What began as a pandemic request from the Teenage Cancer Trust to collaborate on a musical project to support the charity soon morphed into an all-star project. The trust, along with its sister U.S. organization, is dedicated to helping young people facing a cancer diagnosis. In the hands of Mark Knopfler and his collaborator and producer Guy Fletcher — the keyboardist for Dire Straits — the musical legends began lining up. "With Mark's full endorsement and word spreading, a wave of requests flooded in to play on the track," Fletcher recalled (via his website). Pete Townsend was soon onboard.
"Before I knew where I was, Pete Townshend had come into my studio armed with a guitar and an amp," Knopfler said in a statement (via Guitar World). "And that first Pete power chord ... Man, I tell you. We were in that territory, and it was just fantastic. And it went on from there." Eric Clapton — aka "Slowhand" — and Pink Floyd's David Gilmore also contributed. "When David Gilmour came in, he played loads of stuff, but there were certain licks that were just absolutely Gilmour," Knopfler told the London Times (via The Independent). "Same with Ronnie Wood, instant Stones. Joan Armatrading played it all the way through and just wailed. You'd never think it's Joan." Of Jeff Beck's contribution, Knopfler called it "spellbinding." While many of the musicians recorded their efforts at British Grove Studios, in West London, others sent their recordings in and Fletcher then added them to the track.
