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,
Communiqué (Dire Straits album) "Communiqué" was recorded from 28 November to 12 December 1978 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, and mixed in January 1979, in New York. The album was produced by Barry Beckett and Jerry Wexler, veteran producers from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. "Communiqué" became the first album ever to enter the German charts at number one in its first week of release, while their debut album, "Dire Straits" was still at the number three position. The album went on to sell over 7 million copies worldwide: in Europe, it sold 3.6 million copies, and in the United States it was certified