Mark Knopfler Wrote This Seductive Song for Dire Straits Before it Became a Tina Turner Classic, Featuring Jeff Beck

While working on Dire Straits‘ fourth album, Love Over Gold, released in 1982, Mark Knopfler had written a more seductive song that didn’t quite fit the band’s mold. He realized that the song would be best sung by a woman and pitched it to Tina Turner.

At the time, Turner had released two solo albums, Rough in 1978, and Love Explosion in 1979, following her divorce from Ike Turner. Neither album was a commercial success, and the latter resulted in her being dropped from her recording contract.

In need of a strong comeback, Turner connected with Capitol Records A&R exec John Carter, who helped relaunch her career and tapped into Knopfler’s song, which ended up becoming the title track of her 1984 album.

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“Private Dancer”

The lyrics to “Private Dancer” follow the reflections of a prostitute, hoping for a better life.

I’m your private dancer, a dancer for money
I’ll do what you want me to do
I’m your private dancer, a dancer for money
And any old music will do

I want to make a million dollars
I want to live out by the sea
Have a husband and some children
Yeah, I guess I want a family

[RELATED: Behind the Song Lyrics: “The Best,” Tina Turner]

“Mark said this song is not for a man, it’s a girl’s song,” recalled Turner in 2004. “He recorded it but won’t use it, so when he put the demo on, he sung, ‘I’m a private dancer, dancer for money, do what you want me to do.’ I told him, ‘I think you’re right, it’s not a song for a guy. I liked it a lot. I wasn’t sure whether the girl was a hooker or a very classical private dancer, but I thought I’d take it.”

All the men come in these places
And the men are all the same
You don’t look at their faces
And you don’t ask their names
You don’t think of them as human
You don’t think of them at all
You keep your mind on the money
Keeping your eyes on the wall

Following a photo shoot with British photographer Peter Ashworth, featuring Turner sitting in a chair in a little black dress, the image fit the song, and “Private Dancer” became the title of her album. Originally titled after Turner’s No. 1 hit, “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” she felt Private Dancer rolled off the tongue easier than the preceding title.

Released in October 1984, “Private Dancer” went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B chart. Private Dancer went to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and gave Turner the comeback she needed at age 44, transforming her into a superstar with the success of hit singles “Private Dancer,” “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” and “Better Be Good to Me.”

Private Dancer also topped the R&B albums chart, and remains Turner’s best-selling album in the U.S.

‘Private Dancer’ Studio Band Featured Dire Straits and Jeff Beck

During the recording of “Private Dancer,” Turner’s studio band featured Dire Straits bassist John Illsley and drummer Terry Williams, along with Jeff Beck on guitar. Beck also appears on the Private Dancer track “Steel Claw.”

Instead of payment, Beck asked Turner to sign his pink Jackson Soloist guitar, which became known as the “Tina Guitar.” Beck said, “Tina was carving her name into my guitar. She took her time and carefully finished it with green pearl nail varnish.’

[RELATED: The Un-Kingly Meaning Behind Dire Straits’ Classic “Sultans of Swing”]

More Turner-Knopfler Collaborations

Knopfler and Turner’s collaborations didn’t end at “Private Dancer.” He also played guitar on Turner’s 1986 album Break Every Rule on tracks “Overnight Sensation,” which he also wrote and co-produced, along with “Paradise is Here,” and again on the title track of her 1989 album Foreign Affair.

“Tina showed no sign of bitterness about a tough childhood, then a violent marriage, and hard times following her divorce from Ike Turner,” said Knopfler following Turner’s death in 2023. “Instead, she put her superhuman energy into her unique interpretations of songs, and eventually her records sold by the million.”

He continued, “She was an inspiration for women of all ages and social classes and was worshipped by major entertainers such as Beyoncé and Rihanna. Tina said she wanted to be remembered as the Queen of Rock and Roll, and that is precisely what she became.”

Photo: Bill Rowntree/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images