In 69/70, when I first saw him (MK) play in Leeds ( maybe the "Original Oak" in Headingley), it was obvious he was heading for stardom. Mark Knopfler & I lined up in the same chippy on Chapel Lane after the pubs closed...the owner was a mate of mine, and pointed out he was a musician originally from Newcastle, so occasionally we chatted...probably about the area he came from as my paternal grandparents lived in Whitley Bay. "Tunnel of Love" mentions the Spanish City (fairground/amusements) in WB where I spent many an afternoon when I was up visiting in my mid-teens. Fond memories - happy he made it - he was destined to.
Wow, I was briefly an Original Oak regular in my student days in the early eighties. Bizarrely I first got into Dire Straits through a student housemate when we lived appx 200 yds from OO. And we met there for a reunion just last month to remember him following his death earlier this year. Had no idea MK had links to there.
