Sultans of Swing

Sometime in 1978, when I was in grade 10, Dire Straits released Sultans of Swing. I remember distinctly being in a pool hall and seeing it listed on the juke box. It was nearly lost in the avalanche of the latest disco tunes, like 'Disco Duck', 'Copacabana', 'Macho Man', 'Rasputin', and 'Blame it on the Boogie'. For me, the Disco era was fun at first, but by 1978, I had had enough. In fact, I had been reacting to the disco craze by delving more and more into the songs and the bands that pre-dated disco, like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Stones, the Allman Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

I placed my quarter into the juke box, and an entirely new sound cut through the air. I listened first to the rhythm and melody, which was oh so different from anything a disco filled juke box had played in quite some time. It may as well have been from another planet. The second quarter allowed me to listen to the lyrics: the song was about someone who crosses the river into south London, and hears a band in the distance. The band was called the Sultans of Swing, and joyously played 'Big Band' music. The lyrics presented for us a band playing a different sound from a different time, and the lyrics themselves were embedded in a song with a new and completely different sound. It was not R&B, folk, soul, rock, country, blues, and it was certainly not disco. This juke-box epiphany changed me.

At first, I think it made me more open to the new music emanating from England. I did not much like the first wave of punk that came over like the Sex Pistols, but I eventually learned to really like the Clash. New Wave, including the Police, and then all those fun bands like Devo and Joan Jett and Blondie represent for me a really cool time for music. I would go to clubs at the university with my friends and jump up and down doing the 'pogo' for hours on end to songs like 'Whip it good'. I remember distinctly that it was the first time in my life that people no longer danced in 'couples', but just jumped up and down wherever they wanted, bumping into other people, laughing the whole time. Such fun.

Later, while finishing my BA and looking around for graduate schools, I was drawn ever more to things English. While I may not have articulated it as such back then, I think Dire Straits had a lot to do with my choosing to study in Newcastle, Dire Straits' home town. It could be that because so many of their songs have to do with Newcastle, subliminally I had a soft spot for the place. Later, Denise and I would walk down to the quayside on the River Tyne, noticing the various places mentioned in their song 'Down to the Waterline'. Later I was able to see them live in concert at Gateshead Stadium when they were still writing and performing.

All these years later, sometimes I still get that same thrill when I hear the opening bars of Sultans of Swing cutting through the air.