A week after the end of his highly publicized libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp has announced that he will be releasing an album with English rocker Jeff Beck on July 15.
The 13-track disc titled 18 is largely composed of covers, the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye or Velvet Underground, according to the press release by Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck. It also includes a cover of John Lennon, Insulation, unveiled in full confinement in 2020, as well as two songs written by Johnny Depp, 59: This is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr (below) and Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade.
The duo had met in 2016, befriending each other around “cars and guitars”. “When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and our creativity”said Jeff Beck, 77. “We were joking that we felt like we were 18 again, so that also became the title of the album.”
This isn’t Johnny Depp’s first foray into music: the actor recorded and toured for more than a decade with the Hollywood Vampires, a “supergroup” which he created with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. “It’s an amazing honor to play and write music with Jeff, one of the greatest, whom I now have the privilege of calling my brother”said Johnny Depp, currently the special guest of Jeff Beck’s tour of Europe.
Last week, a jury awarded Johnny Depp $10.4 million in damages following a defamation lawsuit against his former partner Amber Heard. The jury at the court in Fairfax, near Washington, found that Amber Heard, 36, had defamed Johnny Depp by describing himself as a victim of domestic violence in a 2018 opinion piece published in the Washington Post, although she did not did not identify the actor by name.
For her part, Ms. Heard must receive $ 2 million in damages because the jury found that one of Johnny Depp’s lawyers had also defamed her. The trial, which lasted six weeks, aroused great interest, in particular because it was televised and broadcast live, and excerpts were shared on social networks, making Amber Heard the target of much mockery in line.