There are four new Mark Knopfler songs to listen to. The EP, which is titled The Boy it had so far only been released on vinyl for Record Store Day and arrived today on streaming platforms.
As he told us in this interview, Mr Solomons Said, The Boy, All Comers And Bad Day for a Knife Thrower were born during the sessions One Deep River, the album of unreleased songs released in April. «They are themed around fairs, amusement parks, boxing booths», that is to say the improvised rings in traveling fairs where people could challenge a boxer and get paid if they lasted three rounds.
The interest in these themes arises from Knopfler's readings on England in the 50s and 60s, «an extremely interesting period in which the social fabric changed. I'm also fascinated by what was happening in the entertainment sector”, which is one of the themes of the EP. «There was a radical change taking place in English nightlife. After Castro's revolution, the underworld that ran gambling in Havana moved first to London and then expanded throughout England.”
Mr Solomons Said it's a soliloquy that captures the intertwining of crime and entertainment that Knopfler talks about. It is a world seen from the point of view of a promising young man, a boxer who however is not a “splitting puncher” in a ruthless environment in which “winners win and losers have to make do”.
In The Boy we see it in London. He won't stop fighting because he “makes more money in that gym than in a blacksmith's shop” and he loves the glamour, the city lights, the audience, the money.
All Comers has the folk atmospheres of the north of the United Kingdom so dear to the guitarist, starting from the soundtrack of Local Hero. It talks about the challengers at the boxing booths, guys who have drunk a few too many beers at the fairs and want to show off even if they have never seen a real ring. However, never underestimate the guy who is entering the ring, warns the narrator. “It's not an easy way to make a pound, you can do maybe three or four fights a night, maybe more at the weekend.” And he prays that the kids who drank that beer too many will come back again the following year, “that it never changes, just like old friends”.
Bad Day for a Knife Towner it's the bitter ending. It opens with a bleak scene, with the pouring rain keeping people away from the fair. “When he couldn't get a payday or whatever,” sings Knofpler, “he had to find a solution, bet a pound or two against himself.” It's time for the crisis. The narrator feels himself sinking into the mud, “it was a bad day for a knife thrower”.
In the interview he gave us, Knopfler made it clear that he no longer intends to tour to dedicate himself to recording records. «I feel I am more useful to my family by staying at home and writing. There's one thing this album has shown and that is that I can spend more time at home writing and then go into the studio and make the record. I feel like it's a more productive way to spend my time. Because of the pandemic I ended up writing more, I found myself with more songs to offer to people.”
He doesn't feel he has to do even single concerts. «Let's be clear, it's something I really enjoyed doing, but at the moment I prefer things to stay as they are. I have a studio a few kilometers from home, I don't have to travel to record. In the studio alone or with the band I have never had a bad day. Things are going well.”