Courtesy of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Courtesy of Rock & Roll Hall of FameDire Straits is among the six artists that will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this April in Cleveland. Bassist John Illsley, the only musician besides singer/guitarist Mark Knopfler who played with the group from its 1977 formation until it disbanded in 1995, says he’s thrilled about the honor.
“It sort of fills me with a lot of pleasure, I must say, to be recognized and to be included in the thing that we love doing best, which is making music and playing rock ‘n’ roll,” Illsley tells Billboard. “[T]o be part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is like ticking off a pretty large box.”
As for whether Dire Straits members will reunite to perform at the induction ceremony, Illsley says he’s not sure and that the decision likely will be Knopfler’s.
“Mark is quite sort of restrained about things like this,” Illsley maintains. “We have spoken about [the induction], and we just said, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ I think it would probably be important if Mark and I were there. I’ll definitely be there, and I’ll definitely talk Mark into coming as well.”
He adds, “It’s essentially up to [Mark] if he wants to do anything, and I completely respect his feelings about it. He doesn’t want too much white light.”
Keyboardist Alan Clark, who played with Dire Straits from 1980 to 1995, says he will attend the ceremony “if Mark decides he wants to go and put something together and go and perform there.”
Illsley, meanwhile, points out that Dire Straits never officially broke up, although he says it’s unlikely that the band will make any new music together.
“Right now it doesn’t look like it,” he tells Billboard, “but stranger things have happened.”
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