Rock
Johnny Depp and Imelda May share haunting Shane MacGowan tribute track
Johnny Depp and Imelda May have released a new version of Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor’s duet Haunted for an upcoming tribute album.
Johnny Depp has stepped back into music with a brooding new collaboration, teaming up with Imelda May for a reimagined version of Haunted, the Shane MacGowan track once performed as a duet with Sinéad O’Connor.
Their update trades the original’s cinematic sweep for a sparse, shadowy arrangement, with May’s velvet‑soft vocal set against Depp’s low, spoken delivery.
Rather than revisiting the 1995 duet or The Pogues’ earlier soundtrack version, the pair have carved out something far more atmospheric — a folk‑rock slow burn that leans into the song’s ghost‑story roots.
The track is the latest preview from 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan, a tribute record arriving on November 13.
Bruce Springsteen kicked off the rollout last month with his take on A Rainy Night in Soho, and the full album features a heavyweight cast including Hozier, Jessie Buckley, Dropkick Murphys, David Gray, Camille O’Sullivan, Primal Scream, The Libertines, Kate Moss, Tom Waits and members of The Pogues themselves.
MacGowan died in 2023 at the age of 65 after being diagnosed with encephalitis, and his bandmates will honour him later this year with The Pogues Play The Hits Tour, which runs across the UK and Europe in November and December.
Depp, meanwhile, is gearing up for a packed summer with Hollywood Vampires, performing alongside Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen.
Their UK run includes major stops such as London’s O2 Arena, Cardiff Castle, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, Manchester’s AO Arena, Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, Colchester Castle and Halifax’s Piece Hall before the tour heads across Europe.
