Dire Straits was launched with Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing". After the "Brothers in Arms" tour ended Mark Knopfler took a break from Dire Straits and during 1987 he concentrated on solo projects and film soundtracks. Dire Straits regrouped in 1988 for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act. They were joined for their set by Eric Clapton who performed his hit "Wonderful Tonight" with the group and played rhythm guitar on the other songs performed by the band, while guitarist Jack Sonni was absent. Soon afterwards,
Dire Straits and became a fixture in the band's live performances. Bob Dylan, who had seen the band play in Los Angeles, was so impressed that he invited Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on his next album, "Slow Train Coming". Recording sessions for the group's second album, "Communiqué", took place in December 1978 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. Released in June 1979, "Communiqué" was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett and went to No. 1 on the German album charts, with the debut album "Dire Straits" simultaneously at No. 3. In the United Kingdom the album