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Tunnel of Love (Dire Straits song)

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"Tunnel of Love"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album Making Movies
B-side"Tunnel of Love, Part 2"
Released24 October 1980 (EU)[1]
2 October 1981 (UK)
Recorded20 June – 25 August 1980
Genre
Length8:09 (Album version)
5:01 (Single version, Part 1)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Skateaway"
(1981) 		"Tunnel of Love"
(1980) 		"Private Investigations"
(1982)

"Tunnel of Love" is a 1981 single by Dire Straits. It appears on the 1980 album Making Movies, and subsequently on the live albums Alchemy and Live at the BBC and the greatest hits albums Money for Nothing, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, and The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations. The song was also featured in the 1982 Richard Gere film An Officer and a Gentleman and was included in the film’s accompanying soundtrack album.

"Tunnel of Love" is one of only three Dire Straits songs not credited to Mark Knopfler alone (the other two are "Money for Nothing" and "What's The Matter Baby?"). The song itself is entirely by Knopfler, but the opening instrumental is an arrangement of the "Carousel Waltz" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.

The song mentions the Spanish City which, at the time the song was released, housed fun fair rides and amusements, referenced throughout the song. Spanish City is in Whitley Bay, which is also referenced near the end of the song (along with Cullercoats). It tells the story from the protagonist's point of view of meeting a young girl at the amusement park, spending time with her, but letting her go.

Reception

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Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated "Tunnel of Love" as Dire Straits' 4th best song and said it contains Mark Knopfler's best guitar solo.[2] Classic Rock critic Paul Rees rated it to be Dire Straits' 2nd best song, saying that it combines "Dylan's and Springsteen's biggest moments with Geordie grit."[3]

Chart performance

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"Tunnel of Love" reached the position of number 54 in the UK Singles Chart upon its single release in October 1981, a rather modest position despite being one of the band's most famous and popular compositions. However, it fared much better in other countries, especially Italy (#7)[4] and Spain (#11).[5]

Personnel

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Dire Straits

Additional musicians

Music videos

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Two music videos exist for the song, one depicting Mark Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers performing on a blank set, intercut with imagery and actors, most notably the 'heroine' played by a young Leslie Ash relevant to the lyrics, the other featuring a larger band arrangement and telling the story of a couple escaping a group of soldiers who chase them from a funfair.

Live performances

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In 1980s concerts, Dire Straits played the central theme of The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" during an extended instrumental introduction to the song, as Knopfler talked about that group's hometown of Newcastle. Knopfler's outro solo has received numerous plaudits over the years:

"Throughout "Tunnel of Love," Mark Knopfler dramatizes this close encounter by using his guitar as a Greek chorus. [...] Later, as Knopfler walks alone through the "carousel and the carnival arcades," waiting for another night and another girl, he wraps his voice like a ratty old raincoat around Bittan's gently tinkling piano and the long guitar solo that ends the track. Somehow, the evocative moan of the artist's guitar suggests a truth much deeper than the carnival-as-life metaphor has revealed."[7]

Mark Knopfler also sometimes played melody from chorus of "Stop! In the Name of Love" by The Supremes, as an additional intro prior to the "Carousel Waltz" while performing this song live.

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[8]
sales since 2009 		Gold 35,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Dire Straits singles".
  2. ^ Gallucci, Michael (20 July 2013). "Top 10 Dire Straits Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  3. ^ Rees, Paul (17 April 2015). "The Top 10 Best Dire Straits Songs". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Tutti i successi del 1981". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. ^ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1 ed.). Spagna. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Sid McGinnis". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  7. ^ Fricke, David (5 February 1981). "Dire Straits: Making Movies" (review). Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Italian single certifications – Dire Straits – Tunnel of Love" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 7 June 2021. Select "2021" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Tunnel of Love" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
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