Johnny Depp joins Patti Smith on stage in London for ‘People Have the Power’
Johnny Depp joined Patti Smith on stage during her special 50th anniversary concerts for Horses, performing a version of her song ‘People Have the Power’.
Depp was a surprise guest at Smith’s shows on October 12th and 13th, as part of two gigs to be held at the London Palladium in celebration of the special half-century anniversary of the artist’s seminal album.
The actor appeared on stage during the encore of the show to perform ‘People Have the Power’, an album track from Smith’s 1988 record Dream of Life, in which Depp played the guitar. Fitting in with the rest of the band for the surprise performance, this time they were also joined by Smith’s daughter, Jesse, filling in on the keyboard.
Bringing Depp out on stage at the beginning of her encore, on both nights Smith introduced the audience to her full band before adding: “And Johnny? And Johnny Depp? The original Johnny,” referencing the lyric ”the boy looked at Johnny” from her song ‘Land/Horses’.
Attending the concert on October 13th, however, Far Out‘s Lucy Harbron said it was unnecessary for Smith to “spoil the end of a celebratory and magical night by being so needlessly divisive,” given the allegations of domestic abuse that Depp has been accused of during his relationship with Amber Heard.
Smith and Depp have remained close friends over the years, with the latter previously appearing at a tribute concert for the singer earlier this year in New York, where he performed alongside Alison Mosshart from The Kills to give a rendition of ‘Dancing Barefoot’, taken from her album Wave, first released back in 1979.
The actor has also featured heavily within Smith’s artistic efforts, from appearing in quotes on her book Just Kids to playing the guitar and drums on the title track of her album Banga, which was released in 2012.
After electrifying the London Palladium, Smith moves on in her 50th anniversary tour of Horses to play a range of dates in Germany, Denmark, and France over the course of the rest of the month, before heading to North America in November.
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