Johnny Depp has his next act in place.
The actor-musician on Thursday announced he’ll release a joint album with fellow artist Jeff Beck on July 15.
The announcement comes a little over a week after Depp won his highly publicized defamation case over ex-wife Amber Heard.
“It’s an extraordinary honor to play and write music with Jeff, one of the true greats and someone I am now privileged enough to call my brother,” Depp said in a statement.
Depp performed multiple concerts with Beck in the United Kingdom in the days leading up the verdict reading in his defamation trial, which was held in Virginia.
The 58-year-old Depp sued Heard, 36, for $50 million, claiming he was defamed by a 2018 op-ed in which Heard described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” The piece didn’t name Depp, but Heard had previously accused the actor of domestic violence, which he denies.
A seven-person jury said Depp should receive $15 million in damages, which was lowered to $10.35 million due to a cap on punitive damages in Virginia. Heard was awarded $2 million in her $100 million counterclaim, which she filed over comments made by a Depp attorney that painted her allegations as a hoax.
Depp’s album with Beck is titled “18″ and will feature 13 tracks. They released the album’s first single, “This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr,” on Thursday.
“When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and creativity,” Beck said in a statement. “We would joke about how we felt 18 again, so that just became the album title too.”
Depp has performed for more than a decade with his band the Hollywood Vampires, which also includes Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.
“I haven’t had another creative partner like him for ages,” Beck said. “He was a major force on this record. I just hope people will take him seriously as a musician because it’s a hard thing for some people to accept that Johnny Depp can sing rock and roll.”
Heard wants to appeal the verdict in the defamation trial and has “some excellent grounds” to do so, her attorney Elaine Bredehoft said last week on NBC’s “Today” show.
Depp attorney Benjamin Chew said on Wednesday’s episode of “Today” that their legal team is “very confident” that an appeal would not be successful.
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