It has been more than 35 years since the opening line of Sultans Of Swing was first heard being broadcast around the world. In the process, it introduced us to a majestic guitar player and songwriter in Mark Knopfler, and to what has become a musical universe unto itself: the music of Dire Straits. Over 20 years have passed since Dire Straits disbanded, leaving a catalogue of some of the finest compositions and musical performances that the heyday of rock ever produced. If anything, their reputation has only grown with time. Record sales of more than one hundred and twenty million albums continue to increase as new young fans discover the music and join the band’s massive worldwide following. It was against the backdrop of this two-decade break – and an increasing demand to hear one of the most dramatic songbooks in rock history played live again – that members of Dire Straits, Alan Clark, Chris White and Phil Palmer formed The Straits for a charity show at The Royal Albert Hall in 2011. With the prolific Knopfler enjoying an incredibly successful solo career, Alan Clark called upon the singer songwriter, Terence Reis to front the band in his absence. By the time The Straits ended, three and a half years later, the band had played more than 150 shows in 25 countries around the world. An invitation to play a series of shows in New Zealand and Australia has seen Chris White and Terence Reis collaborating again for The Dire Straits Experience. Joining them is a stellar band of some of the finest professional musicians the UK has to offer. Between them they have worked with an enviable list of rock royalty that includes, amongst others, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Elton John, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Van Morrison, Tom Jones and Sheryl Crow. Chris White, who worked with Mark Knopfler from the early ‘80s on film scores, joined Dire Straits for their record breaking Brothers In Arms world tour in 1985. This included their performance at Live Aid and, later, the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday concert in 1988. He went on to play on the final Dire Straits album, On Every Street, and was again part of the two-year world tour that produced the live On The Night album and DVD. Having experienced the audience response to a live Dire Straits show at the height of the band’s popularity, he speaks fondly of the fans today.