Writer: Mark Knopfler
Producers: Mark Knopfler and Neil Dorfsman
Recorded: Late 1984 and early 1985 at Air Studios in Montserrat, West Indies
Released: May 1985
| Players: | Mark Knopfler — vocals, guitar John Illsley — bass Alan Clark — keyboards Guy Fletcher — keyboards Terry Williams — drums Sting – vocals |
| Album: | Brothers In Arms (Warner Brothers, 1985) |
In Britain, "So Far Away" was released in April 1985 to precede the Brothers In Arms album. It hit Number 20 on the U.K. chart.
The song was not released as a single in the U.S. until the spring of 1986. It reached Number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, the third Top 20 single from Brothers In Arms.
The song's theme of loneliness and missing one's mate was inspired by singer-guitarist Mark Knopfler's true feelings about touring and leaving his wife Lourdes behind.
Brothers In Arms was Dire Straits' first album of new material in three years.
Brothers In Arms was Dire Straits' most successful release, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide.
It hit Number One on the Billboard 200 chart and debuted at Number One in the U.K.
Brothers In Arms won a Grammy for best engineered recording (non-classical) on February 25, 1986.
In 1985, Dire Straits received the Silver Clef award for Outstanding Services to British Music by the Nordoff-Robbins Music Centre.
The release of Brothers In Arms was followed by a 12-month world tour.