David Gilmour on new Mark Knopfler Charity Single Going Home

Back in February 2023 David Gilmour was recording with Mark Knopfler for a Teenage Cancer Trust charity single. The single is a re-recording of Mark Knopfler’s “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” and will be released on March 15th 2024. It is in support of Teenage Cancer Trust and the band is called Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes.

In an amazing twist to the story, there are actually over 60 artists included on the song. In a “We Are The World” style recording, people like Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Joan Jett, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and Sting are involved. It also features the final recording of the late Jeff Beck who died in January 2023.

You can listen to a short sample of the single online or pre-order online.

Who is on the new single?

How many guitar heroes can you spot in the picture above? If you need a clue, some of them are:

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.

The original song was released in 1983 and was Mark Knopfler’s first solo release. It featured in the Burt Lancaster film Local Hero. The new Mark Knopfler’s “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” is released in March and can be pre-ordered now.

Mark Knopfler said, “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. 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.”

Links – Mark Knopfler Website, Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes project site, Rolling Stone article