John Illsley
Author of My Life in Dire Straits: The Inside Story of One of the Biggest Bands in Rock History
Works by John Illsley
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Illsley, John William
- Gender
- male
Members
Reviews
Interesting book covering the founding of Dire Straits, recording albums, and a fair amount about their extensive tours. I found the early portions of the book more interesting as several chapters about the giant tours seemed to bog down the later chapters. I would have liked to hear more about the songs but I'll have to wait for Mark Knopfler to write a book. Still, a good read for a fan of Dire Straits.
Dire Straits is one of my favourite bands but this book is more tedious than a wikipedia article with added copious amounts of self-pity.
Statistics
- Works
- 5
- Members
- 35
- Popularity
- #405,584
- Rating
- 3.4
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 12
- Languages
- 2
Illsley turned a pedestrian career as a student into an exceptional ride when his roommate's brother, Mark Knopfler, one day asked him if he felt like forming a band. Little could he have known what that simple question would lead to. For the next 15 years, he spent touring the world helping Knopfler spin his songs into gold.
At one point, Illsley wonders if Knopfler would have played with different musicians, would the music have turned out the same. It's a good question and shows a welcome degree of humility from a man who held down the bottom for one of the largest bands ever.
It's a refreshing read and worthy of your time.… (more)