On Every Street is the sixth and final studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 9 September 1991 by Vertigo Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The follow-up to the band's massively successful album Brothers in Arms, On Every Street reached the top of the UK Albums Chart and was also certified platinum by the RIAA.
History On Every Street was released more than six years after the band's previous album, Brothers in Arms. On Every Street reached number 12 in the United States and number one in the United Kingdom and numerous European countries. The album was produced by Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits.
By this time, the band consisted of Knopfler, John Illsley, Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher, and the album features session musicians including Chris White, Paul Franklin, Phil Palmer, Danny Cummings and American drummer Jeff Porcaro from Toto, who was asked to play the band's subsequent world tour, although he declined because of other commitments, both with Toto and as a studio musician.
Dire Straits promoted the album with a 14-month world tour which comprised 216 shows in Europe, North America, and Australia, sold 7.1 million tickets, and lasted from August 1991 to October 1992. This was documented in the group's second live album, On the Night, which was recorded in May 1992 at Les Arenes in Nîmes, France, and at Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and was released in May 1993.
Dire Straits disbanded permanently in 1995, after which Mark Knopfler pursued a solo career.
The album was remastered and reissued with the rest of the Dire Straits catalogue in 1996 for most of the world, except for the United States, where it was reissued on 19 September 2000.
Song information "Iron Hand" relates to the Battle of Orgreave during the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, with Knopfler remarking on how the police charge on horseback into the crowd of striking miners had reminded him of the savagery of medieval times.On Every Street – An interview with Mark Knopfler – BBC Radio 1FM, date unknown (pre-release to On Every Street), transcript via private website. Accessed 2019-01-16 The song also appeared on the compilation album Nintendo: White Knuckle Scorin' in the same year of its release.
Track listing
Note On some reissues of the album, "Heavy Fuel" is 5:10.
Personnel Dire Straits Mark Knopfler – vocals, guitars John Illsley – bass, backing vocals Alan Clark – keyboards, string conductor (9) Guy Fletcher – keyboards, backing vocals
Additional musicians Chris White – flute, saxophones Phil Palmer – guitars Vince Gill – guitar and backing vocals (5) Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar, acoustic lap steel guitar (2,6) Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion (except tracks 7 and 11) Manu Katché – drums and percussion (7, 11) Danny Cummings – percussion George Martin – string arranger and conductor (9)
Production Mark Knopfler – producer Dire Straits – producers Chuck Ainlay – engineer Bill Schnee – engineer Steve Orchard – assistant engineer Jack Joseph Puig – assistant engineer Andy Strange – assistant engineer Neil Dorfsman – mixing (1–6, 8–11) Bob Clearmountain – mixing (7) Avril Mackintosh – mix assistant Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York City, New York) Jo Motta – project coordinator Sutton Cooper – design Paul Cummins – design Paul Williams – sleeve photography Ron Eve – guitar technician to Mark Knopfler
Singles On Every Street produced six singles: "Calling Elvis" "Heavy Fuel" "On Every Street" "The Bug" "You and Your Friend" (released in France and Germany) "Ticket to Heaven" (released in The Netherlands)
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1991)PeakpositionPortuguese Albums (AFP)Music & Media, vol. 8, issue 41; Oct 19, 19911
Year-end charts Chart (1991)PositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)25Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)15Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)1German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)12New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)26Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)36 Chart (1992)PositionDutch Albums (Album Top 100)34German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)39
Singles charts YearSongUKAUSAUTFRAITANLDNORSWESWIUSAlt.USMain.Rock 1991 "Calling Elvis" 21 8 8 7 3 4 2 6 2 25 3 1991 "Heavy Fuel" 55 26 — 32 22 — — — — 22 1 1992 "On Every Street" 42 — — 23 — — — — — — — 1992 "The Bug" 67 — — 44 — — — — — — 8 1992 "You and Your Friend" — — — 49 — — — — — — — 1994 "Ticket to Heaven" — — — — — 43 — — — — —
Sales and certifications
References
External links On Every Street at Mark Knopfler's website