DIRE STRAITS - CALLING ELVIS / HEAVY FUEL

Released: August 19, 1991

Album: On Every Street

"Calling Elvis" is a song penned by Mark Knopfler featured on the last studio album, "On Every Street". Released as the album's lead single in August 1991 by Vertigo and Warner Bros., it reached number 21 in the UK and achieved top 10 positions in several other countries.

"Calling Elvis" is a song centered around a fan's belief that Elvis Presley is still alive. It references several Elvis songs such as "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," "Love Me (Treat Me Like a Fool)," "Don't Be Cruel," and "Return to Sender," as well as the famous phrase "Elvis has left the building." Knopfler's inspiration for the song came from an incident where his brother-in-law remarked that he was harder to reach than Elvis, after repeatedly trying to contact him while Knopfler had left his phone off the hook.

The music video was a collaboration between Gerry Anderson, known for Thunderbirds, and Steve Barron. It features marionette representations of the band members of Dire Straits, along with characters from Thunderbirds. The video also includes a woman character, blending elements of puppetry and live-action scenes to complement the song's theme and references to Elvis Presley.

"Heavy Fuel" released in 1991 from the album "On Every Street," became a hit single, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. The song, characterized by its ironic tone, features Mark Knopfler singing about the virtues of vices such as cigarettes, hamburgers, Scotch, lust, money, and violence. The lyric "You got to run on heavy fuel" is derived from Martin Amis' novel "Money," which inspired Knopfler's exploration of these themes in the song.

The music video stars American actor-comedian Randy Quaid, portraying a roadie who engages in various antics around the band's performance venues. Quaid's character also fantasizes about being the band's lead singer, Mark Knopfler, adding a humorous touch to the video's narrative.