# Telegraph Road guitar solo

> Mark Knopfler's guitar solo on Telegraph Road by Dire Straits (1982) starts at about 10:58. From the album Love over Gold. Played on a Fender Stratocaster.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/song/dire-straits-telegraph-road/>

Dire Straits, 1982, from *Love over Gold*. Solo by *Mark Knopfler*.

'Telegraph Road' is a long, cinematic song, and Mark Knopfler's guitar tells much of its story. His fingerpicked tone is clean and precise, and his lines weave melodic threads throughout the verses before the song builds to an extended closing solo. That finale is where the guitar truly takes over, rising in intensity with sustained notes and fluid runs as the band swells behind him. It's a showcase for Knopfler's melodic gifts and his ability to build tension over time. Listen for the moment the song breaks into its closing section, when the guitar steps forward and the energy steadily climbs, carrying the song's story toward its release.

Telegraph Road by Dire Straits is ranked #173 in our consensus of 80 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Mark Knopfler and the song was released in 1982. It appears on 3 lists, placing as high as #31 (Planet Rock).

## In our lists

- [The Best Dire Straits Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/dire-straits-guitar-solos/) — #3
- [The Best Mark Knopfler Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/mark-knopfler-guitar-solos/) — #3
- [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1982](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1982/) — #3
- [The Best Outro Guitar Solos: Songs That End With a Solo](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-outro-guitar-solos/) — #15

## Sources

- [Planet Rock: The Top 40 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-top-40-greatest-guitar-solos-ever) — #31
- [Planet Rock: The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time) — #45
- [Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos](https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitarsolo.html) — #238

### Who played the guitar solo on Telegraph Road?

Mark Knopfler played the solo on Dire Straits's Telegraph Road (1982).

### What guitar was used on the Telegraph Road solo?

A fender stratocaster, according to widely reported accounts.

### Where does Telegraph Road rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#173 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 80 published lists; it appears on 3 of them.

---

GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)