The song is about when Mark Knophler was in an appliance store and overheard some employees talking about MTV which was playing in the background. This is how he came up with the lyrics and melody to the song.
@nightmissle Yeah..I bought and read American Psycho when it was finally was finally published after being a highly controversial book. My favorite quote "Don't touch the Rolex!"
These guys were from Australia..I think...