Dire Straits - Money For Nothing (REACTION) #direstraits #music #trending #reaction

Supposedly, Mark Knopfler was browsing at a NYC hardware store with MTV playing on the TV. Workers were discussing their mundane jobs and comparing themselves to the rock stars in the video, not knowing that one of the customers browsing actually WAS a rock star.

Sting from The Police on backup vocals

That falsetto at the beginning "I want my MTV" was sung by Sting.

The whole "brothers in arms" album is outstanding

Cutting edge state-of- the art CGI Graphics!! Mesmerizing in 1985!

I want my MTV was a big promo in the 80's...they had a lot of musicians to say the catch phrase in commercials.

this song was absolutely everywhere for a few years after it was released

Back in the day MTV played it relentlessly it was huge.

The story behind the song: Mark was in a store in NY, and on one whole wall of the store there were TVs tuned to MTV (Music Television); he overheard the workers making derisive (perhaps jealous) comments about the performers in the videos and how easy those guys had it compared to their own blue-collar jobs (moving TVs, microwaves and refrigerators etc.). Mark grabbed a pen and paper and wrote their remarks down verbatim, and those comments became the lyrics of the song. Given that they (Dire Straits) are musicians themselves, singing the lyrics (in an MTV video no less), it's also good natured, self-parodic and cheeky, especially since in contrast to some the 'glam rock' of the time, Dire Straits was 'pub rock'. As to the 'offensive F' word at issue: 1) That was the word used by the blue collar workers themselves in the store about the guys in the MTV videos; (2) it was very common parlance at that time; (3) it was sometimes used to suggest 'poser' or 'pretty boy' (i.e. the glam rockers of the time, 'with the earrings and the makeup' who were seen to have sold out to corporate media) rather than to homosexuals (after all, gay guys wouldn't be concerned about getting 'chicks' for free, would they?); (4) Notably, when the band plays this track live, and in the first person, they leave out that word. Context is everything! If you really want to see Dire Straits at their best, check out "Sultans of Swing" (released in 1977) "Telegraph Road" (1984) and "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1979) all from 'Alchemy Live'.

So ... the part Sting is singing is the same melody as his Police song "don't stand so, don't stand so, don't stand so close to me". Saw their Vancouver show during this tour, and the intro drums shook my entire body. Never forgot that sensation.

Hey fellas, the song's about an incident in which Mark overheard some Home Furniture installers bitching about rockstars while watching MTV on a wall of display TV 's at their place of employment.

They are not homophobes. They are musicians, tongue firmly in cheek, making fun of homophobes.

This was revolutionary when it first came out. Thanks for reviving all the great memories when MTV was actually great!

The songwriting credits are shared between Mark Knopfler and Sting. According to Knopfler, he used the network slogan "I want my MTV" after seeing an MTV advertisement featuring The Police and setting it to the tune of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (written by Sting), hence the cowriting credit. On March 1, 1982 is when the then-struggling music video network launched the ad campaign that saved the day: "I Want My MTV!" What would really sell the campaign, however, was the delivery: MTV exec Les Garland cajoled his friend Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones to shout the line into a camera. Once Jagger finally agreed to do it, David Bowie and Pete Townshend of the The Who were persuaded to film spots as well. After that, getting new stars to join in snowballed into the famous "I Want My MTV!" commercials. The spots were a hit with cable providers, and subscriptions soared. The line "I want my MTV" inspired Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits while he was writing the band's smash hit, "Money for Nothing" “I’d seen the Police doing an MTV advert, saying ‘I want my MTV,’ just saying it all together; and I thought, ‘If I set that to the notes of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” it’ll work,’" Knopfler told Ultimate Classic Rock. "I remember saying to the guys, ‘I’d really like to get Sting to do this.’ We knew them anyway because we’d done a lot of gigs together in Germany. One of them said, ‘That’s fine, because he’s here on holiday,’" referencing the British island of Montserrat, location of the famous AIR recording studios. "And because I’d used the five notes from ‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me,’ that’s how the co-writing thing happened. Which is fine; it’s absolutely fine with me and it worked out well. I remember quite clearly Sting coming into the studio and saying, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Nobody’s fighting!’”

Yes MTV used that part that Sting sang “I want my MTV” for their advertisements.

This video won all sorts of awards for creativity. It does explain the origin of the lyrics.

This was the beginning of MTV... Early 80s baby.💜

Dire Straits's first lp was released in June 1978.

FYI, Sultans of Swing was released in ’79 which thrust them into the spotlight and as you said, they ruled the 80’s with MTV coming on in ’82.

This song at live aid was insane