An animated video for Mark Knopfler‘s all-star charity single “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” – which brought together a stunning lineup of over 60 guitar gods to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust – has been released. It features the final recording of Jeff Beck along with contributions by Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Joan Jett, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and Sting.
The song came out a week ago, but it was difficult to discern who was playing what part throughout the ten-minute song. This new video calls out the name of every musician when their parts come up in the track. The vast majority of the musicians play guitar, but Ringo Starr and his son, Who drummer Zack Starkey, are on drums. Roger Daltrey plays harmonica. Sting is on bass.
The complete list of musicians on the song rivals basically every charity single in music story short of “We Are The World” and “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Here it is in alphabetical order: Joan Armatrading, Richard Bennett, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Brown, James Burton, Jonathan Cain, Paul Carrack, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jim Cox, Steve Cropper, Sheryl Crow, Danny Cummings, Duane Eddy, Sam Fender, Peter Frampton, Audley Freed, Vince Gill, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Keiji Haino, Tony Iommi, Joan Jett, John Jorgenson, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Greg Leisz, Alex Lifeson, Steve Lukather, Phil Manzanera, Hank Marvin, Dave Mason, 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, 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, and Zucchero.
“Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” originally came out in 1983 on the soundtrack on the Burt Lancaster film Local Hero. It was the first solo release by Mark Knopfler. The original recording isn’t familiar to many Americans, but it’s known throughout Europe as the intro music to the Newcastle soccer team.
The new version of the song was largely recorded at West London’s British Grove Studios. “What I really want to do, more than anything else, is just to thank each and every one for this sterling response,” Knopfler says in a statement. “I really had no idea that it was going to be like this. It hit Guy and I quite early on that we had to extend this piece somehow, to take in the number of people who joined in.”
He continues, “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. 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’ve had is an embarrassment of riches, really. The whole thing was a high point.”
