Dire Straits discography

Dire Straits discography
Dire Straits performing live in Norway, October 1985
Studio albums6
EPs4
Live albums4
Compilation albums3
Singles31
Music videos15

The discography of English rock band Dire Straits consists of six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays and 31 singles. Dire Straits also have sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists in the world.[1]

Albums

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[2] 		AUS
[3] 		AUT
[4] 		CAN
[5] 		FRA
[6] 		GER
[7] 		NED
[8] 		NZ
[9] 		SWI
[10] 		US
[11]
Dire Straits
  • Released: 9 June 1978
  • Label: Vertigo
 5 1 17 2 1 3 3 2 7 2
Communiqué
  • Released: 15 June 1979
  • Label: Vertigo
 5 5 7 14 3 1 3 1 2 11
Making Movies
  • Released: 17 October 1980
  • Label: Vertigo
 4 6 15 21 6 7 6 3 — 19
Love over Gold
  • Released: 20 September 1982
  • Label: Vertigo
 1 1 1 6 2 4 1 1 — 19
Brothers in Arms
  • Released: 17 May 1985
  • Label: Vertigo
 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
On Every Street
  • Released: 9 September 1991
  • Label: Vertigo
 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 12
  • BPI: 2× Platinum[12]
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum[23]
  • BVMI: Platinum[13]
  • IFPI AUT: Platinum[24]
  • IFPI SWI: 4× Platinum[14]
  • MC: 2× Platinum[15]
  • RIAA: Platinum[16]
  • RMNZ: Platinum[26]
  • SNEP: Diamond[18]
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Live albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[2] 		AUS
[3] 		AUT
[4] 		CAN
[27] 		FRA
[6] 		GER
[28] 		NED
[8] 		NZ
[9] 		SWI
[10] 		US
[11]
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
  • Released: 16 March 1984
  • Label: Vertigo
 3 3 9 26 4 8 1 3 3 46
On the Night
  • Released: 10 May 1993
  • Label: Vertigo
 4 5 1 33 1 7 2 10 5 116
Live at the BBC 71 98 — — 13 — 15 — 45 —
Live at the Rainbow, 1979
  • Released: 3 November 2023
  • Label: Mercury
 81 — 6 — 21
[32] 		7 — — 5 —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[2] 		AUS
[3] 		AUT
[4] 		CAN
[33] 		FRA
[6] 		GER
[34] 		NED
[8] 		NZ
[9] 		SWI
[10] 		US
[11]
Money for Nothing
  • Released: 14 October 1988
  • Label: Vertigo
 1 3 3 — 1 2 4 2 1 62
  • BPI: 4× Platinum[12]
  • ARIA: 3× Platinum[23]
  • BVMI: Platinum[13]
  • IFPI SWI: 3× Platinum[14]
  • MC: Platinum[15]
  • RIAA: Platinum[16]
  • RMNZ: Platinum[35]
  • SNEP: Diamond[18]
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits
  • Released: 19 October 1998
  • Label: Vertigo
 6 4 5 60 1 6 6 6 3 —
Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler
  • Released: 7 November 2005
  • Label: Mercury
 20 35 44 — 4 36 23 17 15 —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Box sets

Title Album details Peak
chart
positions
UK
[2] 		GER
[38]
The Studio Albums 1978–1991
  • Released: December 2013 (LP)
  • Released: October 2020 (CD)[39][40]
  • Label: Vertigo
 9 14
Live 1978–1992
  • Released: 3 November 2023
  • Label: Mercury
 — —
"—" denotes items are yet to be released in that territory.

Extended plays

Title EP details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[2] 		AUS
[3] 		AUT
[4] 		CAN
[41] 		FRA
[6] 		GER
[42] 		NED
[8] 		NOR
[43] 		SWI
[10] 		US
[11]
ExtendedancEPlay
  • Released: 10 January 1983
  • Label: Vertigo
 — — — 12 — — — — — 53
Live at Knebworth
  • Released: 1990
  • Label: Vertigo
 — — — — — — — — — —
Encores
  • Released: 10 May 1993
  • Label: Vertigo
 31 47 19 91 1 34 3 10 20 —
The Honky Tonk Demos
  • Released: 18 April 2015
  • Label: Vertigo
 — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[2] 		AUS
[3][44] 		AUT
[4] 		CAN
[45] 		FRA
[6][46] 		GER
[47] 		NED
[8] 		NZ
[9] 		SWI
[10] 		US
[48] 		US Main Rock
[49]
1978 "Sultans of Swing" 8 6 — 4 36 20 11 12 — 4 — Dire Straits
"Water of Love" — 54 — — — — 28 — — — —
1979 "Lady Writer" 51 95 — 51 34 — 18 39 — 45 — Communiqué
"Once Upon a Time in the West"[51] — — — — — — — — — — —
1980 "Tunnel of Love" 54 62 — — 52 44 28 — — — — Making Movies
"Skateaway" 37 — — — — — — 47 — 58 31
1981 "Romeo and Juliet" 8 — — — — — — — — — —
"Expresso Love" — — — — — — — — — — 39
"Solid Rock" — — — — — — — — — — 56
1982 "Private Investigations" 2 21 19 — 4 — 1 16 4 — — Love over Gold
"Telegraph Road" — — — — — — — — — — —
"Industrial Disease" — — — 18 — — — — — 75 9
1983 "Twisting by the Pool" 14 2 — 18 29 31 6 1 11 105 12 ExtendedancEPlay
1984 "Love over Gold" (live) 50 46 — — 15 — 43 29 — — — Alchemy
1985 "So Far Away" 20 22 — 24 20 — 23 25 6 19 29 Brothers in Arms
"Money for Nothing" 4 4 7 1 34 19 35 4 22 1 1
"Brothers in Arms" 16 57 — — — — — 5 — — —
"Walk of Life" 2 11 18 7 — 15 17 3 24 7 6
  • BPI: 2× Platinum[12]
"One World" — — — — — — — — — — 8
1986 "Your Latest Trick" 26 — — — — — — 47 — — —
"Ride Across the River" — — — — — — — — — — 21
1988 "Sultans of Swing" (re-release) 62 — — — — — — — — — — Money for Nothing
"Brothers in Arms" (re-release) — — — — — — 59 — — — —
1989 "Money for Nothing" (re-release) — — — — — — 23 — — — —
1991 "Calling Elvis" 21 8 8 4 7 8 4 9 2 — 3 On Every Street
"Heavy Fuel" 55 26 — 17 32 48 25 34 — — 1
1992 "On Every Street" 42 109 — — 23 — 42 — — — —
"The Bug" 67 — — 21 44 52 24 — — — 8
"You and Your Friend" — — — — 49 — 62 — — — —
1994 "Ticket to Heaven" — — — — — — 43 — — — —
2005 "Flashing for Money" (with Deep Dish) — — — — 48 — — — — — — George Is On
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Home video

Title Video/DVD details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
DVD
[52] 		AUS
DVD
[53] 		BEL
DVD
[54] 		FIN
DVD
[55] 		NED
DVD
[56] 		SWI
DVD
[57]
Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits
  • Released: 21 May 1999
  • Label: Universal Music
 19 9 — 3 2 —
On the Night
  • Released: 14 September 2003
  • Label: Universal Music
 33 18 — — 6 —
Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
  • Released: 14 May 2010
  • Label: Universal Music
 2 1 2 7 5 6
Sultans of Swing: Live in Germany
  • Released: 5 February 2011
  • Label: Sony
 — — — — 12 —
Stratospheric Sounds: Live in Basel, Switzerland, 1992
  • Released: 8 April 2011
  • Label: Showtime
 — — — — — 3
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Music videos

Year Video Director Album
1978 "Sultans of Swing" unknown Dire Straits
"Wild West End"
1979 "Lady Writer" Communiqué
1981 "Romeo and Juliet" Lester Bookbinder Making Movies
"Skateaway"
"Tunnel of Love"
1982 "Private Investigations" unknown Love over Gold
1983 "Twisting by the Pool" ExtendedancEPlay
1985 "So Far Away" Brothers in Arms
"Money for Nothing" Steve Barron
"Brothers in Arms" Bill Mather
1986 "Walk of Life" Stephen R. Johnson
1991 "Calling Elvis" Gerry Anderson On Every Street
"Heavy Fuel" Steve Barron
1992 "The Bug" Richard Jernigan

References

  1. ^ "Dire Straits reunion 'not on the horizon', says band founder John Illsley ahead of Tayside gigs". 20 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "UK chart peaks". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e Australian chart peaks:
    • Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 19 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 90. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.
    • Top 50 (ARIA Chart) peaks from 26 June 1988: "australian-charts.com > Dire Straits in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    • Top 100 (ARIA Chart) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Austrian chart peaks". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  5. ^ Canadian studio albums:
  6. ^ a b c d e "French chart peaks" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ German studio albums:
  8. ^ a b c d e "Dutch chart peaks". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d "New Zealand chart peaks". charts.nz. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Swiss chart peaks". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d "Dire Straits Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "British certifications – Dire Straits". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 April 2023. Type Dire Straits in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i "German Certification" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h "Swiss Certification" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Canadian Certification". Music Canada. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h "RIAA Certification". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  17. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Dire Straits". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "French Certification". SNEP. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  19. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Communiqué". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  20. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Making Movies". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  21. ^ "1982 Was A Big Year". Billboard. 25 December 1982. p. TIA-57. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Love over Gold". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Australian (ARIA) certifications:
  24. ^ a b c d "Austrian Certifications". IFPI Austria. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  25. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Brothers in Arms". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  26. ^ "New Zealand Certification - On Every Street". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  27. ^ Canadian live albums:
  28. ^ German live albums:
  29. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  30. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Alchemy". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  31. ^ "New Zealand Certification - On the Night". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  32. ^ "Top Albums (Week 45, 2023)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  33. ^ Canadian compilation albums:
  34. ^ German compilation albums:
  35. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Money for Nothing". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  36. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Sultans of Swing". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  37. ^ "New Zealand Certification - Private Investigations". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  38. ^ German compilation albums:
  39. ^ "Dire Straits / The Studio Albums 1978 – 1991 box set is finally issued on CD – SuperDeluxeEdition". 13 August 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  40. ^ "Dire Straits: "The Studio Albums 1978-1991" erstmals als CD-Box und Vinyl-Reissue". uDiscover Germany. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  41. ^ Canadian extended plays:
  42. ^ German extended plays:
  43. ^ "Norwegian chart peaks". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  44. ^ "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 17 February1992". Bubbling Down Under. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  45. ^ Canadian singles:
  46. ^ "lescharts.com - Les charts français". lescharts.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  47. ^ German singles:
  48. ^ "Dire Straits Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  49. ^ "Dire Straits: Music, Charts & News: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  50. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  51. ^ "Dire straits single US cat no".
  52. ^ UK DVD peaks:
  53. ^ Australian DVD peaks:
  54. ^ Belgian (Flanders) DVD peaks:
  55. ^ Finnish DVD peaks:
  56. ^ Dutch DVD peaks:
  57. ^ Swiss DVD peaks:
  58. ^ a b "The ARIA Australian DVD Certifications". ARIA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  59. ^ "The ARIA Report: Issue 1056" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2016.