ALISON BOSHOFF: Johnny Depp joins widow (and dog) for a final farewell to his buddy Jeff Beck

Johnny Depp’s late-flowering fellowship with British guitar legend Jeff Beck was so meaningful to both men that Depp was the only other mourner present when Beck’s wife Sandra said her final farewells to him last Saturday.

Beck, 78, died suddenly in January after contracting bacterial meningitis. His funeral was last Friday and it can be revealed that he was buried the following day in an unusual ‘green’ ceremony in the gardens of his home in Wadhurst, East Sussex.

His widow Sandra, their dog Paddy and Depp shared the moment. The 59-year-old actor is understood to be staying in Wadhurst post-funeral.

Friends say he reveres Sandra and her bond with Jeff. ‘There was genuine love between the two men, and Johnny had huge admiration for him and his talent,’ I’m told.

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Pictured: Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp performing live at the Royal Albert Hall on May 31, 2022

Depp spent much of lockdown at the couple’s home, and the run-up to his disastrous High Court action, when he unsuccessfully sued a newspaper for describing him as a ‘wife-beater’ after the breakdown of his marriage to actress Amber Heard.

He and Beck also released an album last year, and did a short tour in Europe and America.

The actor supported Sandra at Beck’s funeral, arriving with her at St Mary’s Church in Beddington, Sutton. (There was no sign of London lawyer Joelle Rich, with whom he enjoyed a romance last year, and pals believe they broke up some time ago.)

A friend says: ‘It was always Jeff’s great wish that Johnny would find someone who was good for him, a soulmate, in the way Sandra was his soulmate. They would talk about it often.’

Pictured: Jeff Beck with his wife Sandra at their Home in Sussex

The funeral was more starry than initially reported, with reclusive singer Kate Bush among those at the church. Others included Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, friends from their days in the Jeff Beck group, and eulogies were given by Depp, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Bob Geldof and Beck’s best friend Peter Richardson, who created The Comic Strip Presents.

Singers Joss Stone, Imelda May and Beth Orton performed alongside the local choir.

Depp and Beck met in 2014 in Tokyo, when the Pirates Of The Caribbean star was making a film and the legendary guitarist was on tour. Depp knocked on Beck’s hotel room door and introduced himself.