One of the most iconic pieces of guitar playing for me for many years has been Mark Knopfler’s Going Home (Theme from Local Hero). The film was released back in the 1980s, and I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen it, but I’ve loved the main theme from it for years. Now in 2024, Mark has assembled an all-star cast for an updated version raising money for cancer charities in the UK and America. And when I say, an all-star cast, look at this line up –
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.
Now, obviously, this lot were never in the same room at the same time. Knopfler and Guy Fletcher have masterfully together pieced the single. Having listened to guitar music for the last 40 years, there were some guitars playing I could recognise, David Gilmour is an obvious one, as was Hank Marvin and Brian May. But how do you represent them all in a video?
Like this…..
The whole thing is masterpiece, and I love it. I sat there in awe with every new name that appeared on screen. It’s just brilliant.