ALISON BOSHOFF: Johnny Depp joins the widow (and dog) in saying a final goodbye to his friend Jeff Beck
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Johnny Depp’s solemn farewell to Jeff Beck: The actor is the only other mourner to join the legendary guitarist’s widow (and dog) for his burial at home, writes ALISON BOSHOFF
Johnny Depp’s belated relationship with British guitar legend Jeff Beck was so significant to both men that Depp was the only other mourner present when Beck’s wife, Sandra, said goodbye to him last Saturday.
Beck, 78, died suddenly in January after contracting bacterial meningitis. His funeral was last Friday and it can be revealed that he was buried the following day in an unusual ‘green’ ceremony in the gardens of his home in Wadhurst, East Sussex.
His widow Sandra, his dog Paddy and Depp shared the moment. It is understood that the 59-year-old actor will stay in Wadhurst after the funeral.
His friends say that he reveres Sandra and her bond with Jeff. “There was a genuine love between the two men, and Johnny had great admiration for him and his talent,” they told me.
Pictured: Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp performing live at the Royal Albert Hall on May 31, 2022
Depp spent much of the lockdown at the couple’s home and the run-up to his disastrous High Court action, when he unsuccessfully sued a newspaper for describing him as a “wife beater” after the breakdown of his marriage to the actress Amber Heard.
He and Beck also released an album last year and did a short tour of Europe and America.
The actor supported Sandra at Beck’s funeral and arrived with her at St Mary’s Church in Beddington, Sutton. (There was no sign of London lawyer Joelle Rich, with whom he enjoyed an affair last year, and friends of hers believe they parted ways some time ago.)
A friend says, “Jeff’s big wish was always for Johnny to find someone who was good for him, a soul mate, in the way that Sandra was his soul mate. They would talk about it often.
Pictured: Jeff Beck with his wife Sandra at their home in Sussex
The funeral was more star-studded than initially reported, with reclusive singer Kate Bush among the church-goers. Others included Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, friends from their days in Jeff Beck’s band, and Depp, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Bob Geldof and Beck’s best friend Peter Richardson, who created The Comic Strip Presents. They gave praise.
Singers Joss Stone, Imelda May and Beth Orton performed with the local choir.
Depp and Beck met in 2014 in Tokyo, when the Pirates of the Caribbean star was shooting a movie and the legendary guitarist was on tour. Depp knocked on Beck’s hotel room door and introduced himself.