I was quite into Dire Straits for a while, but did not actually many of the albums. I do still have my copy of Brothers in Arms and I saw them on that tour at the NEC. Knopfler has a distinct style and part of that is playing with his fingers rather than a plectrum. He doesn't sound like anyone else generally and that is an achievement. He has done well from film soundtracks too.
I do remember this song and am singing along as I type even though I've not heard it many years.
Loved your story. We had a dishy biology teacher at upper school. People suspected she and the physics guy had something going on.
!BEER
They're a strange band, I also had all the albums but only ever listen to about 5 tracks in total.
I saw a documentary about Knopfler on YouTube recently where he discussed his fingerpicking style and how he came about it in great detail.
Good point about the soundtracks too! I never saw them live but the album I can listen to in full is Alchemy Live which really showed off their musical talents with extended intros and layouts. Very dramatic and orchestral.
I think they were the biggest band in the world for a while. I reckon that is a lot about offending the least people, see also Coldplay. Some may say Dire Straits are bland, but they had some great songs. Some were real epics like this. Tunnel of Love talks about places my dad used to hang out as a teenager.