Paul McCartney has released footage of a 30-minute impromptu jam session that occurred on the set of his music video for Early Days in July. The extended jam saw the ex-Beatle joined by a host of local blues musicians, including Roy Gaines and Dale Atkins, as well as actor and noted guitarist Johnny Depp.
As Rolling Stone reports, the low-key, black-and-white video sees Sir Paul and Depp sitting in with a group of players that also included Al Williams, Henree Harris, Motown Maurice, Lil Poochie, and Misha Lindes, as they work their way through a number of blues standards, including Goin’ Away Blues.
In an account given to Rolling Stone, McCartney explained that he “happened to ring Johnny Depp” and asked him to come to director Vincent Haycock’s Los Angeles set to “sit around and jam with these blues guys.” According to the rock legend, “I knew it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Depp was also recently seen playing the blues with rock legends Aerosmith during the final encore of the group’s recent hometown gig. The actor, who’s appeared on albums by Aerosmith and Oasis, blitzed through a mean solo and engaged in some duelling with the band members over Train Kept A-Rollin’.
Speaking about the concept of the Early Days clip, McCartney explained, “It’s a memory song for me, about me and John in the early days. But Vince came up with this great idea: Instead of having young lookalikes of me and John walking the streets of Liverpool, guitars slung over our backs, and literally acting out the song, what if it was any two aspiring musicians? I thought that was such a cool idea.”
