My music map does not just show Dire Straits albums in order, it goes one step further and traces John Illsley's solo career alongside them. If you are after something more than a poster or a T-shirt, this piece of Dire Straits merch gives you a clear look at how the band and its long-serving bassist ran on from each other. This Dire Straits album map brings both discographies together in one sequence.
Albums in Order, Dire Straits and John Illsley Studio Discography
- Dire Straits (1978)
- Communiqué (1979)
- Making Movies (1980)
- Love over Gold (1982)
- Never Told a Soul (1984), John Illsley
- Brothers in Arms (1985)
- Glass (1988), John Illsley
- On Every Street (1991)
- Beautiful You, with Greg Pearle (2008), John Illsley
- Streets of Heaven (2010), John Illsley
- Testing the Water (2014), John Illsley
- Long Shadows (2016), John Illsley
- Coming Up for Air (2019), John Illsley
- VIII (2022), John Illsley
What Is on My Music Map?
The map covers all six Dire Straits studio albums and eight solo albums by bassist John Illsley, fourteen stations in total. Every credited musician across those records is drawn as a line. From the early line-up with David and Mark Knopfler through to the later appearances by Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher, you can see exactly when players join, leave and reappear.
It is built from my own spreadsheet research, which lists every credited contributor taken from the liner notes of each studio release. The result is a clear visual account of who played on what, without cross-checking half a dozen Wikipedia pages or digging out old CDs to read the small print.
Why I Designed This Music Map
Dire Straits had a short but dense run of studio albums, and the personnel shifted enough to make it awkward to follow. John Illsley was the one constant, so when I started looking into his solo work it made sense to treat it as a continuation rather than a footnote. Interleaving the two by release date is what gives the map its shape: the band stops in 1991, and the line that carries on through the next three decades is his.
What Is Not on the Map
Live albums and compilations. Alchemy, On the Night and the various best of collections have no station on this map. It plots studio records only, which is an editorial rule I apply right across the range.
Sizes and Print Detail
The Dire Straits Discography Map Art Print is a Giclée on 230gsm premium acid-free matte fine art paper, available in A2 (420x594mm / 18x24in) and A1 (594x841mm / 24x36in), unframed or in a black wood frame, from £42.00.
Browse the full range in the music wall art prints collection.
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