Heavy Fuel


"Heavy Fuel" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, released in October 1991 by Vertigo Records as the second single from their sixth and final album, On Every Street. The song reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, making it the band's second song to do so.

Lyrical content

In "Heavy Fuel", Mark Knopfler ironically extols the virtues of such vices as cigarettes, hamburgers, Scotch, lust, money and violence. The phrase "You got to run on heavy fuel" is from the novel Money by Martin Amis, on which Knopfler based his lyric.

Music video

The song's music video features American actor-comedian Randy Quaid who plays as the band's roadie messing around the venues where the band performs and even fantasizes himself as the band's singer Mark Knopfler.

Track listings

  1. "Heavy Fuel"
  2. "Planet of New Orleans"
  3. "Kingdom Come"

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Album Rock Tracks 15

Release history