Music: 1978 Sultans of Swing | Dire Straits
Video: 1978 Navratilova v Evert | Martina's 1st of 9 Wimbledon Ladies' Singles wins
1970s playlist: [ Ссылка ]

Mark Knopfler – vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
John Illsley – bass guitar, vocals
David Knopfler – rhythm guitar, vocals
Pick Withers – drums

"Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are retired American and American/Czechoslovak professional tennis players who engaged in an iconic rivalry for dominance in women's tennis in the 1970s and 1980s.

In the 12 years from the introduction of the WTA rankings in November 1975 until August 1987, one of the two held the top spot in all but 23 weeks, switching multiple times between 1978 and 1985. In the first 615 weeks of the WTA rankings, they collectively held the No. 1 ranking for 592 weeks, Navratilova at 332 weeks and Evert at 260 weeks. In total, from 1973 to 1988 they played 80 matches, including 60 tournament finals.

Starting at the 1981 Australian Open, through the 1985 Wimbledon, they won a record 15 consecutive grand slam singles titles. From the 1982 Australian Open to the 1987 US Open, they won 21 of those 24 grand slam singles titles and at least one of them appeared in each of those 24 consecutive grand slam finals. The only other two players to win titles during that stretch were Hana Mandlikova (1985 US Open and 1987 Australian Open) and Steffi Graf (1987 French Open)." (Wikipedia)

* * *

"Martina Navratilova (born October 18, 1956) is a Czechoslovak-born American former professional tennis player and coach. She was world No. 1 for a total of 332 weeks in singles, and a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. She was year-end singles No. 1 seven times, including a record of five consecutive years, as well as year-end doubles No. 1 five times, including three consecutive years during which she held the ranking for the entire year.

She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 major mixed doubles titles, for a combined total of 59 major titles, marking the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam titles won by one player, male or female. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including for nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times (surpassing Helen Wills Moody's eight Wimbledon titles), including a run of six consecutive titles, widely regarded as the best performance by any professional player at a major event." (Wikipedia)

* * *

"Dire Straits is the debut studio album by the British rock band Dire Straits released on 7 October 1978. The album produced the hit single 'Sultans of Swing', which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached #1 on album charts in Germany, Australia and France, #2 in the United States and #5 in the United Kingdom. Dire Straits was later certified double-platinum in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Dire Straits came about through a musical collaboration between brothers Mark and David Knopfler. After graduating from university with a degree in English, Mark Knopfler took a job writing for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Wanting to pursue a career in music, he took a teaching position at Loughton College while playing music at night, performing with pub bands around town, including Brewer's Droop and Cafe Racers. Following a divorce and struggling financially, Mark moved into his brother David's flat, where John Illsley also lived. In 1977, Mark, John and David decided to form a band. They recruited drummer Pick Withers and began rehearsing. Brinsley Schwarz, a friend of Mark's, helped give the group their name, a reference to their financial situation.

'Sultans of Swing' was composed by Mark Knopfler on a National Steel guitar in open tuning. He thought the song was 'dull' until he bought his first Stratocaster in 1977: 'It just came alive as soon as I played it on that '61 Strat ... the new chord changes just presented themselves and fell into place.'

The lyrics were inspired by a performance of a jazz band playing in the corner of an almost empty pub in Deptford, South London. At the end of their performance, the lead singer announced their name, the Sultans of Swing; Knopfler found the contrast between the group's dowdy appearance and surroundings and their grandiose name amusing." (Wikipedia)

свернуть