Actor Johnny Depp appears to have given a surprise musical performance at a concert in the United Kingdom on Sunday night as the jury in his defamation trial against Amber Heard, his former wife, prepared to continue deliberations Tuesday.
Depp appeared to take the stage at a show at the Sheffield City Hall in Sheffield, a city about 40 miles southeast of Manchester, for guitarist Jeff Beck's European tour, videos and photos of the performance show.
In video shared on social media, Depp could be seen playing the guitar and singing a rendition of John Lennon's classic "Isolation" that he and Beck released as their first single together in April 2020.
In a news release announcing the single, Beck's website had said the two performers were "musical soulmates" and had been "working behind-the-scenes for the past several years on new music."
“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," Beck had said in a statement accompanying the release.
"We weren’t expecting to release it so soon but given all the hard days and true ‘isolation’ that people are going through in these challenging times, we decided now might be the right time to let you all hear it,” he said, noting that the rendition was released toward the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said fans could expect to hear "more from Johnny and me in a little while."
Of the collaboration, Depp had said "Lennon's poetry — ‘We’re afraid of everyone. Afraid of the Sun!’ — seemed to Jeff and me especially profound right now, this song about isolation, fear, and existential risks to our world."
"So we wanted to give it to you, and hope it helps you make sense of the moment or just helps you pass the time as we endure isolation together," he said in a statement shared on Beck's website.
Surprised fans took to Twitter to express their excitement over the Sunday performance.
"Just been to the see Jeff Beck at Sheff City Hall......Johnny Depp....guest vocals awesome set," one Twitter user wrote.
In a statement, sources close to Depp said he is "in the United Kingdom this weekend, as he was a few weeks ago, to adhere to his previously scheduled work obligations."
The show was not the actor's first musical performance. He has also performed in the supergroup Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith's Joe Perry.
Depp's performance came after the jury began deliberations Friday in his case against Heard as the six-week trial neared its end.
The jury is expected to resume deliberations Tuesday following the Memorial Day holiday.
Depp launched the $50 million lawsuit against Heard over an op-ed she published in The Washington Post in 2018 in which she identified herself as an abuse victim, without naming Depp as an alleged abuser.
Heard has countersued for $100 million after a lawyer for Depp branded her abuse allegations a "hoax."
