Shane MacGowan and Johnny Depp were friends for over three decades.
The Hollywood actor previously recalled how he instantly “fell in love” with The Pogues frontman when the two first met more than three decades ago. Johnny produced a biopic for sing-songwriter titled Shane, which focussed on The Pogues’ frontman’s rise to stardom and battles with substance addiction.
“When I met Shane, he was negotiating a pool table,” Depp recalled at the San Sebastian Film Festival for the documentary’s premiere. “There was a drink in this hand, a pint, and in this hand there was a guitar,” he said. “And he was teetering, balancing back and forth trying to negotiate which way to fall. I watched him do that for about 15 minutes.”
He continued: “Then I was introduced to him, before he fell, and from that moment on you just knew… there are moments in life when you know this will happen one time and one time only, when you get the opportunity to spend time with greatness.”
“I can only say I fell in love with him the second I met him and I’m still in love with him to this day. His wife Victoria is a wonderful partner for Shane, they’re best friends, and I’ve seen that continue over these many years under all kinds of duress,” he added.
The pair share a love of music, with Shane and The Popes performing their hit song ‘That Woman’s Got Me Drinking’ on Top Of The Pops, along with Johnny on guitar in 1994. Johnny serenaded Shane and his wife Victoria Mary Clarke on the guitar at their wedding in 2018 in Copenhagen.
Earlier this year, Victoria and Shane shared a sweet birthday tribute to the Hollywood actor, in which they revealed they “worshipped” Johnny. Alongside a picture of the star, she wrote: “Happy birthday beautiful @johnnydepp! We are so glad that this handsome dude is having fun doing what he absolutely loves doing and we are so proud of him for everything that he has brought into our lives and into the world.
“So much incredible art and music and film and writing, not to mention his unique and endlessly creative ways with clothing and accessories and of course hair!!! No matter how bored or f***ed off or uninspired you might be feeling, you only need to spend a minute in the sunshine of his presence to start to feel uplifted and more crucially to start to feel special and relevant and worth something.
“It’s possible that this rare and precious gift that he has of making everyone ( well almost everyone!) feel loved by him that is his gift but of course his gifts and talents are as yet unknown and unknowable and are continually unfolding. To have been alive at all after so many years of living life to BEYOND the fullest and of exuding creativity in every moment this is indeed a wonderful miracle!!!
“Now JD is redefining what it means to be 60 and the 20 year olds have no chance of keeping up! We LOVE and ADORE this man from the tips of his ears to his toenails and we are honoured to have benefited from so much of his splendid spirit in so many ways that we can not possibly count the ways. Bless you and keep the faith dearest Johnny and happy happy birthday from your worshippers Victoria and Shane.”
