Privateering is the seventh solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 3 September 2012 by Mercury Records. The first studio double-album of Knopfler's 35-year career as a recording artist, Privateering consists of twenty original songs, and integrates meticulously crafted blues rock with traditional folk and country genres. Recorded between March and December 2011, the album received generally positive reviews throughout Europe, and reached the number one position on album charts in Austria, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, as well as the number two or three position in Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom.Privateering is the seventh solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 3 September 2012 by Mercury Records. The first studio double-album of Knopfler's 35-year career as a recording artist, Privateering consists of twenty original songs, and integrates meticulously crafted blues rock with traditional folk and country genres. Recorded between March and December 2011, the album received generally positive reviews throughout Europe, and reached the number one position on album charts in Austria, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, as well as the number two or three position in Belgium, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom.false2025-11-07 21:26:48Privateering20122012-01-012012-01-01119Blues RockRock11375821265976390a577-f249-421a-a20b-19328ec434dfe49f69da-17d5-4c5c-bac0-dadcb0e588f5f0dbf6b0-a259-4c3d-a6db-d8818c193024/media/data/media5/Music/Mark Knopfler/Privateering (2012)/folder.jpgMark KnopflerMark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995. He pursued a solo career after the band dissolved, and is now an independent artist.
Knopfler was born in Glasgow, and raised in Blyth, near Newcastle, England. After graduating from the University of Leeds and working for three years as a college lecturer, Knopfler co-founded Dire Straits with his younger brother, David Knopfler. The band recorded six albums, including Brothers in Arms (1985), one of the best-selling albums in history. After they disbanded in 1995, Knopfler began a solo career, and has produced nine solo albums. He has composed and produced film scores for nine films, including Local Hero (1983), Cal (1984), The Princess Bride (1987), Wag the Dog (1997) and Altamira (2016). He has produced albums for Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, and Randy Newman.
Described by Classic Rock as a virtuoso, Knopfler is a fingerstyle guitarist and was ranked 27th on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". With Dire Straits, Knopfler sold between 100 million and 120 million records. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Knopfler is the recipient of the Edison Award, the Steiger Award and the Ivor Novello Award, as well as holding three honorary doctorate degrees in music from universities in the United Kingdom. Knopfler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018.