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MARK KNOPFLER: THE LONDON SUPERSHOWS (LONDON 22-23-24 MAY - ROYAL ALBERT HALL) (LONDON 25 MAY - SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE) BY ALBERTO BUCCHIERI

                     I tought to take everything with me for my trip to London: videocamera, camera, compact´s covers
                     ready to be autographed by Mark, but I forgot a lot of warm Sicily´s sun. I equiped myself with
                     jackets and sweaters, even if it was the end of May, but London is also his hostile climate, and so
                     I found myself in the middle of winter, between rain and frozen wind.
                     Anyway to stay there for four days of Mark´s concerts gave me the right charge to sustain that
                     rigorous wheater; and so, after the firts night spend in a pub drinking good bear, here I am on the
                     morrow, at an early hour, at the Damage Management, where I knew the new Mark Knopfler´s
                     private secretary, the fine Australian woman Robyn Becker, and the (as fine than the firts)
                     Newyorker (of Sicilian origin) Jean Seal, that attends fot the contacts to the tours promoters.
                     I was delighted to present personally to them NEWS, the Italian Club´s fancine, that got a remarkable
                     consent even by Ed Bicknell and Paul Cummins (that managed Dire Straits, Notting Hillbillies and,
                     naturally, Mark Knopfler).
                     Paul Cummins received me in a personal conversation, turning one by one with interest the pages of
                     all the numbers of NEWS issued till then - that I carried with me - making me compliments for the
                     good work carried out.
                     At the end of our chat, he presented me the rare "INTERVIEW CD", that contains an interview with
                     Mark about the "Golden Heart" tracks, with affixed his autograph.
                     After the visit at Damage Management, it was the time to enter in the real musical angle, with the
                     first of the three Mark´s concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.
                     Before to cross the entrance of the mythical temple of London music, I meet two friends of our Club,
                     Marco Corda from Zurich and Andrea Pirrone from Genoa; together we spent unforgettable moments.
                     It´s a short time ago when is fimished the introduction show of Gilliam Welch, and the stage relights
                     with Mark and his new band.
                     It´s an intense emotion to see again Mark on stage, after the italian concerts of 1992, so how strange
                     sensation to see again Mark just without Dire Straits, the band that we love more than the others.
                     But he´s there, in front of me, for two hours of music and more, and this is what counts to me now.
                     One by one the new tracks of "Golden heart" played with the usued style, intersected, with eternal
                     songs like "Sultans Of Swing", "Romeo And Juliet", "Telegraph Road". Mark played about all the
                     songs of "Golden Heart". He didn´t play "No Can Do", "Don´t You Get It" (I should preferred hear it,
                     instead of "The Bug"), "A Night In Summer Long Ago", "Nobody´s Got The Gun", "Are We In
                     Trouble Now".
                     From Dire Straits I heard "Walk Of Life", "Calling Elvis", "Brothers In Arms", and "Money For Nothing"
                     and the unreleased "The Long Highway", played in a very kind way. The show ends with some tracks
                     extracted from the soundtracks like "Last Exit To Brooklyn", "A Love Idea", "Father And Son", and
                     "Going Home".
                     Unforgettable show, just like the other two, even at the Royal Albert Hall, where Mark proposed a
                     particular version of "Water Of Love", with Gillian Welch and her own guitarist on chorus.
                     The last concert I saw, it was at the Shepherds Bush Empire, on Saturday 25 May, where things by
                     a musical view didn´t changed very much from the other night, but the atmosphere was like a real
                     concert, in sense that fans were standing under the stage, screaming under the stage, screaming and
                     singing.
                     At least I like to remember when I met Mark after the concerts, for 4 evenings!
                     It´s always a great emotion to see him with his funny smile.
                     And what a surprise when he read our Italian fancine: "NEWS", saying: "Very nice,... very nice!".
                     When Mark autographed it, together with John Illsley and Guy Fletcher, and on another copy with
                     a dedication to the "NEWS" readers, it was a great joy for me.
Set List (22/5/96): Darling Pretty Walk Of Life Imelda The Bug Rüdiger Je Suis Désolé Calling Elvis I´m The Fool Romeo And Juliet (intro: Last Exit To Brooklyn) Sultans Of Swing Done With Bonaparte A Love Idea Vic And Ray Golden Heart (intro: Father And Son) Cannibals Telegraph Road Brothers In Arms Money For Nothing The Long Highway Going Home

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