Paul Fitzpatrick: April 2026

I got invited to a pal’s new house recently along with a couple of other friends. His wife was away for a few days so I guess it was a modern-day empty, albeit with Margaritas and homemade tacos instead of Fortified wine and twiglets.

One aspect that remained from our 70s empties was a focus on music, our host was very specific about that….
“Don’t worry about housewarmings gifts we’ve already got more diffusers and posh candles than John Lewis, and don’t bother bringing any wine or champagne, I have a cellar full of the stuff. The only thing I need you to bring is an album containing your track of choice to test out my new sound system“.

My selection was predictable but not without merit. It’s a well-established fact that any hi-fi salesman worth his salt will place the needle on Steely Dan’s Aja if he’s looking to corral a committed audiophile into taking out a second mortgage on a state-of-the-art system.

There were other contenders – Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Stevie’s Songs in the Key of Life amongst them, but invariably I always come back to The Dan.

Our friend Keith, a sharp Scouser who was a big noise in the music industry chose a track from Avalon by Roxy Music to test the clarity and detail. His selection based on a tip from a recording engineer, who’d informed him that Avalon was the go-to vinyl when it came to checking out premium speakers.

The third amigo was Fred, a Lawyer from Ohio who gets told he looks like Paul Simon, but we insist he’s a Neil Sedaka doppelganger.
He loves the Doobie Brothers, so his answer to any musical probing whether it be best band, best album, favourite song, favourite gig is always the same…. “The Doobies man”… and he didn’t disappoint.

His selection was a track from their Stampede album “I Cheat the Hangman” which to be fair is a hell of a song and did sound amazing on those speakers.

This left our host Hamish, a fellow Scot who is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to music.
One minute, he’s all Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt the next he’s pogo-ing around to Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls.

Given he had home advantage, Hamish had presumably road tested his selection before the big reveal, still, his choice surprised us – Dire Straits “Telegraph Road” from their Love Over Gold album, which was really rather good, although it did go on a bit (14+ minutes).

I’ve been finding lately that a little nudge towards a band or artist from the past, can send me down a rabbit hole which often leads to reconnecting with them. This is usually triggered by catching a documentary or live performance on television or YouTube.
Billy Joel, Sly Stone and 10cc all being recent examples.

So, après our ‘ol boys empty’ and the Dire Straits track I found myself doing a bit of a deep dive on Knopfler, the Westerton boy with the John McEnroe headband who done good.

I think most people’s Dire Straits entry point was “Sultans of Swing”, which I remember hearing in the summer of 78′ at the height of Punk/New-Wave on the John Peel show.
 
78’ was a curious period for music. Legacy rock bands were dropping like flies or being dismissed as irrelevant, whilst most new artists found themselves being labelled as Punk or New Wave.

Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Squeeze, Graham Parker and Dr Feelgood all confusingly fell under those monikers, but one look at Knopfler and his crew and you could tell he was no Richard Hell or Joe Strummer.

Whatever the genre, “Sultans of Swing” was an impressive way for a new band to introduce themselves. An air-guitar classic, “Sultans” sits alongside “Hotel California”, “Listen to the Music”, “Freebird” and “Layla” in the pantheon of ‘Dad-Rock‘ favourites.

I was never a huge Dire Straits fan but I liked their early singles – particularly “Lady Writer” and “Tunnel of Love” which were very “Sultans”. I then zoned out until their 1985 Live Aid performance when “Money for Nothing” got my attention.

It’s ironic that a song slagging off the music industry, and an award-winning video made by a guy who hates music videos, brought Knopfler numerous awards and enormous global success, whilst ultimately contributing to the bands demise.

Knopfler never came across as a natural frontman so you got the impression there was only so much fame, fortune and grind the guy could stomach. It came as no surprise then, when he decided to focus on his solo stuff and soundtracks, after the mega-success of Brothers in Arms.

I’ve dipped in and out of Knopfler’s solo material, “Sailing to Philadelphia” being a favourite, but you get the impression he just plays for fun now, which is fair enough. The blokes shipped enough albums and sold out enough arenas to earn the right to do what he wants.

Now he’s a multi-millionaire I just hope he remembers his roots and invests some of his fortune back into the mean-streets of Westerton, the garden suburb that made him what he is today.

He could start by tarting up the tennis club, where I too adorned a red McEnroe headband, and if he wants to get a statue built he could get rid of those bloody speed bumps on Maxwell Avenue!