Dire Straits "Money for Nothing"). Similarly, the album's title track was also relatively unsuccessful, failing to reach the UK Top 40. The final single released from the album and from the band in the UK was "The Bug", which contains backing vocals by Vince Gill, who was also invited to join the band full-time but declined to pursue a solo career. Session drummer Chris Whitten joined Dire Straits as a side-man when the band embarked on an extensive two-year, 300-show tour, playing in front of some 7.1 million ticket-buying fans. While musically more elaborate than the previous 1985–86 world tour, the band's
Dire Straits (album) Dire Straits (album) Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 7 October 1978 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album produced the hit single "Sultans of Swing", which reached #4 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached #1 on album charts in Germany, Australia and France, #2 in the United States and #5 in the United Kingdom. "Dire Straits" was later certified double-platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Dire