Mark Knopfler Recruits 60 Rock Heroes for New Charity Single

Mark Knopfler has a new charity single on the way, featuring a whopping 60 musical legends.

The track, a recording of Knopfler's 1983 song "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)" will arrive on March 15.

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 and many more.

Jeff Beck's Final Recording

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.