REVIEW: The Music of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler by Candlelight at Lancaster Town Hall

A beautifully atmospheric town hall saw a stage profusely decorated with candles (albeit the electronic kind) as a frontispiece to a group of audaciously talented musicians.

In Lancaster on the final date (February 20) of a two week tour, the group reproduced the songs of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits with a songbook stretching back to the mid to late 70s. 

Frontman, lead guitarist and Knopfler for the evening, Martin Ledger led a band of outstanding musicians including a young rhythm guitarist who happens to be Lancaster University alumnus, a bass player with an amazing talent for singing the Sting refrain from Money for Nothing ‘I Want My MTV’, and a wonderful saxophonist making you realise just how much the instrument features in the music of Dire Straits.

Behind a transparent screen sat the drummer who came into his own as he recreated the intro to Money for Nothing underpinning the crescendo to the classic riff that everyone on the planet knows.

On keys, the pianist was pitch perfect and not least on the complex arpeggios on Tunnel of Love.

A trio of string musicians completed the ensemble bringing a beautiful nuance to these traditionally rock tunes. 

Kicking off with Telegraph Road, a 14 minute epic, it became immediately clear that the band were here to showcase their ability to recreate the songs in every single detail.

As a Dire Straits fan of 40 years, I recognised that every drum fill, guitar lick, vocal detail was there and delivered effortlessly.

Running through the key songs across the decades, the band also played Love Over Gold, Sultans of Swing, Romeo and Juliet, On Every Street and more.

The stand out song for me though was Private Investigations with its Spanish guitar played exceptionally by Ledger. 

A short encore brought Money for Nothing and the crowd to its feet, dancing in the aisles.

The show ended on an aptly instrumental note with the beautiful Local Hero film soundtrack Going Home leaving us with a yearning and perhaps wishing that the real band were still around and writing together. 

To my eternal regret I’ll never see Dire Straits live but I have to say this was more than an adequate substitute.

Outstanding musicianship and a beautiful setting meant I left feeling a sense of closure but in reality that’s so far away.