Sultans of Swing

In July 1977, shortly after Dire Straits had formed, the band recorded a five-song demo tape at Pathway Studios in North London that included "Sultans of Swing". They took the tape to DJ Charlie Gillett, the presenter of Honky Tonk on BBC Radio London, hoping for advice. Gillett liked what he heard and put the track into his rotation. Two months later, Dire Straits signed a recording contract with Phonogram Records.

Mark Knopfler, the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, had originally composed the song on a National Steel guitar in open tuning, but he considered it dull until he bought his first Fender Stratocaster in 1977. Played on that '61 Strat, he said, the song came alive, with new chord changes presenting themselves and falling into place. The lyrics drew on a performance he had seen by a Dixieland jazz band in the corner of an almost empty pub in Deptford, South London. At the end of their set, the singer announced their name: the Sultans of Swing. Knopfler found the contrast between their dowdy appearance and surroundings and their grandiose name amusing.

In February 1978, Dire Straits rerecorded the song at Basing Street Studios for their debut album, Dire Straits, with Muff Winwood producing. The single reached the top five in Canada, South Africa, and the United States, and the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia. Its B-side was "Eastbound Train", a live track.