Fans at a gig in Sheffield were left open-mouthed on Sunday night after they looked up to see that none other than Johnny Depp had appeared on stage.
Depp, who has recently been embroiled in a very public defamation trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard, shocked and delighted music fans when he made a surprise appearance alongside his close friend Jeff Beck in the city over the weekend.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor emerged alongside Beck, electric guitar in hand, to rock out on stage just days after the closing arguments were heard in his trial
The 58-year-old actor – who has been keeping a low profile throughout the court case – appeared triumphantly alongside his good friend Jeff Beck during a concert held on Sunday night, reports The Sheff.
The pair proceeded to rock out to their 2020 hit ‘Isolation’ – a remake of John Lennon’s original hit, first released in the 1970s – with Depp delivering a funky electric guitar solo, before performing renditions of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Little Wing’ and Marvin Gaye’s classic ‘What’s Going On.’
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Fans erupted online with excitement at seeing Depp take to the stage with his guitar and close friend, just days after the closing arguments were heard in his highly publicised court case with his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
Sharing a picture of the gig on Instagram, one person wrote ‘Wasn’t expecting this, I thought he was in court but turns out he’s in Sheffield with Jeff Beck.’
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Before becoming a famous actor, Depp had begun his career as a musician. His mother gave him his first guitar aged 12, at which point he began playing in various bands.
Image: @salveogvm/Twitter
He later dropped out of high school, aged 16, to become a rock musician. before ultimately making it in Hollywood as a famous actor eight years later, when his career was launched by his role as a teen heartthrob in 21 Jump Street.
Despite his success as an actor he has continued to pursue his music and, alongside Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, went on to form the supergroup Hollywood Vampires in 2015.
Depp has kept a low profile throughout his court cart with his ex-wife, reportedly going to stay at Joshua Tree due to the ‘stress’ of it, so it came as a shock to many to see him taking to the stage …and in Sheffield, of all places.’
He is currently suing Amber Heard for Defamation after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post about her experiences with Domestic Abuse in 2018.
The court case has been live-streamed throughout its procedures, leading to huge amounts of media coverage and fan speculation.
Both parties lawyers made their closing arguments on May 24 and the jury has since been sent away to deliberate. They are expected to return to continue discussions on Tuesday, May 31.
Feature image – @salveogvm/Twitter
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Manc music legends James announced MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Georgina Pellant -
30th May 2022 
