Inside the Song: Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes – Going Home (feat. Dire Straits’ Guy Fletcher)

This week, I’m joined by Guy Fletcherof Dire Straits, to explore the story behind the powerful new version of Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes’ “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero),” which Guy produced. This epic 10-minute rendition was created in support of Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America, and features more than 60 legendary musicians contributing to a single, unforgettable recording.

We also dive into key moments from the Dire Straits catalog, discussing iconic tracks like “Money for Nothing,” “Walk of Life,” “Heavy Fuel,” and “The Bug.”

Guy shares stories about working with “Weird Al” Yankovic on his Dire Straits parody “Money for Nothing / Beverly Hillbillies,” recording the beloved Princess Bride soundtrack, and the process of mixing Dire Straits: Live at the Rainbow, London UK, 12/1979 from the original tapes.

We also talk about Guy’s accreditation as a Dolby ATMOS engineer, how that influenced the new “Going Home” mix, and the future of immersive audio with Airsound Spatial speaker technology.

This episode is packed with music history, production insight, and behind-the-scenes stories from one of rock’s most influential bands.

The full list of artists who appear on “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” are (in alphabetical order): 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.

A minimum of 50% of the proceeds from the single are being donated to Teenage Cancer Trust andTeen Cancer America. Topurchase the 12″ vinyl, CD or digital edition of the single, please visit: https://www.markknopflersguitarheroes.com/

🎙️ Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform—and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review to help more music fans find the show! Then, scroll down to hear all of the songs discussed in this episode. 👇