Bayan da Brothers in Arms ya ƙare yawon shakatawa Mark Knopfler ya yi hutu daga Dire Straits kuma a cikin 1987 ya mai da hankali kan ayyukan solo da kuma fina-finai. Dire Straits ya sake haɗuwa a 1988 don wasan kwaikwayon bikin ranar haihuwar Nelson Mandela na 70 wanda aka yi a ranar 11 ga Yuni, 1988 a filin wasa na Wembley, inda suka kasance babban wasan kwaikwayon. Eric Clapton ya haɗu da su don saitin su wanda ya yi waƙar "Wonderful Tonight" tare da ƙungiyar kuma ya buga guitar guitar a kan sauran waƙoƙin da ƙungiyar ta yi, yayin da guitarist Jack Sonni ya ɓace. Ba da daɗewa ba, Williams ya bar ƙungiyar. Tambaya: A wace shekara ne bikin ranar haihuwar Nelson Mandela na 70?
Shekarar 1988