In order to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America charities, Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler has assembled a who’s-who of rock royalty to re-record his debut solo single “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero).” Originally released in 1983, “Going Home” was featured in the 1983 film Local Hero starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster.
Performed by Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes and produced by longtime collaborator Guy Fletcher, this very special new recording of the anthemic instrumental features an unprecedented line-up of some of the greatest guitarists and musicians in history.
The supergroup comprises 54 of the world’s best guitarists, including rock icons such as the late Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Joe Walsh, Queen’s Brian May, Eric Clapton, The Who’s Pete Townshend, and more. “Going Home” also features The Who frontman Roger Daltrey on harmonica, The Police’s Sting on bass, and The Beatles’ Ringo Starr on drums.
In addition to the standard two-channel stereo version, Guy Fletcher has also created a Dolby Atmos mix of the nearly 10-minute single. Immersive music fans may already be familiar with Fletcher’s work on the new Dolby Atmos mixes of Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms (1985) and Money For Nothing compilation (1988), as well as Mark Knopfler’s latest solo album One Deep River (2024).
In a forthcoming interview with us, Fletcher stated the following about producing and mixing “Going Home” in Dolby Atmos:
“I wanted to give each player complete freedom to contribute whatever they wanted, but as the track grew I had to make decisions in terms of what to include or it would get too crowded. It really became quite tricky to manage the audio jigsaw puzzle, but I had two-and-a-half-years to put it together. There are 52 different mixes, because I’d have to edit and tweak it every time a new part was added.
I think what each player brought to the piece couldn’t have been better. I just chose the things that felt most like their signature sound. If David Gilmour played a lick that sounded like classic Gilmour, that was going in. I just kept looking out for moments that really showcased each player's style.”
Though the Atmos mix has been available to stream since March 2024, we at IAA are thrilled to now offer the album as an exclusive immersive digital download through our online shop!
Immersive Audio Album offers immersive digital downloads in the lossless Dolby TrueHD format. While streaming services offer convenience and access to a vast library of music, they also severely compress the audio to save bandwidth. With lossless TrueHD, the inner detail and sonic clarity is much better preserved for home listeners.
In addition to the hi-res 48-khz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD/Atmos audio, the digital download also includes a custom video animation identifying each guitarist's contribution. The net result is a full audio-visual immersive experience comparable to that of Blu-Ray, but without the disc itself.
Purchase Going Home (Theme From Local Hero) in the IAA Shop!
