The late guitarist Jerry Garcia co-founded the Grateful Dead in 1965, a band that became one of the most successful of all time in terms of ticket sales. For decades, until Garcia’s passing in 1995, they played to sold-out arenas across the United States, inspiring countless generations of fans and musicians. They were essentially a live band, always delivering unique concerts, since improvisation was part of their DNA. Throughout his career, Jerry Garcia remained interested in hearing what new artists had to say in their music and he spoke about several bands he was a fan of. 3 bands Jerry Garcia said he was a fan of in the 1980s Dire Straits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ffIJ7ZO4U&list=RDh0ffIJ7ZO4U&start_radio=1&pp=ygUcZGlyZSBzdHJhaXRzIHN1bHRhbiBvZiBzd2luZ6AHAQ%3D%3D "I like Dire Straits, but that's to be expected. It's easy to see why I like them," Jerry Garcia told New Musical Express in 1981. One year earlier he had already said it was hard not like the group. “I don’t think there’s anybody who’s consistently putting out great stuff, time after time after time. But everybody’s got something to say and there’s moments in all of this that are real excellent. I go for the moments. I keep listening till I hear something that knocks me out. Dire Straits-I love that band. It’s hard not to like that band,” he said in an interview with Relix magazine in 1980. At the time Dire Straits had already released three albums: "Dire Straits" (1978), "Communiqué" (1979) and "Making Movies" (1980). A couple of years ago, in 1985 when they had already put out "Love Over Gold" (1982) and "Brothers in Arms" (1985), Garcia told Frets that he already saw their show. “The last band I went to see is Dire Straits. That was the last band I went to see live, a couple of years ago. There are others that I would, but most of the time I’m out working and stuff. So I don’t really get a chance,” Jerry Garcia said. The group was formed back in 1977 in London by Mark Knopfler, his brother David Knopfler, John Illsey and Pick Whiters. They were active until 1995 when Mark was tired of all the pressure of the burden that came with the huge success of the band. Since then the musician focused on his solo career. They have sold an estimated amount of more than 120 million records worldwide. Gary Numan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im3JzxlatUs&list=RDIm3JzxlatUs&start_radio=1&pp=ygUKR2FyeSBOdW1hbqAHAQ%3D%3D “I like Gary Numan a lot. Sure do. No (I haven’t seen him in concert), but I would like to. I think his stuff is really interesting. I think he’s got a real thing. (So) I like people who have a real conviction about what they do. Convinced that they have something to say and a real way to say it,” he told New Musical Express. The British musician is best known for hits like “Cars” and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”, certainly an artist many Grateful Dead fans would not guess the late Jerry was a fan of, since the music is quite different from the kind he made. The interviewer told Garcia he should get in touch with Numan and invited him to write something together. His answer was: “Oh no! I’d be intimidated by him. Shit yeah…these guys all seem so much more together than I feel. I feel like someone who is constantly on the verge of losing it, of blowing it. I feel tremendously insecure. When I see people perform with such panache… I don’t see how they do it. It takes tremendous nerve, tremendous balls,” Jerry Garcia said. Numan started his career as the frontman of Tubeway Army, after fronting the band in two albums, he released "The Pleasure Principle" (1979) his solo debut. With the hit "Cars" and other praised songs, the record peaked at number one on the United Kingdom charts and 16 on the United States Billboard 200. Since then he has been regarded as a pioneer of electronic music and sold an estimated amount of more than 10 million records worldwide. Elvis Costello https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snPDoXl9ZPs&list=RDsnPDoXl9ZPs&start_radio=1&pp=ygUmZWx2aXMgY29zdGVsbG8gd2F0Y2hpbmcgdGhlIGRldGVjdGl2ZXOgBwHSBwkJsgkBhyohjO8%3D "I admire Elvis Costello for his amazing output. Goddamn, the guy is so fucking prolific. For me a good year is like writing three songs. Songs don't come easy to me," he told Musical Express. He had already praised the British artist a couple times before, like in confirming, for example, Costello's famous track "Watching the Detectives". Curiously, Costello had the chance to perform with Garcia and the Grateful Dead in the late 80s and he was a fan of them. He recalled that moment in an interview with Musician magazine in 1991, which was done with Jerry Garcia. “I think one thing that’s overlooked about the Dead is the strength of the songs. If it wasn’t for all the cultural baggage that comes with the Grateful Dead, and maybe the name being in one way a defense and in another an alienating thing. Also if you were Norwegian or something, I think by now you’d be regarded as a sort of super jazz band." “And on the other hand, if it wasn’t for the improvisational aspects, you would have better credit for having written really good songs. Because they’re not just platforms for improvisation. I think that’s an element that, aside from Dead fans, is very overlooked,” Elvis Costello said. Besides being a musician, Elvis is also known as a record producer, author and even television host. He has been compared with names like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, with a kind of music that mixed Punk and New Wave. A prolific artist, as described by Garcia, until 2025 Costello released 33 studio albums and six live records.The post 3 bands Jerry Garcia said he was a fan of in the 1980s appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.