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Heavy Fuel

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"Heavy Fuel"
Single by Dire Straits
from the album On Every Street
B-side
  • "Planet of New Orleans"
  • "Kingdom Come"
Released21 October 1991 (1991-10-21)[1]
GenreRock[2]
Length5:10 (extended mix)
4:57 (album version)
4:03 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Mark Knopfler
Producer(s)
Dire Straits singles chronology
"Calling Elvis"
(1991) 		"Heavy Fuel"
(1991) 		"On Every Street"
(1992)

"Heavy Fuel" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits from their 1991 album On Every Street. The song was also released as a single and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, making it the band's second song to do so.[3]

Lyrical content

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In "Heavy Fuel," Mark Knopfler ironically extols the virtues of such vices as cigarettes, hamburgers, Scotch, lust, money and violence. The phrase "You got to run on heavy fuel" is from the novel Money by Martin Amis, on which Knopfler based his lyric.[4]

Music video

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The song's music video features American actor-comedian Randy Quaid who plays as the band's roadie who is messing around the venues where the band performs and even fantasizes himself as the band's singer Mark Knopfler.

Track listings

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  1. "Heavy Fuel"
  2. "Planet of New Orleans"
  3. "Kingdom Come"

Charts

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Chart (1990–1991) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 26
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 19
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 17
France (SNEP)[8] 32
Germany (GfK)[9] 48
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 24
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 25
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 34
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 55
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[3] 1
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[3] 22

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 19 October 1991. p. 19.
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/on-every-street-mw0000675218 [bare URL]
  3. ^ a b c "On Every Street – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  4. ^ Dagostino, Susan (25 May 2006). "Mark Knopfler's Song Inspirations". Ezinearticles.com. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ^ "Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2042." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dire Straits - Heavy Fuel" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  12. ^ "Dire Straits – Heavy Fuel". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 June 2014.


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