Johnny Depp surprise releases new single ‘The Death And Resurrection Show’

Johnny Depp has shared a new single, ‘The Death And Resurrection Show’. Listen below.

Announced via the actor-musician’s Instagram yesterday (July 8), Depp’s new track is a cover of the titular 2003 song by English rock band Killing Joke.

The track sees Depp reunite with longtime collaborator and guitarist Jeff Beck, and is expected to be lifted from the pair’s upcoming album, ‘18’. News of the joint album first circulated in 2021, and was officially confirmed for a July 15 release last month.

In addition to ‘The Death And Resurrection Show’, the tracklist for ‘18’ will include the duo’s covers of The Beach Boys’ ‘Caroline, No’ and The Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus In Furs’, both of which were released late last month.

Depp and Beck’s covers of Marvin Gaye and The Everly Brothers will likewise feature on the album, as well as the Depp original, ‘This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr’. ‘18’ was recorded over the course of three years, and according to a statement from Beck, owes its title to the pair’s “youthful spirit and creativity”.

“When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and creativity,” he said. “We would joke about how we felt 18 again, so that just became the album title too.”

While ‘18’ has been in development for some time, the album rollout was kickstarted in May, when Depp appeared as a surprise guest at two of Beck’s concerts, in Sheffield and London respectively. During the latter show, the pair again performed covers ranging from John Lennon’s ‘Isolation’ to The Beatles’ ‘A Day In The Life’.

Depp’s appearance at the shows made headlines, as the shows took place just days before the final verdict of his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard was reached. On June 1, the jury ruled in favour of Depp, and he was awarded $10million (£8million) in compensatory damages as well as $5million (£4million) in punitive damages.