Dire Straits were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on Saturday night – but their singer and guitarist Mark Knopfler, along with his guitarist brother David, were both absent from the ceremony.
Instead the trio of John Illsley, Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher took to the stage to accept the honour, with Illsley left to address the situation regarding their frontman.
He said: “I’ll assure you, it’s a personal thing. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Illsley last week acknowledged that the frontman would be absent from the ceremony, telling Billboard: "He just didn't feel like coming, it's as simple as that.
“It just didn't appeal to him, and I appealed to him on several occasions. I said, ‘Look, I'd love you to get your head around this.'
“He said, 'I just can't do it, John. I'm really sorry. It's a great honour for us and all the rest of it, and I just can't get my head around it,’ so I've just got to respect it.
“He's got his reasons, which he really doesn't want to share with me which is unusual because we've shared most things over the years.”
In a Facebook post, David Knopfler said that Rock Hall organisers had reneged on a promise to pay expenses and that a work visa would have cost £1500.
