Exclusive: Hear Mark Knopfler Talk About ‘Beryl’
We have a short clip of exclusive audio for you today of Mark Knopfler talking about ‘Beryl,’ the lead song from his forthcoming album ‘Tracker.’
In the Soundcloud clip below, you can hear the great singer-songwriter, guitarist and bandleader explain what motivated him to write the song, the thinking behind the lyrics — and why he decided to give the track a deliberately retro, Dire Straits-style feel, to match the era he was singing about. You can also listen to the song itself here.
‘Beryl’ is about the late Liverpudlian novelist Beryl Bainbridge, a writer for whom Knopfler has great admiration. As he explains here, he was very aware that Bainbridge was not afforded the same sort of recognition as other authors because of the unspoken “class system” that he believes existed at the time. She was nominated for the Booker Prize five times, for novels such as ‘The Bottle Factory Outing’ and ‘An Awfully Big Adventure, but never won. Bainbridge died in 2010, and was then awarded a Man Booker Special Prize in 2011.
The ‘Tracker’ album is released on March 16 in the UK by Virgin EMI, and the next day in North America, on Verve. Knopfler’s European tour with his band begins on May 15 in Dublin and concludes in Barcelona on July 31; their North American itinerary starts on September 10 in Vancouver, closing on October 31 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Listen to the track ‘Beryl’ here
Explore our dedicated Mark Knopfler Artist Page
Pre-order the CD, Deluxe CD, box set and double vinyl editions of ‘Tracker’ at uDiscover’s Deluxe Audio Store
UK English
Roger
February 13, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Since 1981-1982 Dire straits Fan ,loved there music .
Paulina
February 13, 2015 at 6:24 pm
Great song. Love the Dire Straits sound.
Catherine Gilmour
February 13, 2015 at 7:40 pm
I also love the classic Straits sound as well. But as I’ve always seen it, at least since Mark went solo, is that no matter the decade or style of music, Mark is Dire Straits and Dire Straits is Mark Knopfler. There’s a very thin line between the two entities.
önal demirçelik
February 14, 2015 at 11:32 am
ı totally agree with you
Freddy
March 22, 2015 at 8:47 am
– and I would suspect as always, You are so right – the Olde of Dire Straits and the always Olde of Mark – have always seemed to inspire a new in all of us… 🙂
German Carignano
February 13, 2015 at 11:11 pm
Come to Argentina MARK!. PLEASE!!!
Theresa
February 13, 2015 at 11:35 pm
mark is always perfection
wilson
February 13, 2015 at 11:53 pm
Para mim Mark é único, o melhor e completo desde 78.
Simon
February 14, 2015 at 12:20 am
Catherine – I couldnt agree more. Met Mark in1978 then again in 1979 when they started thEIr tour of the uk. Had my photo taken with him and the print is still the most prestigious thing I pocess to this day.
Simon
February 14, 2015 at 12:20 am
Catherine – I couldnt agree more. Met Mark in1978 then again in 1979 when they started thEIr tour of the uk. Had my photo taken with him and the print is still the most prestigious thing I pocess to this day.
Lior
February 14, 2015 at 5:49 am
Come to Israel, its quite now
Armando Romero
February 14, 2015 at 6:24 am
Unique Notes, best guitar player ever.
Mohamed
February 14, 2015 at 7:40 am
MARK was the greatest guitarist ever, I will never forget their performance in “aLCHEMY” concert the are all great but Mark was remarkable as well……..Mohamed
Jacques
February 14, 2015 at 11:38 am
Mark n’était pas il est toujours un grand guitariste et toujours aussi remarquable j’attend tracker avec impatience
Tracy
February 14, 2015 at 2:21 pm
After waiting 5 years for a return tour, tickets for Minneapolis have been purchased!
neal pargman
February 16, 2015 at 2:39 pm
Mark has helped the Save The Earth Foundation. Thank you Mark!
Rob
February 16, 2015 at 9:42 pm
A fantastic musician and songwriter. Going to see him for a 6th time in Birmingham in May.
Kathy
February 17, 2015 at 3:56 am
Mark is so much more than Dire Straits! I’m glad he made his fortune with the band so he could leave all that silly rock star stuff behind, move on and become the artist he is today. Don’t get me wrong, I love Dire Straits, but it’s his solo stuff that makes him great.
Olean
February 17, 2015 at 5:53 am
I’ve got my MK tickets for October in Indianapolis!! So happy!!!
Walter
February 20, 2015 at 10:10 am
A fantastic musican and my favorite guitar player since 1978
joão batista calado
February 23, 2015 at 2:33 pm
sem comentario…
Vlad
June 10, 2015 at 12:18 pm
One week ago , I’ve just been to his concert in paris , extraordinary , a perfect sound
of Dire Straits or MK , or what so ever … but the song ‘Beryl’ was not played … maybe later on
the tour
Daniel
November 23, 2015 at 12:05 am
I still hold MK’s “A place where we use to live” as an all time favorite.
Wayne
January 8, 2016 at 10:39 am
Marks the nuts
Reza Mahluji
April 10, 2017 at 2:59 am
The great mark knopfler.
Reza Mahluji
April 10, 2017 at 3:01 am
Sultan of swing and many more great songs ever by the great master Mark Knopfler.