Mark Knopfler has collaborated with several iconic guitarists to produce a rendition of his song ‘Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)’ in order to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.
The lineup of over 60 guitarists features Bruce Springsteen, Slash, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Pete Townshend, Sting, Brian May from Queen, Joan Jett, and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd.
Guy Fletcher, Mark Knopfler’s long-term collaborator, took charge of producing the track, which boasts possibly the most remarkable assembly of guitar talent on a single song. The artwork, reminiscent of Sgt. Pepper’s, was crafted by Sir Peter Blake.
A brief 15-second trailer provides a glimpse of the numerous guitarists trading runs and fills. The additional musical elements include Roger Daltrey from The Who on harmonica, Ringo Starr from The Beatles sharing drum duties with his son Zak Starkey, and Sting contributing to the rhythm section on bass.
The Dire Straits rocker thanked every single artist who joined him to honor Beck:
“What I really want to do, more than anything else, is just to thank each and every one for this sterling response. I really had no idea that it was going to be like this. It hit Guy [Fletcher] and I quite early on that we had to extend this piece somehow, to take in the number of people who joined in.”
The full song is set to be released digitally, including a Dolby Atmos mix, on March 15th, along with physical versions on CD, deluxe CD/Blu-Ray, and vinyl.
Autographed Guitars Will Be Auctioned For Funds
The net proceeds from the record will be directed towards the two charities. In addition, guitar manufacturers have generously contributed eight guitars to be autographed by the participating artists, further enhancing the fundraising efforts. Knopfler will personally auction one of these guitars at a private donor event in Newcastle on the evening of March 1, preceding the clash between Newcastle and Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 2.
Several artists who contributed to the song will be present at the match. During the players’ entrance to the stadium, a sneak peek of a portion of the song will be played for Newcastle fans.
The List Of The Contributors
The full list of contributors goes as follows:
Joan Armatrading, Jeff Beck, Richard Bennett, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Brown, James Burton, Jonathan Cain, Paul Carrack, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jim Cox, Steve Cropper, Sheryl Crow, Danny Cummings, Roger Daltrey, Duane Eddy, Sam Fender, Guy Fletcher, Peter Frampton, Audley Freed, Vince Gill, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Keiji Haino, Tony Iommi, Joan Jett, John Jorgenson, Mark Knopfler, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Greg Leisz, Alex Lifeson, Steve Lukather, Phil Manzanera, Dave Mason, Hank Marvin, Brian May, Robbie McIntosh, John McLaughlin, Tom Morello, Rick Nielsen, Orianthi, Brad Paisley, Nile Rodgers, Mike Rutherford, Joe Satriani, John Sebastian, Connor Selby, Slash, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Zak Starkey, Sting, Andy Taylor, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Ian Thomas, Pete Townshend, Keith Urban, Steve Vai, Waddy Wachtel, Joe Louis Walker, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, Glenn Worf, Zucchero.
You can hear the snippet of the track below.
