This article is about the Dire Straits song. For the greatest hits album, see Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits. For the Pakistani cricketer nicknamed the Sultan of Swing, see Wasim Akram.
"Sultans of Swing"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album Dire Straits
B-side
"Eastbound Train"
"Southbound Again"
Released
19 May 1978 (UK)
January 1979 (US) [1]
Recorded
February 1978 (album version)
Studio
Basing Street, London
Genre
Pub rock[2]
roots rock[3]
blues rock
Length
5:47
Label
Vertigo
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Mark Knopfler
Producer(s)
Muff Winwood
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Sultans of Swing" (1978)
"Water of Love" (1978)
Audio sample
file
help
Music video
"Sultans of Swing" on YouTube
"Sultans of Swing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, written by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler. The demo of the song was recorded at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977 and quickly acquired a following after it was put in rotation on BBC Radio London. Its popularity soon reached record executives, and Dire Straits were offered a contract with Phonogram Records. The song was then re-recorded in February 1978 at Basing Street Studios for the band's eponymous debut album.
The B-side, "Eastbound Train", is a live track that otherwise only appears on the Live at the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival album. The single would go on to reach the top 5 in Canada, South Africa, and the United States as well as the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The song has since remained a staple of classic rock radio, and is one of the band's most recognizable songs.[4][5][6]
On 12 September 1980, "Sultans of Swing" was the first song to air on a commercial station on the FM radio band in South Australia as part of a test reel for radio station SA-FM.[citation needed]
^"Dire straits single UK cat no".
^All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (4th ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. 2001. p. 120. ISBN 0879309237.
^Breihan, Tom (26 October 2020). "The Number Ones: Dire Strait's "Money for Nothing"". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 October 2022. ...their drawling, drowsy roots-rock song "Sultans Of Swing"...
^Gallucci, Michael. "Top 10 Dire Straits Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
^Reespublished, Paul (17 April 2015). "The Top 10 Best Dire Straits Songs". loudersound. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
^"31 Best Classic Rock Songs Ever Made (All Time Hits)". Music Grotto. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
"SultansofSwing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, written by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler. The demo of the song was recorded...
captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He is often revered as The SultanofSwing. In...
– SultansofSwing". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 10 June 2023. "Dire straits single US cat no". UK DVD peaks: "SultansofSwing - The Very Best of DVD"...
"SultansofSwing", dating from a time when "it was sacrilege to say anything whatsoever funny or nasty about Dire Straits". Following a number of line...
single, "SultansofSwing", from their 1978 self-titled debut album, reached the top ten in the UK and US charts. It was followed by a series of hit singles...
guitar skills work well with the magic of Muscle Shoals." Smash Hits said, "This is SO like 'SultansofSwing' it's not true. Look, the only way you'll...
Australia in December 1978 as a follow-up to the band's first single "SultansofSwing". The single reached number 28 in the Netherlands and number 54 in...
(compilation) 1995 – Live at the BBC 1998 – SultansofSwing: The Very Best of Dire Straits (compilation) 2005 – The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private...
albums: 1988's Money for Nothing, 1998's SultansofSwing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, and 2005's The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations...
demo tapes of five songs: "Wild West End", "SultansofSwing", "Down to the Waterline", "Sacred Loving" (a David Knopfler song), and "Water of Love". They...
Sting and "SultansofSwing" at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985. Their performance was included on the DVD release of that event...
original drummer of the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "SultansofSwing", "Romeo and Juliet"...
where he began posting covers of popular songs. His first viral video was his cover of "SultansofSwing" by Dire Straits. As of June 2022 the video has 12...
by the Pool" appears on the compilation SultansofSwing: The Very Best of Dire Straits and a live version of "Two Young Lovers" is featured on Alchemy:...
Retrieved 3 February 2017. Rees, Paul (17 April 2015). "SultansOfSwing: The Untold Story Of Dire Straits". Classic Rock. TeamRock. Retrieved 3 February...
version is on SultansofSwing: The Very Best of Dire Straits. The full-length studio album version was included on the compilation The Best of Dire Straits...
dancing rather than poetry, as well as a new title, SultansofSwing, focusing on the character of Mr. Keating, rather than on the boys, but both were...
Global Information