In a new interview with Guitar World, Phil Palmer discussed his work with both Dire Straits and Eric Clapton. After long years of working as a session guitarist, the rocker managed to work with Dire Straits many times as well. As well as working with the band, Palmer also received an opportunity to work with Clapton but turned it down to work with Mark Knopfler before joining the band. Reminiscing about the moment he had to refuse Clapton, the rocker shared his story:
“I was still working with Eric, and we did a big outdoor show in Knebworth. During that gig, Eric and Mark Knopfler decided to amalgamate the two bands, and we did some of Eric’s songs and some of Dire Straits’ songs. I got on well with those guys, and things evolved to the point that I ended up joining them.”
How Come Clapton Offered Palmer to Work With Him?
One disaster made Clapton offer Palmer to work with him. Right before starting to record his ‘Unplugged’ album, the rocker lost his son. Devastated to lose a loved one, Clapton had to take a break from music, where his manager took the responsibility, and apparently, Palmer almost did too. He continued:
“But the catalyst was that Eric had a major disaster in his life when he lost his son in New York, who fell out of a window and sadly died. We all went to the funeral, and just after, Eric’s manager said, ‘Guys, if anything comes up you should take it, as Eric won’t be doing anything.'”
He continued by sharing how he joined Dire Straits while pointing out how ‘terrible’ of a decision it was to turn Clapton down:
“Soon after, I negotiated a deal with Mark and signed a contract with Dire Straits. But literally the day after, Eric called me, saying, ‘Listen, I’m not going to sit around on my ass. I want to make an Unplugged album. Can you do it?’ I had to turn it down. It was terrible.”
Working With Knopfler was ‘Strange’ for Palmer
After accepting to work with Dire Straits, the rocker has worked numerous times with the band. But it seems that working with the band’s guitarist, Knopfler, was more different than working with other artists, since he had to learn many different techniques. Following in the same interview, Palmer shared his genuine thoughts about Knopfler and what techniques he had to learn:
“I had to learn his very strange picking technique, where his right hand, almost like a banjo picker, does these odd things. So we got together, I nailed it, and off we went. Mark is so inspirational, and he loves to experiment. It was amazing to play alongside him for those two years.”
