Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler will re-release “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” on March 15th with the participation of 60(!) well-known artists in order to raise money for the British charity Teenage Cancer Trust and its American counterpart Teen Cancer America
Among the contributors are Eric Clapton, Steve Cropper, Peter Frampton, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Tony Iommi, Joan Jett, Brian May, Tom Morello, Slash, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and many others (you can read all 60 names at the end of the article).
The nine-minute track, which you can hear a snippet of below, is even more notable for featuring the final recording Jeff Beck made before his passing in January of 2023.
“What I really want to do, more than anything else, is just to thank each and every one for this sterling response,” Knopfler said in a press release. “I really had no idea that it was going to be like this. It hit [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.”
“Before I knew where I was, Pete Townshend had come into my studio armed with a guitar and an amp. And that first Pete power chord…man, I tell you. We were in that territory, and it was just fantastic,” Knopfler continued. “And it went on from there. Eric [Clapton] came in, played great, just one tasty lick after another. Then Jeff Beck’s contribution arrived and that was spellbinding. I think what we’’e had is an embarrassment of riches, really. The whole thing was a high point.”
The song, which is available for pre-ordering in CD, vinyl and digital form, will help raise funds for the British charity TeenageCancer Trust and its American equivalent Teen Cancer America.
All the artists in alphabetical order: 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.
