Johnny Depp is inconsolable. This Tuesday, January 10, the actor lost one of his closest friends. Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck has died aged 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. Like other loved ones, Johnny Depp “is totally devastated” by the musician’s sudden passing, as a source explained to People. Before Jeff Beck breathed his last, the actor was “at his bedside” with “other rock stars”. “They had a very close friendship, they were extremely close, and he got even closer last summer when they were filming together, confided this relative to the People. The disease arrived very quickly and everything went quickly. deteriorated over the past two weeks.”
Last year, Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck released a joint album, titled 18. “It’s an amazing honor to play and write music with Jeff, one of the real greats and someone that I now have the privilege of calling my brother,” the actor said in a statement. Like Johnny Depp, Jeff Beck was delighted by this musical collaboration. “I haven’t had another creative partner like him in ages, assured the musician, rock star. He was a major force on this record. I just hope people take him seriously as a musician because it’s hard for some people to accept that Johnny Depp can sing rock and roll.”
On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing. After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss. pic.twitter.com/4dvt5aGzlv
—Jeff Beck (@jeffbeckmusic) January 11, 2023
Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck: ‘We were 18 again’
“When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and our creativity. We were joking about how we felt like we were 18 again, so that became the title of the album too” , continued Jeff Beck. The guitarist and Johnny Depp met for the first time in 2016. Since the announcement of the death of the musician, the tributes have multiplied. “No one played guitar like Jeff,” Kiss member Gene Simmons wrote on Twitter. Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath honored the memory of an “incredible icon, a genius guitarist. There will never be another Jeff Beck”. Singer Paul Young said he was “devastated by the sudden and tragic death of legendary guitarist Jeff Beck”.
Johnny Depp © Backgrid UK
