Dire Straits Tour

Dire Straits Tour

Promotional tour by Dire Straits
Hamburg, Germany, 28 October 1978
Location	Europe
Associated album	Dire Straits
Start date	9 June 1978
End date	18 November 1978
Legs	2
No. of shows	55
Dire Straits concert chronology

The Dire Straits Tour was the first concert tour by the British rock band Dire Straits. The tour started on 9 June 1978 and included 55 concerts throughout Europe, ending on 18 November 1978. The tour promoted and supported the release of the band's debut album, Dire Straits, which was released on 7 October 1978. The tour setlist consisted mainly of songs from their debut album.^[1]

Description

The tour lineup included Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), John Illsley (bass), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar), and Pick Withers (drums).^[1] The European tour including concerts in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. These concerts presented Dire Straits with their largest audiences to date. The first leg of the tour promoted their first single, "Sultans of Swing". This first leg took the band around Great Britain in June and July 1978, performing in England, Scotland, and Wales. The group typically performed in small halls with a maximum capacity of one thousand. The second leg of the tour promoted the band's debut album, Dire Straits. This leg took the band to several European countries, where they met journalists and performed on television programs.^[1]

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue	Setlist
First leg: June–July 1978
6 June 1978	Wolverhampton	England	Lafayette Club
10 June 1978	Dudley		JB's Dudley
13 June 1978	Sheffield		University of Sheffield
14 June 1978	Huddersfield		University of Huddersfield
15 June 1978	Leicester		University of Leicester
16 June 1978	Kirklevington		Country Club
17 June 1978	Middlesbrough		Rock Garden
18 June 1978	Leeds		Fforde Green Hotel
20 June 1978	Edinburgh	Scotland	Tiffany's
21 June 1978	Dundee		Technical College
23 June 1978	Burton upon Trent	England	76 Club
24 June 1978	Nottingham		Boat Hall
25 June 1978	Newbridge	Wales	Workingman's Institute and Memorial Hall
27 June 1978	Manchester	England	Rafters
28 June 1978	Lowestoft		Talk of the East
29 June 1978	Bristol		Granary
30 June 1978	Plymouth		Metro Club
1 July 1978	Oxford		Oxford Brookes University
2 July 1978	London		Albany Theatre
4 July 1978	Birmingham		Barbarella's[Note 1]	Setlist 1
5 July 1978	London		Marquee Club
6 July 1978
8 July 1978	St Albans		Alban Arena
9 July 1978	Birmingham		ATV
19 July 1978	London		Paris Theatre
Second leg: October–November 1978
11 October 1978	Herenthout	Belgium	Zaal Lux
12 October 1978	Mechelen		Stadschouwburg
13 October 1978	Beringen		Casino
14 October 1978	Paris	France	Empire
15 October 1978	Zedelgem	Belgium	Groene Meersen
16 October 1978	Leuven		Louvain University
18 October 1978	Groningen	Netherlands	Huize Maas
19 October 1978	Rotterdam		Stadschouwburg	Setlist 2
20 October 1978	Eindhoven		Stadschouwburg
21 October 1978	Nijmegen		Vereeniging
22 October 1978	Sittart		Stadschouwburg
23 October 1978	Amsterdam		Paradiso
25 October 1978	Brussels	Belgium	Bursschouwburg
28 October 1978	Hamburg	Germany	Musikhalle	Setlist 3
29 October 1978	Berlin		Neue Welt
1 November 1978	Bradford	England	University of Bradford
2 November 1978	Nottingham		Nottingham Polytechnic
3 November 1978	Newcastle		Newcastle Polytechnic
4 November 1978	Durham		Durham University
5 November 1978	Dunstable		Civic Hall
7 November 1978	Colchester		Colchester Institute	(Poster)
8 November 1978	Keele		Keele University
9 November 1978	Hull		University of Hull
10 November 1978	York		University of York
11 November 1978	Sheffield		University of Sheffield
13 November 1978	Birmingham		Town Hall
14 November 1978	Leicester		University of Leicester
15 November 1978	Manchester		University of Manchester
16 November 1978	Leeds		Leeds Polytechnic
17 November 1978	Bristol		Bristol Polytechnic
18 November 1978	Hitchin		College of Education

Tour locations

6 10 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 1 2 4,9 5-6, 19 8 Dire Straits tour dates of June (Red): 6-Wolverhampton, 10-Dudley, 13-Sheffield, 14-Huddersfield, 15-Leicester, 16-Kirklevington, 17-Middlesbrough, 18-Leeds, 20-Edinburgh, 21-Dundee, 23-Burton-on-Trent, 24-Nottingham, 25-Newbridge, 27-Manchester, 28-Lowestoft, 29-Bristol, 30-Plymouth Dire Straits tour dates of July (Blue): 1-Oxford 2-Deptford, London, 4-Birmingham, 5, 6&19-Soho, London

2 5-6 8 19 Dire Straits tour dates of July: 2-Deptford, 5&6-Soho, 19-Soho

Setlists

• Setlist 1 (4 July 1978): "Down to the Waterline", "Six Blade Knife", "In the Gallery", "Eastbound Train",^{[Note 2]} "Water of Love", "Portobello Belle", "Wild West End", "Lions", "What's the Matter Baby", "Me and My Friends", "Sultans of Swing", "Real Girl", "Nadine", "Southbound Again"
• Setlist 2 (19 October 1978): "Down to the Waterline", "Six Blade Knife", "Water of Love", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Lady Writer", "In the Gallery", "Wild West End", "What's the Matter Baby", "Lions", "Sultans of Swing", "Wild West End", "Eastbound Train", "Southbound Again"
• Setlist 3 (28 October 1978): "Down to the Waterline", "Six Blade Knife", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Lady Writer", "Single Handed Sailor", "Water of Love", "In the Gallery", "Follow Me Home", "News", "What's the Matter Baby", "Lions", "Sultans of Swing"

References

Notes

1. The show at Barbarella's on 4 July 1978 was recorded and has been in circulation as a bootleg album titled, Birmingham at Barbarella.
2. The song "Eastbound Train" did not appear on the album Dire Sraits, although a live version was released as the B-side to "Sultans Of Swing" the same year.

Citations

1. "Dire Straits tour 1978". Mark Knopfler Info. Retrieved 1 December 2012.

External links

• "Dire Straits tour 1978". Tours. Canada: Mark Knopfler official site. Retrieved 13 February 2010.