Jeff Beck has announced the release date for an album he has made with Johnny Depp, the day after the conclusion of the actor’s high-profile defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Speaking at a concert in Gateshead on Thursday, where Depp made a guest appearance on stage, Beck said: “I met this guy five years ago and we’ve never stopped laughing since. We actually made an album. I don’t know how it happened. It will be out in July.”
As Depp’s trial has reached its conclusion, the actor has been touring the UK with Beck, appearing on stage to perform cover versions including Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.
At the Gateshead concert, Depp did not make reference to the judgment reached the previous day, but Beck said “what a result”.
Beck and Depp’s album was first announced in April 2020, by Depp in his Instagram post. He described Beck then as “my dear friend and my brother … one of my all time guitar heroes”.
The pair released one track from the sessions alongside the announcement, a cover of John Lennon’s Isolation, chosen for early release because of its resonances with the lockdowns in the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Lennon’s prophetic words are pure poetry; the profundity of his lyrics seemed to Jeff and me especially fitting for what’s happening right now,” Depp said at the time.
Depp has long dabbled in music, including with his supergroup Hollywood Vampires alongside Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.
After the jury ruled in his favour against Heard, Depp said he was “truly humbled” by the verdict, which awards him over $10m in damages.
Heard said the jury’s decision “sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated”. Her attorneys said they would appeal.