The Serendipitous Creation of Dire Straits' Iconic 'Money for Nothing' Guitar Riff
D ire Straits’ landmark hit “Money for Nothing” features one of the most instantly recognizable guitar riffs in rock history—a sound that was born out of a fortuitous accident and that eluded recreation in subsequent sessions. The opening tones of the 1985 anthem, which went on to top the US charts and etch itself into the annals of music history, owe their existence to a combination of serendipity and an unexpected sonic synergy.
The song’s producer and engineer Neil Dorfsman recalls the moment when the iconic guitar sound was discovered. During a routine setup for the recording session at AIR Montserrat, the microphones were left in a seemingly haphazard arrangement from the previous night. As Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits’ lead guitarist and vocalist, began warming up, the control room was hit with the distinctive sound that would become “Money for Nothing”‘s hallmark. Dorfsman remarked, “Mark’s guitar tech Ron Eve getting on the talkback and telling me not to touch anything because it sounded amazing as it was.”
This unorthodox microphone placement—a happy mistake—captured a unique tonal quality that was never replicated. Dorfsman explained, “”One mic was pointing down at the floor, another was not quite on the speaker, another was somewhere else, and it wasn’t how I would want to set things up — it was probably just left from the night before, when I’d been preparing things for the next day and had not really finished the setup. Nevertheless, whether it was the phase of the mics or the out-of-phaseness, what we heard was exactly what ended up on the record. There was no additional processing on that tune during the mix.” Despite detailed efforts to recreate the sound at the Power Station in New York, using the same amp and the same models of microphone, the magic of Montserrat could not be duplicated.
“I remember Mark’s Les Paul Junior going through a Laney amp, and that was the sound of ‘Money For Nothing’,” says Dorfsman. “We were actually going for a sort of ZZ Top sound, but what we ended up getting was kind of an accident.” It transcended that inspiration and became something entirely its own. It was a confluence of happy accidents that led to the riff’s distinct sound—a testament to the unpredictability and spontaneous creativity that often characterize recording sessions.
With its blend of live-action and cutting-edge animation, the video helped catapult the song to even greater heights of popularity. “I never realised that they would do such a tie-in with MTV,” said Dorfsman, reflecting on the unexpected success that followed.
Relevant articles:
– Classic Tracks: Dire Straits ‘Money For Nothing’
![Dire Straits’ landmark hit “Money for Nothing” features one of the most instantly recognizable guitar riffs in rock history—a sound that was born out of a fortuitous accident and that eluded recreation in subsequent sessions. The opening tones of the 1985 anthem, which went on to top the US charts and etch itself into the […]](https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1lPj36.img?w=768&h=512&m=6 "Dire Straits’ landmark hit “Money for Nothing” features one of the most instantly recognizable guitar riffs in rock history—a sound that was born out of a fortuitous accident and that eluded recreation in subsequent sessions. The opening tones of the 1985 anthem, which went on to top the US charts and etch itself into the […]")
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- August 17, 1985 Setlist
Dire Straits Setlist at Southern Star Amphitheatre, Houston, TX, USA
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Tour: Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986 Tour statistics Add setlist
- Ride Across the River Play Video
- Expresso Love Play Video
- One World Play Video
- Romeo and Juliet Play Video
- Private Investigations Play Video
- Sultans of Swing Play Video
- Why Worry Play Video
- Walk of Life Play Video
- Two Young Lovers Play Video
- Money for Nothing Play Video
- Wild West End Play Video
- Tunnel of Love Play Video
- Brothers in Arms Play Video
- Solid Rock Play Video
- Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero ( Mark Knopfler song) Play Video
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Songs on Albums
- Brothers in Arms
- Money for Nothing
- Ride Across the River
- Walk of Life
- Expresso Love
- Romeo and Juliet
- Tunnel of Love
- Sultans of Swing
- Wild West End
- Two Young Lovers
- Private Investigations
- Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero by Mark Knopfler
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Setlist History: Dire Straits Live Debuts "Romeo & Juliet"
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- Aug 15 1985 City Coliseum Austin, TX, USA Add time Add time
- Aug 16 1985 Majestic Theatre San Antonio, TX, USA Add time Add time
- Aug 17 1985 Southern Star Amphitheatre This Setlist Houston, TX, USA Add time Add time
- Sep 03 1985 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO, USA Add time Add time
- Sep 04 1985 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO, USA Add time Add time
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Dire Straits's 1985 Concert History. 182 Concerts. Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion). ...
The Brothers in Arms Tour was a concert tour by British rock band Dire Straits. The tour promoted and supported the group's fifth album, Brothers in Arms, which was released in May 1985. [1] The tour started on 25 April 1985 in Split, Croatia and ended on 26 April 1986 in Sydney, Australia. It included dates in the Balkans, Israel, Europe ...
1. Monaco. 1. Slovenia. 1. View the concert map Statistics of Dire Straits for the tour Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986!
Use this setlist for your event review and get all updates automatically! Get the Dire Straits Setlist of the concert at Wembley Arena, London, England on July 10, 1985 from the Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986 Tour and other Dire Straits Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
Dire Straits info along with concert photos, videos, setlists, and more.
Dire Straits info along with concert photos, videos, setlists, and more. Search Browse Concert Archives . Users ... Videos; Comments; Bucket Lists; Past Concert Search Engine; Login; Sign Up (it's free!) Home; Concerts; Dire Straits. Live in 85 Jun 10, 1985 (39 years ago) Stade louis ll Monaco, Monaco. Scroll to: Scroll to: Top; Bands; Details ...
Dire Straits and Sting performing at Live Aid in front of 72,000 people in Wembley Stadium, London on the 13th July, 1985. The event was organised by Sir Bob...
Dire Straits performing live during the 'Brothers in arms'-tour at the Wembley Arena in London, United Kingdom on July 10th 1985.
Brothers in Arms is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits, released on 17 May 1985 through Vertigo Records internationally and Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It was the first album in history to sell over one million copies in CD format.. Brothers in Arms spent a total of 14 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart (including ten consecutive ...
Get the Dire Straits Setlist of the concert at Hammersmith Odeon, London, England on December 19, 1985 from the Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986 Tour and other Dire Straits Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
N/A. The On Every Street Tour was the final concert tour by British rock band Dire Straits, supporting their sixth and final album, On Every Street. It lasted from 23 August 1991 to 9 October 1992, and included 229 shows in 19 countries throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. [1] The world tour sold 7.1 million tickets. [2]
Dire Straits performing at Live Aid in front of 72,000 people in Wembley Stadium, London on the 13th July, 1985. The event was organised by Sir Bob Geldof an...
Get the Dire Straits Setlist of the concert at Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA, USA on September 8, 1985 from the Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986 Tour and other Dire Straits Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
Dire Straits - Live Wembley 1985 - YouTube Music. New recommendations. 0:00 / 0:00. A new music service with official albums, singles, videos, remixes, live performances and more for Android, iOS and desktop.
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler ... The band's concert of 10 July 1985 at Wembley Arena, ... Illsley and Clark performed several Dire Straits songs in an open air concert in San Vigilio, and since then, Clark, Palmer, Illsley, Cummings, Collins, Sonni and Withers, in various line-ups, have toured ...
Dire Straits - "Wembley Does The Walk"Live at Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom on July 10th, 1985.Setlist:1. So Far Away 00:00 2. Sultans of Swing 4:47 ...
Dire Straits info along with concert photos, videos, setlists, and more.
Williams was back in the band for the album's promotional concert tour which lasted from April 1985 to April 1986, the lineup of which also featured saxophonist and flautist Chris White. [10] [11] After a break from touring, Dire Straits regrouped for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, at ...
The 1985 album Brothers in Arms boosted the veteran rockers Dire Straits to new levels of popularity, with the smash single "Money for Nothing" grabbing many of the headlines. "Walk of Life ...
Get the Dire Straits Setlist of the concert at Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA on August 5, 1985 from the Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986 Tour and other Dire Straits Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
#DireStraits #WembleyDIRE STRAITS LIVE AT WEMBLEY (FULL CONCERT)El concierto completo de Dire Straits en Wembley, 1985.SUSCRIBETE
The opening tones of the 1985 anthem, which went on to top the US charts and etch itself into the annals of music history, owe their existence to a combination of serendipity and an unexpected ...
This is the best audio recording of the Dire Straits concert at the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin 1985. REMASTERED! What a great night! Cool to hear Mark Knopfl...
Get the Dire Straits Setlist of the concert at Southern Star Amphitheatre, Houston, TX, USA on August 17, 1985 from the Brothers in Arms Tour 1985-1986 Tour and other Dire Straits Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
Dire StraitsLive at Palais des SportsToulouse, FranceJune 8th, 1985Audience recordingTracklist:Intro 0:001. Ride Across The River 0:462. Expresso Love 9:043....