Dire Straits were one of the most successful British bands of the 1980s. Between 1977 and 1995, they sold over 100 million records worldwide.
But what many didn't know was that two of their members - Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher - were avid windsurfing enthusiasts.
According to a 1990 TV news story by ITV, the duo started sailing when recording in the Caribbean. Whenever on tour, they always managed to find time to get out on the water.
"We were making the 'Brothers In Arms' album in Montserrat, in the Caribbean, and there was nothing else to do there," explained Clark, the band's keyboard player from 1980 to 1995.
"So we just started windsurfing and suddenly realized how much fun it was. We ended up sailing to this island that was 18 miles away one day."
Obsessed with Windsurfing
Fletcher reveals that their first 18-mile adventure into the unknown took place only eight weeks after they learned to windsurf.
"We grab as much time as we can, really. We usually go out with locals just to feel out the place," adds Fletcher.
Alan Clark also reveals that he planned to carry, at least, a board with him on tour "because I hate using other people's gear. When we were learning, it was alright, but now things have changed a bit."
But there's more. Clark, a wave sailing lover, said he spent 18 months doing nothing else but windsurfing after a world tour.
"That was all I wanted to do."
Last but not least, the Dire Straits duo unveiled that singer-songwriter Sting was also a windsurfing fanatic and once sailed from Monserrat to the uninhabited Caribbean island of Redonda.
Sting used the harness. Clark and Fletcher didn't. Delicious.