Biography
As a young child Clark received piano lessons. Then whilst still a pupil at
Chester-le-Street Grammar School he played Hammond organ in working men's clubs. He continued his formal musical education at Durham Technical College and was offered a place at the Guildhall School of Music, but turned it down because by then he was already forging a successful career in music. He played and recorded with a group called Splinter, who were signed to George Harrison's Dark Horse label, and also
Gallagher & Lyle, and did a tour of summer festivals with
Lindisfarne, which included Knebworth. He also appeared on a number of tracks of the
Geordie album
No Good Woman.
Clark joined Dire Straits shortly before the release of
Making Movies in 1980, becoming their first and main keyboard player. His playing became an important element and transformed the band into the huge band they then became. While this is notable on their fourth album,
Love Over Gold in 1982,
his style is also readily apparent on Dire Straits' live album
Alchemy, but perhaps his greatest contribution was on the hugely successful
Brothers in Arms album. Clark continued with Dire Straits, co-producing the following album,
On Every Street with Knopfler, until the band's eventual breakup in the mid-1990s.
In 1983 he contributed to
Bob Dylan's album
Infidels, which
Mark Knopfler co-produced, and he played on the following Empire Burlesque album. Clark also worked with Knopfler on some of his
film soundtrack work, most notably on the film
Local Hero, in which he also makes a brief appearance as a piano player. He has also worked with Mark's brother
David Knopfler on his solo albums and toured and recorded extensively with
Eric Clapton as well as playing in the "Orchestra Nights" performances with the
National Philharmonic Orchestra and
Michael Kamen during the
24 Nights concerts at the
Royal Albert Hall in 1990 and 1991. Throughout his time with Dire Straits, he was also Tina Turner's musical director, and played on and arranged her huge hit Private Dancer. Clark has also played and recorded with an eclectic range of other artists including the Bee Gees, Jimmy Nail, Escape Club, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Mick Hucknall, Bill Wyman, Sting, Van Morrison, Sly and Robbie, Shakin Stevens, Roger Daltrey, George Harrison, Elton John, Phil Collins, Bruce Willis etc.
In 2001 Clark composed the music for the hit paranormal show
Most Haunted, and has composed many other themes for TV shows and radio commercials. In 2005 he wrote and directed a film to commemorate 25years of the Great North Run, called The Inspiration, which was screened and performed live with the northern Philharmonic, at The Sage in Newcastle.
Later in November 2005, Clark was a member of the house band at "The Hull Story", a tribute to the music of
Alan Hull of
Lindisfarne. The concert, which took place at
Newcastle City Hall in aid of the Young Musicians Fund, is available on DVD. His Hammond playing features extensively throughout.
In 2010 Clark reunited with Dire Straits band members John Illsley and Chris White at the XRoads club in Rome, and has been recording and touring with German star Westernhagen, as well as writing and recording with many other artists at his state of the art studio, including up and coming star Jamie Squire.
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