Hear Johnny Depp cover 'Haunted' for Shane MacGowan tribute

Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAYMon, April 27, 2026 at 2:09 PM UTC

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Johnny Depp is providing his own take on Shane MacGowan's song "Haunted," two years after the Irish singer's death.

Depp, alongside Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May, covered the MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor duet as part of the upcoming tribute album "20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan."

MacGowan died in November 2023, while O'Connor died that July. Depp, who was a friend of MacGowan, said covering the track felt like more than a collaboration, but a way of honoring two artists who "told the truth when the rest of us were still working up the courage."

Johnny Depp arrives for the Paramount Pictures 2026 CinemaCon presentation at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

"Shane was one of the greatest poets of his generation. His words have a way of cutting right through you, they did to us, and I think that's exactly what you hear in the song," Depp, 62, said in a statement. "And Sinéad, there was simply nobody like her. That voice, her courage, the refusal to be anything less than completely herself. You only experience talent like that once in a lifetime, if you're lucky."

He continued, "Losing them both felt like the world losing two of its most necessary voices. This song found us both, I think, at exactly the right moment. I'm so happy it's going out into the world. I hope it finds whoever needs it."

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Depp, a guitarist and vocalist with the rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires, added that working with "friend" Imelda May was "one of my greatest joys."

Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May performs at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend on April 26, 2025, in Las Vegas.

Bruce Springsteen contributed the tribute album's first single, a cover of "A Rainy Night in Soho." Springsteen called MacGowan, in a statement coinciding with the song's release, "all naked bottomless humanity."

"Threatening to force us to ask ourselves if we were living deeply, authentically," he continued. "He was raw, hilarious, no apologies and profound."

Other artists covering tracks include Hozier and Jessie Buckley, Dropkick Murphys, Kate Moss, Tom Waits and MacGowan's band The Pogues.

Johnny Depp 'Haunted' cover with Imelda May for Shane MacGowan tribute

With its release, 50% of artist royalties from the album will go to the Irish housing charity Dublin Simon Community. The album, helmed by his widow Victoria Mary Clarke, will be released in November.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Johnny Depp honors Shane MacGowan, Sinead O'Connor in 1995 song cover

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