By Hilary Porter

HAMPSHIRE rock star John Illsley is "honoured" but "surprised" his former band Dire Straits have been nominated for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Among the other luminaries short listed are: Bon Jovi, Kate Bush, Radio Head, Depeche Mode, Judas Priest, the Cars, Eurythmics, the Moody Blues, Nina Simone and the Zombies.

The top five will be decided by a public vote, along with input from over 800 artists, historians and music industry insiders. The winners will be announced in December and inducted on April 14 at a ceremony in Cleveland

Dire Straits are certainly strong contenders as one of the biggest bands ever. Founded by Mark Knopfler and John Illsey in 1977, they spent a staggering 1,100 weeks on the UK album charts making them the fifth longest chart act of all time.

They sold over 120 million records. 1985's ‘Brothers in Arms’ alone sold over 30 million copies and has now spent a total of almost seven years in the charts.

They picked up awards galore – Grammies, Brits, MTV Video Awards, an Ivor Novello – and were the first band to sell over 1,000,000 copies of a CD.

John Illsley was the only one, along with Mark Knopfler, to last the full course until the band split in 1995. His bass riffs and general musicianship contributed much to Dire Straits’ hallmark sound.

When the band ended John embarked on 'a quiet life’ in the New Forest with partner Stephanie.Today, apart from owning and running his local pub - the East End Arms at Lymington, he continues to enjoy a music career as a solo performer alongside his other life as an exhibiting painter.

Talking about the nomination John told the Daily Echo: "It came as a bit of a surprise, although someone said to me 'Gosh, we thought you already were in the Hall of Fame!'

"It's an honour, there's no doubt about it and it's very nice to be recognised for all those years of dancing the boards and making a bit of music. It's a great honour and all part of the process. I've been doing it for a while- it's become a bit of a habit! It's 40 years since The Sultans of Swing came out but it seems like no time at all; it's gone in a flash- as you get older time does go a lot more quickly. I guess some people are bad at doing proper jobs. I did one for three years and that was enough for me!"

John says he has "spoken briefly" to Mark Knopfler about the nomination and "he was very pleased about it."

"You don't do it for awards though- you do it because you love it, and that's how we've approached it. We have our own style and way of doing things."

Among their countless awards one stands out:"The Ivor Novello was a special one which Mark and I got for our contribution to British music: it has pride of place on the mantle piece in my office. "

John doesn't live in the past though and is still actively making music and performing. Chatting as he made a cup of tea at his New Forest home he said he' d done a gig the night before and got in at 2am so was "feeling a bit ropey" adding "it's a bit hectic at the moment preparing for touring ."

But as he embarks on a 17-date UK tour with his new band he adds this is nothing like the madness of his Dire Straits days.

"We use to go out on tour for a year- the last tour was a year and a half and 250 shows!That was a bit bonkers! It was an extraordinary experience . It was like taking this huge production all round the world which was a logistical nightmare but we pulled it off."

With six solo albums in hand, John heads off on tour on Thursday (October 19) with his new five piece featuring some of the best players in the business.

The Autumn tour is John’s first in over four years and ends at The Brook, Southampton on Saturday November 11.

“Live at the Brook”, a new DVD recorded with the same band last year, will also be available.

Safe to say the new shows carry on the Straits commitment to full-on musical nights of the highest calibre.

Showcasing John’s 2016 album, “Long Shadows”, the band will draw on many of the much loved hits - Sultans of Swing, Money for Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Brothers in Arms – as well as the gamut of solo material.

The new line-up comprises Robbie McIntosh (The Pretenders, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones) and Paul Stacey (Oasis, The Black Crowes, High Flying Birds) cutting fine figures on the guitar. The other three members stake their claim too… Steve Smith takes on keyboards (Robert Plant, Pete Townsend, Steve Harley), Stuart Ross presides over drums (Mark Owen, Nik Kershaw, Chesney Hawkes), while Jess Greenfield ably provides backing vocals (Rod Stewart, Take That, Noel Gallagher).

Tickets for The Brook:Tel 023 8055 5366

*To vote for Dire Straits you have until December 5 to vote at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s website.

www.rockhall.com