John Illsley

John Illsley rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed band Dire Straits and has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award. As a founding member, John played a major role in the development of the Dire Straits sound. Since the band's last tour in 1993 he has earned a reputation as a painter, with solo exhibitions in London, New York, Sydney and across Europe. He co-founded the children's charity Life Education in 1987, which was recently integrated...See more

John Illsley rose to fame as the bass guitarist of the critically acclaimed band Dire Straits and has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award. As a founding member, John played a major role in the development of the Dire Straits sound. Since the band's last tour in 1993 he has earned a reputation as a painter, with solo exhibitions in London, New York, Sydney and across Europe. He co-founded the children's charity Life Education in 1987, which was recently integrated into Coram. As a musician, John also has eight solo albums to his name. He owns a pub in the New Forest. See less