*New Features*

When I met Mark	What Mark's music means to me
Guy Fletcher's 2008 KTGC DIARY	Richard Bennett's Notes from the Road

KTGC POLL

 

Important Announcement Updated Policy on Recording & Photography at concerts

 

CHILDREN IN NEED: A guitar lesson with Mark, auctioned on BBC Radio 2's Terry Wogan programme as part of this year's fund-raising for Children In Need, was won with an anonymous bid of £100,000. (12/11/08)

MARK KNOPFLER SIGNED GUITAR: Christmas is coming so fancy getting your hands on a guitar signed by Mark ? Well, here's your chance. Mark has donated a signed Fender Squier Strat guitar to Rock For Kids, a Chicago charity that raises money to provide music education to children who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it. The guitar will be auctioned on December 5th, 2008, at the Park West, along with over 200 one-of-a-kind items. You can bid here and you can also sign up for the Rock For Kids Newsletter here. (11/11/08)

MFN ON MTV: MTV this week returned to its musical roots by launching a new website, MTVMusic.com. The site hosts music videos dating back to the early days of the network. Dire Straits' Money for Nothing was the site’s most viewed video during its first few days online, out-pacing numerous other classic videos. (29/10/08)

MK IN STUDIO: Mark was back in the studio last week to begin work on his next solo album and Guy has started another of his fascinating recording diaries. To check it out click here (23/09/08)

JOE BROWN CONCERT: Mark was among the guests appearing at Joe Brown's 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on the 24th of September. Mark and Joe played Darling Corey, Donegan's Gone and A Picture of You. Other guests included Jools Holland, Dave Edmunds and Dennis Locorriere. (updated: 25/09/08)

SPECIAL CHARITY AUCTION: This top quality musician's chair, signed by Mark and all the members of the KTGC touring band, was auctioned on Ebay and sold for £720. Proceeds go to the Bradley Downes Fund. Thanks to all who bid.

(updated: 22/09/08)

JOHN ILLSLEY: John Illsley and Greg Pearle are to release their new album, Beautiful You, on the 13th of October. Recorded at Mark’s studio, the album is the result of two year’s collaboration and features guests such as Guy Fletcher and Paul Brady. The first single to be taken from the album is Secret Garden/One which you can now download for free from John's website www.johnillsley.com

click pic for larger image

 

 

 

 

(updated: 08/10/08)

ACCURATE SET LISTS: If you have accurate set lists for any of the following KTGC shows please mail to MKNews:

Portland/Woodinville/Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton/Saskatoon/Regina/ Winnipeg/Vienna(USA)/Atlanta/Clearwater

(05/08/08)

SAVING THE WOLF: A charity compilation CD which includes the track Coyote from Mark's The Ragpicker's Dream album, has been released by the environmental organisation, the Green Warriors of Norway.

Put together by Dag Warner, the release aims to draw attention to the plight of the Norwegian wolf, numbers of which have fallen so low that they are now on the endangered species list. The CD, Mother Earth Blues Vol 1, is available in Norway, Eire and the UK, and via the internet. Go to motherearthblues.com for more info, you can also listen at myspace.com/wolvesofnorway.

(25/07/07)

PICTURES FROM SHOWS: To take a look at MK fan Morten Byskov's galleries from Kelowna Thanks to all who sent in links to pics, we now have enough so no need to send any more.

Peter de Bock's pics from the Amsterdam

Dennis Brouwer's galleries: 1 2 3

Pics of the Warsaw gig by Chris

Daniel Wardaschko's pics from Stuttgart

Massimiliano Bucciol's pics from Bolzano

(updated: 14/07/08)

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MK ON NEW GEORGE JONES CD: George Jones is releasing a duets album Burn Your Playhouse Down on August 19th, 2008.

 

 

 

 

The album is a collection of never before heard duets recorded between Jones and many illustrious guests. Mark is featured on the the track I Always Get Lucky With You. (03/07/08)

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS: Fans in the UK and Canada can now obtain digital downloads of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits albums directly from the markknopfler.com store. The downloads are in 256kbps MP3 format. (02/07/08)

MK COLLABORATION: Mark plays on a track called Love Song on the new Earth CD by The Dandy Warhols. For more info go to dandywarhols.com (19/05/08)

MK ON SONNY LANDRETH CD: Mark is among a number of the world's great guitar players featured on the new Sonny Landreth CD From The Reach due to be released on the 20th of May. Mark plays on the opening track, Blue Tarp Blues. (19/04/08)

NEW RICHARD BENNETT CD: Richard has finally released his second CD. Code Red Cloud Nine is a great follow up to his 2004 album, Themes From A Rainy Decade.

Richard told us, "I always think the most honest record anyone can or should make is the one that most closely resembles an audio scrapbook of that person's life since their last record. Code Red is certainly that for me....what I've been listening to....what I'm interested in....how my playing has evolved and what I've been writing." Richard says that, therefore, the new CD is very different to Rainy Decade.

The legendary Duane Eddy says of the the CD, "I believe these tracks might reflect the real 'heart and soul' of Richard Bennett. Of course, I think that about everything I hear him play, whether it's jazz, blues, country, pop or rock and roll. And perhaps, as someone once said, he plays that way just because he can!"

Mark adds, Richard's ".... quiet, self-effacing manner hides an encyclopaedic knowledge of all kinds of music....May his cracking guitar playing find a place in your life as it has in mine."

Visit Richard's website for further details. (19/02/08)

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STEVE PHILLIPS CD: As many of you know, Steve and his band, The Rough Diamonds, play regular Tuesday sessions at the Grosvenor Hotel in Robin Hood's Bay, N. Yorks.

Over 2007 many of these sessions were recorded to produce a fabulous live CD, Live at the Grosvenor. The CD really catches the essence of Steve's music and is a must for fans. To order your copy click here Also, check out Steve's new My Space page. (12/01/08)

GUY FLETCHER CD: Guy's first solo CD, Inamorata, features Mark on the title track, Inamorata, and on Different World.

The full track list is:

Love is Coming Round/Broken Wing/Different World/Stone/Inamorata/High in the Hills/Cup of Tea/Life's Taste/Cold Water/The Logistics of Intimacy/See Myself in You/Black Sand Theme

To purchase the CD click here (07/01/08)

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