Mark Knopfler brings together music stars
54 musicians are re-releasing classics for a good cause
Mark Knopfler was able to inspire over 50 music icons for a new project.
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Mark Knopfler was able to inspire 54 musicians for a charity project: stars from the Beatles to Pink Floyd to The Who were there.
Mark Knopfler (74) has brought together some of the most famous guitarists for a new recording of his 1983 instrumental piece, “Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero”. In addition to the Dire Straits frontman, Slash (58) from Guns N’ Roses, David Gilmour (77) from Pink Floyd, Pete Townshend (78) from The Who and Ron Wood (76) from the Rolling Stones are also there.
The guest list – “a single highlight”
And that’s not all: the supergroup called Guitar Heroes consists of a total of 54 musicians, “a single highlight,” as Knopfler described it in a statement. from which, among other things, “Billboard” is quoted. The nine-minute track also features contributions from Joan Jett (65), Sheryl Crow (61), Joan Armatrading (73), Joe Bonamassa (46) and Jeff Beck (1944-2023).
Also involved in the recording were Roger Daltrey (79), frontman of The Who, on the harmonica, Sting (72) from The Police on bass and Ringo Starr (83) from The Beatles on drums. The list continues with Brian May (76) from Queen, Tom Morello (59) from Rage Against The Machine, Nile Rodgers (71), Mike Rutherford (73) from Genesis and Bruce Springsteen (74). Jeff Beck’s contribution was the last recording of the musician who died last year, which now opens the song.
“I really had no idea it would be like this,” Knopfler says of the project. They realized early on that they would have to “extend the piece somehow” “to take into account the number of people who took part.” Before he knew it, says Knopfler, Townshend had shown up at his studio “armed with a guitar and an amplifier,” soon followed by Eric Clapton (78).
Even the cover has cult potential
Some of the musicians recorded in person at British Grove Studios in west London, while others sent in contributions from around the world. The recordings were edited by Knopfler’s former Dire Straits bandmate Guy Fletcher (63). The artwork for the song is also something special: Sir Peter Blake (91) was commissioned to redesign the iconic cover of the Beatles album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” from 1967 with the 54 guitarists now involved. Knopfler shows the work of art on Instagram.
The instrumental will be released on March 15th. Proceeds will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity providing treatment and support to people aged 13 to 24 living with cancer in the UK. The song is also intended to raise funds for Teen Cancer America.