“‘Brothers in Arms’ is a one-off in the musical world,” says Dire Straits bassist John Illsley of the title track to the band’s iconic 1985 album. “On the one hand, it is a deep and arresting observation of the human condition, showing rare integrity, but it was also a massive commercial hit when it was released. This ‘clash’ baffled quite a few people at the time.” With its Scottish folk undertones and Charles Wolfe-inspired lyrics, the song soon became an anti-war anthem. “I have played it live countless times,” says Illsley. “Forty years on, it is always an emotional moment and resonates with the audience—a testament to the quality of the songwriting.” 

Illsley co-founded Dire Straits in 1977 with his lifelong friend Mark Knopfler (vocals, lead guitar, songwriter), Mark’s younger brother Dave (rhythm guitar), and David “Pick” Withers (drums). The band would undergo multiple line-up changes after Dave left in 1980, but Mark Knopfler and John Illsley would be members of every iteration of Dire Straits until the band finally dissolved in 1995. In this interview for Quillette, Illsley reflects on the 40th anniversary of the band’s 1985 masterpiece, its monumental commercial success, Knopfler’s songwriting magic, and how music’s place within our culture has changed since then. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Quillette: The Brothers in Arms album went straight to number one in every country where it was released. It topped the UK charts for fourteen weeks, ten of which were consecutive, and it topped the US Billboard Chart for nine weeks. It was the first CD to sell a million copies and more. And it was showered with music accolades and critical praise.

John Illsley: The level and speed of success were unbelievable. There were times where I stopped to try to make sense of it all.

Q: In your autobiography, you write about when you played the Roxy, following in the footsteps of Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Bob Marley, Van Morrison, and B.B. King. You said you were “not quite believing it’s real” and that you spent some time “trying to get my head around the absurdity of it.” You told Mark Knopfler how “weird” it all was, and he replied, “Embrace it, we could be in the Dog and Duck begging for a midweek slot after the darts match.”

JI: The four lads from the borough of Deptford [in London] went far. Forty years on, I am about to play some dates in Holland in celebration of Brothers in Arms. A promoter rang me and asked if I will do some shows to mark the anniversary of the album and I said yes. I love celebrating the songs, the music that we made together. It’s not a question of trying to keep it alive, because people want to hear it again. I’ve been doing these concerts in the UK for the last few weeks and the response has been really overwhelming. We haven’t made an album since 1991 yet people are still interested in listening to the music. That says something about the songs for a start.

Q: Mark Knopfler’s tunes are often described as iconic for a reason.

JI: Mark’s songwriting has an incredible narrative to it and people just get it. He’s a master storyteller. His songs are masterpieces, like a great painting that you want to come back and look at again and again—“Sultans of Swing,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Down to the Waterline” are all timeless. From Brothers in Arms there’s “Money For Nothing,” “Walk of Life,” “Why Worry” and the title track, my personal favourite on the album. These songs are timeless. As with Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Neil Young, or Dylan, they are remarkable observations of the life that we live or the life that the poet lives—an observation on the human landscape and that’s really what art is all about. It’s a response to what’s going on around you and how you interpret it, how you articulate it and share it with the world.

Q: Brothers in Arms displays this aspect of the songwriting to perfection.