Dire Straits were a British rock band, who, during the Eighties, had a number of hit singles such as "Money for Nothing", "Private Investigations", and "Walk of Life". Their biggest-selling album, 1985's Brothers in Arms, has sold over 30 million copies, and was the first album to sell a million copies on the then-new compact disc format. The band became one of the world's most commercially successful, with worldwide records sales of over 100 million. The band formed in Deptford, London, in 1977 by Mark Knopfler, his younger brother David Knopfler, John Illsley, and Pick Withers. Their first hit single, "Sultans of Swing", from their self titled debut album, was a top ten hit in the UK and US charts in 1978. Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, and country, though mainly from the blues-rock of J. J. Cale. Despite the prominence of punk rock during the band's early years, their stri