News about Mark Knopfler

Stephen Fry (left) and Sting (right) have threatened to quit the Garrick Club unless members vote to admit women. The actor and the singer have signed a letter with Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler pledging to end their links with the historic institution if it remains men-only. Theatre, film and television producers also signed the document, which warned members were in an untenable position because of 'very public controversy' over the issue.

The 71-year-old came under fire for accusations he was turning his seven acre waterside property into an 'industrial site' after he built two huge barns, a tennis court and a pergola without consent. He applied for retrospective permission from the planning authority in 2022, which has now been granted - despite objections slamming the project as 'industrialist'. The billionaire was facing the prospect of having to demolish the sheds.

Sting - then known as Gordon Sumner - taught English at St Paul's School, Cramlington, Northumberland, before gaining fame as a rock star. He recalled how one pupil skipped school and put on a booming voice in a phone call to announce his absence in his autobiography Broken Music. The boy erupted: 'Er... It's me mam.' When Mr Sumner asked who was calling, he replied: 'Er, mam.' Ricky Ross, a frontman for Deacon Blue, was an English tutor at St Columba of Iona, Glasgow.

Mark Knopfler has assembled what may be the best supergroup in the fight against cancer ever assembled. Guitar Heroes, a band of 54 guitarists who have recorded a new version of Mark's Going Home (Theme of the Local Hero), has formed. Among those on the track were Sting on bass, Ringo Starr on drums, and legends such as Brian May, Cheryl Crow, and Joan Armatrading strumming along.

After auctioning off 120 of his guitars and amps, Mark Knopfler is expected to make a fortune of £8 million. The Dire Straits guitarist, 74, has compiled a fine collection of his favorite musical styles that have been central to his 50-year career. However, the rocker has humbly promised to donate 25% of the total hammer price to charity, so he will not be returning home with all the money.

Jack Sonni, a Straits guitarist, died at the age of 68. In a moving tweet shared online by the band, the musician's death was announced: '#JackSonni Rest In Peace #DireStraits' Sonni was known as 'the other guitarist' during the group's Brothers in Arms period, which was named after their fifth album, which was released in 1985.

EXCLUSIVE: Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left), Britain's richest man, has established a honey-making factory in the New Forest on the grounds of his controversial £6 million holiday home (right) - without permission. Now the billionaire is fighting a new battle with planners to get approval for two massive barns that were built without consent - or face having to tear them down. Sir Jim's latest request is the fifth round of his chemical tycoon's marathon struggle with city planners, after he was refused permission to build a beachside estate four times before winning in 2017. At his beach-side retreat in the New Forest, the owner of Ineos was allowed to demolish a house and cottage and build two new ones complete with a luxurious summerhouse.

After being backed by the far-Left Socialist Workers Party, Sharon Graham (main) became the first female head of one of the UK's most influential trade unions. Now, Unite has promised to deliver'massive shockwaves' through the UK supply chain, with the assault at Felixstowe and causing'huge chaos, with ships diverted and hundreds of millions of pounds of trade expected to be affected. Inset: A file photo of empty shelves.