaster it all can be.

Now he is sharing some of that history, a complete treat for anyone remotely interested in music. (And make no mistake it is history, the absolute stuff of legend.) The show is a fascinating eye-opener with some wonderful music thrown in - an utterly entertaining and unique night out.

Kicking off on November 9th with a charity show (already sold out), ‘The Life and Times of Dire Straits’ runs until Saturday November 23rd taking in venues across the UK. Tickets are on sale now from venues/all usual tickets outlets starting at £20 (+ booking fee).

And to compliment his touring activity John has been in the studio with producers Guy Fletcher and Steve Smith. The result, a new album ‘Coming up for Air’ featuring John’s trademark style and distinctive vocals, was recently released to much critical acclaim.