The all-star re-recording of Mark Knopfler's 1983 instrumental, "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)" is out today.
Featuring 65 artists, the proceeds will benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust, which Knopfler has been supporting for 30 years when Dire Straits paid for the first Teenage Cancer ward. It will also benefit Teenage Cancer America.
Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity providing 13-24-year-old cancer patients with age-appropriate specialist nursing care and support.
Calling his ensemble Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes, he says, “I really had no idea that it was going to be like this. It hit [my producer] 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."
In addition to those guests, the song also features Jeff Beck doing his last recording, which Knopfler says is "spellbinding. I think what we’ve had is an embarrassment of riches, really. The whole thing was a high point.”
And some of the others on the track are:
- Jonathan Cain (Journey)
- Paul Carrack
- Ry Cooder
- Steve Cropper
- Sheryl Crow
- Roger Daltrey (harmonica)
- Duane Eddy
- Peter Frampton
- Vince Gill
- David Gilmour
- Buddy Guy
- Tony Iommi
- Joan Jett
- Alex Lifeson
- Steve Lukather
- Phil Manzanera
- Dave Mason
- Brian May
- Tom Morello
- Rick Nielsen
- Brad Paisley
- Nile Rodgers
- Mike Rutherford
- Joe Satriani
- Slash
- Ringo Starr and his son, Zak Starkey (drums)
- Keith Urban
- Steve Vai
- Joe Walsh
- Ronnie Wood
- And 25 others.
It's available as a CD single, along wit a deluxe CD+BluRay set. A video identifying each performer will be released next week.
The cover art was done by Peter Blake, who did the cover for The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band album.
Local Hero, the film the original song is taken from, was released in 1983 and starred Burt Lancaster. It was Knopfler’s first credit as a film composer and earned him a British Academy of Film and Television Arts nomination. The track is played at every Newcastle United FC game before the team takes the pitch.