Dire Straits released their first single, "Sultans Of Swing," on May 19, 1978.While it would go on to become one of the band's signature songs and a staple of classic rock radio, the track initially got only a middling reaction from the public. It entered the U.K. chart in the lower thirties and dropped out the following week.At the time, the band, formed in 1977 around lead singer and guitarist Mark Knopfler, was touring in support of a group called the Climax Blues Band and making their first trip to Europe, where they supported Styx at a few gigs.However, after the release of their self-titled debut album, "Sultans Of Swing" was re-released, eventually peaking as high as number eight in the U.K. and number four in the U.S. The band would become one of the biggest in the world, with hits like "Money For Nothing" and "Walk Of Life," though they would never score a chart-topper in their home country. (They would reach the top of the chart in the U.S. with "Money For Nothing.")