Live at the BBC (Dire Straits album)
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Live at the BBC | ||||
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Live at the BBC is a live album by British rock band
Release
Live at the BBC was released on 26 June 1995, after the group officially disbanded. According to Knopfler, the album was released because Dire Straits still owed one album to
Live at the BBC was re-released in November 2023 for the box set Live 1978-1992.
Composition
Live at the BBC consists of eight songs, the first seven recorded for the BBC Live in Concert series on 22 July 1978. The eighth song, "Tunnel of Love", was recorded for the BBC TV program The Old Grey Whistle Test on 31 January 1981.
The album features one unreleased song, "What's the Matter Baby?", co-written by Mark Knopfler and his brother David. It is the only song to appear on a Dire Straits album not written exclusively by Mark Knopfler; while two other Dire Straits songs list Knopfler sharing writing credits — "
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In his review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann gave the album three and a half out of five stars, writing, "It's a modest effort from a modest band and, in that sense, a better representation of them than Alchemy or On the Night, both of which reflected their worldwide popularity."[1] The album stayed on the UK albums chart for one week.
Track listing
All songs were written by Mark Knopfler, except where indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Down to the Waterline" | 4:10 | |
2. | "Six Blade Knife" | 3:47 | |
3. | "Water of Love" | 5:29 | |
4. | "Wild West End" | 5:12 | |
5. | "Sultans of Swing" | 6:38 | |
6. | "Lions" | 5:26 | |
7. | "What's the Matter Baby?" | David Knopfler, Mark Knopfler | 3:20 |
8. | "Tunnel of Love" | Extract from "The Carousel Waltz" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II | 11:56 |
Total length: | 46:01 |
Personnel
- Dire Straits
- Mark Knopfler – guitar, vocals
- David Knopfler – guitar, backing vocals (except on track 8)
- John Illsley – bass, backing vocals
- Pick Withers – drums
- Alan Clark – keyboards (only on track 8)
- Hal Lindes – guitar (only on track 8)
Charts
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
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Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[2] | 15 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[3] | 45 |
UK Albums (OCC)[4] | 71 |
Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Spain (PROMUSICAE)[5] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Live at the BBC". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Dire Straits – Live at the BBC" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Dire Straits – Live at the BBC". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ "Dire Straits | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 3 October 2019.