Watch: METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT performs with JOHNNY DEPP and BILLY GIBBONS at JEFF BECK tribute concert in London
24-05-2023
Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood (THE ROLLING STONES), Billy Gibbons (ZZ TOP), Johnny Depp and Kirk Hammett (METALLICA) are among the musicians who took part in the first of two Jeff Beck tribute concerts on Monday (May 22) at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall.
Clapton, who was replaced by Beck in THE YARDBIRDS in 1965, was one of the main driving forces behind the tribute show, which also featured a lot of past Beck collaborators, including Rod Stewart, Wood and Depp, as well as Rhonda Smith on bass and Anika Nilles on drums.
At last night’s concert, Hammett joined Depp and Gibbons to perform Beck‘s reimagining of John Lennon‘s classic track “Isolation”.
Beck, who rose to prominence with THE YARDBIRDS, died “suddenly” on January 10 after contracting bacterial meningitis, his representative said.
Having cultivated one of the most influential careers in rock history, Beck was universally acknowledged as one of the most talented and significant guitarists in the world, and has played alongside some of the greatest artists of rock, blues and jazz.
Over the course of his distinguished 50-plus-year music career, he had earned an incredible eight Grammy Awards, been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time,” and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice — once as a member of THE YARDBIRDS and again as a solo artist. In the summer of 2016, the guitar virtuoso celebrated his five decades of music with an extraordinary concert at the famous Hollywood Bowl.
Beck famously replaced Eric Clapton as THE YARDBIRDS‘ lead guitarist in 1965 and later went on to form THE JEFF BECK GROUP, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. Their two albums — “Truth” (1968) and “Beck-Ola” (1969) — would become musical touchstones for hard rockers in the years to come.
The constantly evolving Beck‘s next move — a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, which released “Beck, Bogert And Appice” (1973),once again shattered people’s preconceptions of what a rock guitarist was supposed to sound like.
1985’s “Flash” kept Beck in the spotlight as he earned the “Best Rock Instrumental” Grammy for the song “Escape”. A second Grammy came with Jeff Beck‘s “Guitar Shop” with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas, and a third for “Dirty Mind” from the “You Had It Coming” album in 2001. 2009 saw the release of the platinum-selling “Performing This Week… Live at Ronnie Scott’s”, which earned a Grammy for “A Day In The Life”.
Beck‘s astonishing 2010 solo album, “Emotion & Commotion”, brought about two additional Grammy Awards; Beck was nominated in five categories before bringing home three: “Best Rock Instrumental Performance” for “Hammerhead” and “Best Pop Instrumental Performance” for “Nessun Dorma”, both from “Emotion & Commotion”, and “Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals” for “Imagine”, his collaboration with Herbie Hancock.
His “Rock ‘N’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul)” album was nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album”. In 2016 he released “Loud Hailer” and in 2017 “Jeff Beck: Live At The Hollywood Bowl” was released, both to widespread critical acclaim.
The eight-ime Grammy winner is survived by his wife Sandra.
The second and final Jeff Beck tribute show took place yesterday (May 23) at the Royal Albert Hall.
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