Johnny has occasionally been a guest performer on officially released recordings.  Check out Johnny's Discography Page for a complete list of known recordings that Johnny has had a hand in.  Here are some interviews and articles and other history about some of the sessions in which Johnny has participated.

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1. Shane MacGowan & The Popes:  The Snake, originally released October 17, 1994.

     "His intake has been pretty impressive over the years.  But he has produced some of the most beautiful lyrics that are a great gift to the world." - Johnny Depp on Shane MacGowan.

     Shane and Johnny reportedly met in the early 90's and became fast friends.  Shane was said to have performed at the Viper Room on its opening night, August 14, 1993.  Here is a blurb about an act called zerocrossing that claims to have backed Shane at 3 gigs at the Viper Room in August of 1993.  Cindy Collins Smith, who posted to this blog, claimed to have backed Shane on accordion at these gigs.  

     In April of 1994, an article in the Irish Voice reported what they called "a very strange rumor" that Johnny Depp would provide some guest guitar work on Shane's upcoming solo album.  Read the Irish Voice article here.  The rumor proved true:  the liner notes to Shane's album The Snake, released that October, credit Johnny with "guitar weird noises" (See the Discography section for scans of the UK and US liner notes).  While no individual songs are mentioned to have Johnny's participation, several Pogues fan forums cite That Woman's Got Me Drinking as at least one song that features Johnny on the album.  It's possible that he plays on other songs, as well- any additional information would be appreciated!

     On 8/9/94, Johnny starred in and directed a music video for That Woman's Got Me Drinking, which was The Snake's second single.  


     The video was shot in part at the Dan Lynch Bar in NYC.  Since the video contained drinking and smoking, it was deemed unsuitable for TV viewing before 10 p.m., despite the title of the song!  So Shane and the Popes had to shoot some more video footage of them miming a concert performance, in order to make an alternate video (containing much of the same footage from the first video, but no drinking and very little smoking) that could air before 10 p.m.!   In late September 1994, Johnny flew to London to join Shane for some photoshoots and interviews.  Photos are in the Gallery.  He also appeared with Shane and The Popes on Top Of The Pops, playing rhythm guitar on That Woman's Got Me Drinking.  See the Videography section for some screen caps and YouTube links for the music videos as well as Top Of The Pops.  

     There are two wonderful articles that chronicle Johnny's 1994 visit-- the photoshoots, the videos, the Top Of The Pops, and their off time.  One appeared in Q magazine; the other originally ran in the New Musical Express, and has conveniently been reprinted in the September 2006 issue of Uncut.  Here are some scans!

  And here's a little mention of the session from the January 24, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone:

     

• 2004 Evening Times
• 2004 Irish America Magazine
• 2005 The Observer (Shane describes Johnny's guitar as sounding like "an atom bomb going off!")

2. Oasis: Fade Away recorded Sept. 3, 1995, released on Help: A Charity Project for the Children Of Bosnia (Warchild Charities) on Oct. 17, 1995.

     "Conceived as a charity for orphans of the Bosnian war, every song on Help was recorded on one day and released a week later. The rapid turnaround was inspired by John Lennon's belief that "records should be like newspapers," a theory he brought to life with "Instant Karma," a single recorded on a Monday and released the following Saturday. Eighteen artists were recruited to record their contribution on Sunday, September 3, 1995, with each song running no longer than three minutes and 45 seconds. The day commenced with Noel Gallagher recording a slow, reflective version of "Fade Away" with Johnny Depp on guitar. It ended with Gallagher joining Paul Weller and Paul McCartney for a take on the Beatles' "Come Together," bringing together three generations of British pop royalty. In between those two contributions came 18 other songs -- two more than expected, since Sinead O'Connor and the K Foundation (formerly the KLF) turned in tracks unannounced at the last minute. Given the rapid nature of the project, it isn't surprising that some songs on Help are slightly below par. What is surprising is how many songs are very good, even bordering on excellent. Radiohead's "Lucky" equals the best on their fine 1995 album, The Bends (it would later be a highlight on OK Computer), The Boo Radleys turn in a first-rate track and Suede's cover of Elvis Costello's "Shipbuilding" is moving. Blur, appearing under their original name Seymour, contribute a kitschy instrumentals, which will probably baffle anyone but dedicated fans. "Come Together" doesn't quite live up to expectations, yet it's charming, much like Help itself. It may have its faults, but it is one of the best, most consistent charity albums ever recorded." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

     According to Amazon and ArtistDirect, the timing between recording and releasing the album was closer to 6 weeks than one.  I'm not sure if this is the US release, or if the UK release was quicker.  

     Check the Gallery for photos of Johnny with Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller and Paul McCartney from the time of this 1995 recording.  Also check the Videography for screen caps and a YouTube link to the Come Together video that was shot on the day of the recording session.   If anyone has any additional articles on this recording session, please let me know!

Here is the website for the Warchild Organization, and a blurb about the Help project:
http://www.warchild.org/
http://www.warchild.org/artists/Music/music.html

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3. Oasis: Fade In-Out, possibly recorded in June 1996 in Mustique in the Caribbean, released on the album Be Here Now, on Aug. 21, 1997
     
     "The first part of 'Fade In/Fade Out' was recorded in a little fucking shack on the beach. We were drunk one night [in the Caribbean], and I borrowed his slide guitar and tried to play this solo, and it was absolutely dreadful. So he sat down and played it and got it in one take. He's actually a really good guitar player." - Noel Gallagher on Johnny Depp.

     A year after joining Oasis on the Help project, Johnny and Kate Moss were hanging out with them in Mustique.  An excerpt from an item in the December 1996 Select explains the setup there:  

     Have you ever found yourself in archetypal rock 'n' roll situation and laughed out loud?
"Tell you what, I went away to Mustique to write the album. Johnny Depp and Kate Moss turned up because Meg's known Kate for years. Now they were staying in Mick Jagger's house. This is really fuckin' surreal, right? Meg and Kate are on the back getting fuckin' pissed as arseholes, Johnny's in this little adjoining room writing a script for this film, I'm sat in Mick Jagger's fuckin front room with an acoustic guitar writing a song for the new album, looking around at all these original Andy Warhol paintings, going, Fucking hell..."
(See The Oasis Masterplan Archive for the whole article).   The 1996 photos of Johnny, Kate, Noel and Meg shown in the Gallery are from this trip.

     The album mentioned was Be Here Now, which was released in August of 1997, and the album contains slide guitar work done by Johnny during the Mustique trip.  Here is an article that may have been from Q magazine, in which Noel Gallagher talks about the songs on Be Here Now, including Fade In-Out:
1997 article from Q?

     Ten years later, a 2007 Q article recounts the story of the making of Be Here Now.  While the studio recording sessions were marred by too much drug use, fighting and other bad behavior, the Mustique recording session is still looked back upon as a high point.  Here is a clipping with a brief mention of Johnny's role in Fade In-Out, and a review calling his slide guitar the best thing about the song:


     The first quote from Noel above was part of an article that has been identified as being from Rolling Stone, ca. 1997, and the complete article is available in text form, but I have not been able to identify it as a Rolling Stone article.  Any help would be appreciated!  A similar quote has also been posted to fan sites such as Oh Johnny! or Depp Impact but again, I'm not sure of the source of the quote:  "As it works out, he's actually one of the best guitarists I've ever seen. He's really really good. He doesn't actually think he's any good, but he's a fine guitarist. That's why we got him to play the slide guitar solo on 'Fade In/Out' on the last album, 'cos I couldn't play it. Afterwards, everybody.. we were rehearsing for the tour: it took me about 6 months to work it out, what he was actually playing." - Noel Gallagher

New Johnny briefly mentions this session in the January 24, 2008 Rolling Stone interview:


     In addition, I seem to recall coming across an article some years ago, in which Noel mentions that Johnny was expected to come to the studio to repeat his slide guitar work for Fade In-Out, but that it fell through and he never made it.  That's why the demo from Mustique had to be blended in with the rest of the studio recording.  If anyone knows of this article and can help me find it, it would be much appreciated!  Please if you have any information about this article or about the above quotes from Noel!