Making Movies
Encyclopedia
Making Movies is the third album
by English
rock
band Dire Straits
, released in 1980.
" and the unreleased song "Making Movies". Rolling Stone
ranked the album #52 in their survey of the "100 Best Albums of the 80s". Making Movies was the biggest selling album in Italy in 1981 with one million copies; in Europe the album sold 3.8 million copies.
It was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world outside the U.S. and on September 19, 2000 in the United States.
The songs "Making Movies" and "Suicide Towers" were recorded during the sessions and were never officially released. They do however appear on bootlegs.
, unless otherwise noted.
Other:
. In Australia, Making Movies was the fifth best selling album of 1981.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by English
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, released in 1980.
History
The title of the album comes from a line in the song "SkateawaySkateaway
"Skateaway" is a 1980 rock song by Dire Straits, dealing with a female roller-skater breezing through busy city streets, who is listening to a then-newly-released Walkman. It appears on Making Movies. Released as a single in 1981, the song was accompanied by a video that was popular on MTV...
" and the unreleased song "Making Movies". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked the album #52 in their survey of the "100 Best Albums of the 80s". Making Movies was the biggest selling album in Italy in 1981 with one million copies; in Europe the album sold 3.8 million copies.
It was remastered and released with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world outside the U.S. and on September 19, 2000 in the United States.
The songs "Making Movies" and "Suicide Towers" were recorded during the sessions and were never officially released. They do however appear on bootlegs.
Track listing
All songs written by Mark KnopflerMark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, unless otherwise noted.
- "Tunnel of Love" (Mark KnopflerMark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) – 8:11 - "Romeo and Juliet" – 6:00
- "SkateawaySkateaway"Skateaway" is a 1980 rock song by Dire Straits, dealing with a female roller-skater breezing through busy city streets, who is listening to a then-newly-released Walkman. It appears on Making Movies. Released as a single in 1981, the song was accompanied by a video that was popular on MTV...
" – 6:40 - "Expresso LoveExpresso Love"Expresso Love" is a song written by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler for their third album Making Movies. It is one of their heavier songs, with a distorted guitar playing the main riff, which was recycled from the unreleased track "Making Movies". It also has a keyboard melody played...
" – 5:12 - "Hand in Hand" – 4:48
- "Solid Rock" – 3:19
- "Les Boys" – 4:07
Personnel
- Mark KnopflerMark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - John IllsleyJohn IllsleyJohn Illsley is an English musician who rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed rock band, Dire Straits...
: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Pick WithersPick WithersDavid "Pick" Withers was the original drummer for the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations."...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals
Additional personnel
- Roy BittanRoy BittanRoy Bittan is an American keyboardist, best known as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, which he joined on August 23, 1974...
: keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Sid McGinnisSid McGinnisSid McGinnis is an American musician and guitarist, best known for his work on the CBS Television show, Late Show with David Letterman, as part of the CBS Orchestra....
: guitar (uncredited) - RB Brown: additional rhythm guitar on later overdub(uncredited)
Other:
- David KnopflerDavid KnopflerDavid Knopfler is a British singer-songwriter, rhythm guitarist, pianist and cofounder of the critically acclaimed rock band Dire Straits....
: Note: David is seen on video playing "Solid Rock" and "Les Boys" live in concert preceding the recording, but does not appear on the album. David left the band in August 1980, and his backing tracks which were almost complete for Making Movies, were re-recorded.
Charts
The album spent 252 weeks on the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. In Australia, Making Movies was the fifth best selling album of 1981.
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
1 |
| 1980 | Swedish Albums Chart Swedish Recording Industry Association Grammofonleverantörernas förening , or the Swedish Recording Industry Association in English, is an organization representing the music recording industry of Sweden... |
4 |
| 1980 | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
4 |
| 1980 | Austrian Albums Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
15 |
| 1980 | U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Albums |
19 |
| 1981 | Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
1 |
| 1981 | Australian Albums Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
6 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks |
UK Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 1981 in music See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –... |
"Romeo and Juliet" | - | - | #8 |
| 1981 | "Expresso Love" | - | #39 | - |
| 1981 | "Skateaway" | #58 | - | #37 |
| 1981 | "Tunnel of Love" | - | - | #54 |
| 1981 | "Solid Rock" | - | #56 | - |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Silver | November 4, 1980 |
| BPI – UK | Gold | January 21, 1981 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | April 21, 1981 |
| BPI – UK | Platinum | September 7, 1981 |
| SNEP – France | Gold | 1981 |
| IFPI – Germany | Gold | 1981 |
| BPI – UK | Double Platinum | August 5, 1985 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | July 30, 2001 |