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 1978 to 1981, which mostly featured the original line-up of the band. Released in June 1995, their third and final live album was a contractual release to Vertigo Records (now a division of Mercury Records). At this time, Mark Knopfler quietly disbanded Dire Straits and prepared to work on his first full-fledged solo album (still signed to Mercury Records). After disbanding Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler started his career as a solo artist, releasing his first solo album, "Golden Heart", in March 1996 after nearly 20 years of collaborations. "Brothers in Arms" was certified nine times platinum in the US in