We were lucky we weren’t teenagers—that would certainly have been fatal. Nearly everything we were to experience in the professional music game was for the first time, so we had to learn as we went, at ever-increasing speed through an ever-changing landscape.
John had wanted it all as badly as I did. He was a great companion for the trip the band took, and he continues to be a great friend today. John felt like an old friend from the beginning. Whenever we see one another now, which is often, it feels exactly as it did when we first met. He was a constant support, full of the positive energy and willpower required in a touring and recording outfit.
Although Dire Straits received a lot of international attention relatively early, I’m not sure that could happen now. John and I both feel extremely fortunate and always have: it was the era before downloading and piracy, a time which could support careers in music. Nowadays, recording contracts often don’t last for more than an album or two. The music business has become more impatient, less inclined to nurture talent and more likely to demand instant success.
So there’s music, and there’s the music business: two different things. But mainly, for us, it was a huge adventure and a hell of a ride, with all its comedy, absurdity, exhaustion, madness, and sadness. Like everyone, we had to learn to cope with some of the more negative aspects of the game, but John and I always valued and appreciated the success. I’m writing this in my own recording studio, for example: all the hard work paid off. I know John feels the same.
