Johnny Depp stunned music fans with a performance on stage with rock guitarist Jeff Beck in Sheffield City Hall on Sunday night.
Depp sang and played guitar to the tune of Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, plus the John Lennon song Isolation in Beck's European tour, per Sky News.
In 2020, he and Beck recorded a studio version of Lennon's song, The Guardian reported.
"The musical soulmates have been working behind-the-scenes for the past several years on new music," according to Beck's official website.
The show took place amid Depp's high-profile US court case against ex-wife Amber Heard, who Depp indicts of defamation when she published an article in the Washington Post referring to herself as a victim of domestic abuse. Heard has countersued.
A jury heard charges of abuse from both sides towards the other for seven weeks and will deliberate on a verdict after reconvening on May 31.
Depp has been involved with rock music for many years, per BBC, having formed the ensemble Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry of Aerosmith. They recorded with Paul McCartney in 2015.
Johnny Depp hoy en Sheffield con Jeff Beck.
— JDSC (@jdepps_crew) May 29, 2022
Credits to @theemilycarroll on IG.#JusticeforJohnnyDepp pic.twitter.com/rOLPughHTY
Depp plays guitar in the video for McCartney's song My Valentine. Footage from that performance, part of McCartney's live set since 2013, has been screened during McCartney's US tour amid the Depp trial. McCartney has not made any statement on Johnny Depp's case.
On releasing their version of Isolation in 2020, Beck said: "Johnny and I have been working on music together for a while now and we recorded this track during our time in the studio last year ... you'll be hearing more from Johnny and me in a little while," Beck remarked on the release of their rendition of Isolation in 2020. However, there were no other releases from them since then.
Depp's On Stage Appearance Shocks Fans
Shocked fans could not help but share their experience on social media.
One fan posted on Twitter: "Johnny is an absolute mad man...leaves court Friday, playing a gig in Sheffield UK Sunday... with Jeff Beck..mind blown."
Another fan tweeted: "How the f*** am I going to sleep now after seeing someone I never thought I'd see in a million months of Sundays in Sheffield where I live?"
A user wrote about the surprise performance: "Well, looks like Johnny Depp will not be there for the verdict sometime next week. He's touring with Jeff Beck."
Johnny Depp Dropped From The Pirates of the Carribbean Franchise?
Meanwhile, some foresee the lawsuits of Heard and Depp against each other may hurt their respective careers, as per a CNN report.
Depp's counsel has been trying to prove that Depp, who has played Jack Sparrow in five films, was removed from a potential sixth film in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise due to Heard's article during the past several weeks of the hearing.
Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, told The New York Times that Depp's role in a possible sequel "is yet to be decided."
The creative team is "developing two 'Pirates' scripts," according to the producer, one with Margot Robbie as the lead and "one without" her.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," released in 2017, was the most recent movie in the franchise.
