It's hard to describe how much Brothers In Arms rocked the cultural zeitgeist in the summer of 1985. The record quickly achieved platinum status (multiple times) in dozens of countries and has now sold more than 30 million units.ĭire Straits (l-r) Alan Clark, John Illsley, Mark Knopfler, The international music public overwhelmingly disagreed with the assessment. "(the) tritest would-be melodies in history, the last word in tranquilising chord changes, the most cloying lonesome playing and ultimate in transparently fake troubador sentiment ever to ooze out of a million-dollar recording studio" He further lambasted the record for having.
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"mawkish self-pity, his lugubriously mannered appropriation of rockin' Americana and his thumpingly crass attempts at wit". In fact, Billy Joel's 52 Street ( #354 on The 500) was the first rock album released on CD, in October, 1982.ĥ2 Street by Billy Joel - The first CD release Consequently, their contractual agreements covered these legal contingencies in their earlier record deals. They, like David Bowie and Billy Joel, recognized that new media formats were an inevitability. The British rock band Dire Straits was one of the exceptions. Initially, many performing artists were unable to release their material in this digital format because there was no provision in their contracts for fair remuneration. The Technics SL-XP7 in the SH-CBB7 rechargeable case A total cost of about $600, or $1,500 if adjusted for inflation.
#Brothers in arms dire straits album art portable#
I also purchased one of the first, portable Compact Disc (CD) players on the market, a Technics SL-XP7, with the optional SH-CBB7 external battery case. I wish I had some photographs, but it was a time before the ease of digital cameras.ĭon Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas from Miami Vice That summer I lived the life of Riley - I regularly ate at restaurants, ordered pizzas when visiting friends, went to movies and bought clothes - Miami Vice style clothes, including a linen, pastel sportscoat, skinny leather ties, mirrored aviator sunglasses and slip-on, mesh shoes, without socks of course. University tuition was less than $1,000 in 1985 and I planned on living at home. I explain all this to emphasize how much disposable income I earned.
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I also had a job at a convenience store called Mac's Milk and, in the summer, the arena job transitioned to work at a city-run outdoor swimming pool. I worked at two arenas in the winter, mopping dressing rooms, shoveling snow and pegging hockey nets. Most of my employment was through The City of London (formerly known as the Public Utilities Commission). The front steps to HB Beal Secondary Schoolĭuring this hiatus between secondary and post-secondary studies, I'd been working full-time (at several jobs) while still living at home. I had graduated high-school in January after attending HB Beal for a single semester to improve my marks to gain admission to university. The summer of 1985 was a special one for me.