John Illsley has done several solo records in his career, mainly in the 2000s. Only two came during his Dire Straits years. Also a band called K. Wallis B. And The Dark Shades Of Night put out an EP in 1987. This was, of course, another work of John.
Never Told a Soul was released in 1984. With Dire Straits musicians as core band, Mark Knopfler had a prominent appearance on guitar, sharing duties with session ace Phil Palmer (later playing on Dire Straits On Every Street record and tour).
From this record, title track Never Told a Soul, was release as single in some countries. A non-album track was on it. Hypnotised, a fast paced rock track, on which Phil Palmer plays guitar. The title track version was the Radio Edit so this makes this single a nice exclusive item for any collection.
In 1988 John released Glass again with some well known names including Knopfler. I Want To See The Moon was the chosen single and again we have a B-side to enjoy: Words, a nice ballad that fits perfectly the style and sound of the album. Apart from the 7” vinyl releases, we have a CD single version (pictured here). We can find also in promo items from the period the Radio Edit of I Want To See The Moon.
The rare EP by K. Wallis B. and The Dark Shades was released in 1987. It´s an instrumental EP in 1987 which included three tracks. All of them were covers. Diamonds from Jerry Lordan and Main Title Theme (The Man With The Golden Arm) from Elmer Bernstein and Sylvia Fine. From Diamonds we get two versions, one of them being a Dance Mix which is an extended version of the 7" version also featured on this single. Again, Terry, Alan and Phil are here, amongst some sessions musicians adding horns including Chris White on saxophone (see full credits below).
These items are really worthwhile and easy to find in the second hand market. A nice addition to any Dire Straits and John Illsley collection.