There’s a part of me that refuses to believe that Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms can be celebrating its 40th birthday this year. It seems only a few years ago that I listened to it on a cassette that a friend’s elder brother taped for me (yeah, we were killing music, remember?). I remember it being a staple on my stereo for a very long time. Then, as these things have a habit of happening, I didn’t listen to it for an absolute age.
I was reminded of its excellence in 2001 when the title track was used to brilliant effect scoring a scene in US political drama The West Wing. It was enough to rekindle a love affair with Dire Straits’ finest hour.
This issue we talked to Mark Knopfler and his erstwhile bandmates to discuss the making of that stone-cold classic and epoch-defining record (or should I say CD?).
We also caught up with the Alice Cooper band to discover how they finally reunited to make their first album in 50 years (and we’ve also created a special Alice-themed bundle edition of the new issue – see details below). And we revisit some of Iron Maiden’s standout live moments, take a trip back to the US Live Aid, look back at the life of Mike Peters and much more. Until next month…
