John Illsley, bassist for Dire Straits has promised to ensure Mark Knopfler’s attendance at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year, however, Illsley remains unsure if the band will perform at the ceremony.
The band was named as part of the Rock Hall’s Class of 2018 alongside Bon Jovi, the Moody Blues and the Cars.
Speaking to Billboard magazine, Illsley said: “It sort of fills me with a lot of pleasure, I must say, to be recognised and to be included in the thing that we love doing best, which is making music and playing rock ‘n’ roll.”
“I still consider we will always be a rock ‘n’ roll band; first and foremost that’s where we came from. So to be part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is like ticking off a pretty large box.”
When pressed about performing live Illsley stated: “Mark is quite sort of restrained about things like this. We have spoken about it 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. It’s essentially up to him if he wants to do anything.”
“I’ll go if there’s a reason to go, if Mark decides he wants to go and put something together and go and perform there,” keyboardist Alan Clark added.
“I’d be totally into the idea of it happening.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place on April 14th in Cleveland, with a broadcast to follow afterward on HBO.
Dire Straits have been inactive since 1992 when they last played in Spain.
Don’t forget you can keep up-to-date on all things Nova over on our Instagram page – follow us for all the craziness of radio life coupled with news, sports and LOTS of cool competitions! Click here…
