sep 9, 2018 - Johnny Depp My favourite photograph by guitarist Glen Matlock

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My favourite photograph by guitarist Glen Matlock

Musician Glen, 62, recalls a fun birthday bash with a galaxy of acting and music legends - including Hollywood A-lister Johnny Depp

Words by Susan Gray

"THIS photo with Johnny Depp was taken at
Shane MacGowan's 60th birthday concert at
Dublin's National Concert Hall in January this year. I really like doing things like that because you meet people you know, and people you half know.

As well as Johnny Depp, Clem Burke from Blondie and Spider from the Pogues were there, too.

I'd never met Johnny Depp before, and it struck me as kind of funny that he was there. I was chatting to musicians backstage and I could see Johnny out of the corner of my eye trying to talk to me. Johnny said, 'Good to see you again.' looked puzzled because I thought we were meeting for the first time.

Then he continued, 'We had a jam together at Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. There was Steve Jones, Paul Cook and you. We got so drunk in the afternoon, we never made it to the concert - but the sound check was fantastic.' Seeing I still looked puzzled, Johnny added, 'Or maybe I'm full of hot air.'

Amazingly even big celebrities have heroes. Johnny was a big Sex Pistols fan and cut his teeth as a musician in a band. But on that night he was just one of the blokes. Bono was there, too. He greeted me with, 'Hello Glen, I was watching you on TV last night.'


On the night, Shane was given a lifetime achievement award by the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. The award was a foot-high steel harp on a great lump of metal, and because Shane was in a wheelchair after breaking his pelvis, the President kept hold of it, thinking it would be too heavy for Shane to hold. For two minutes there was a tug of war between them, then the President gave the sculpture to Bono. But Bono knew all the photographs would then be of him holding the award, and didn't want to steal Shane's thunder, so he passed it to the bloke next to him. It was funny that someone not so well-known ended up holding the lifetime achievement for the night.

After the award I went outside for a cigarette and saw President Higgins come out. I'd seen him before the show walking past my dressing room and invited him in. He said that looked more fun but he had to stick to his schedule. Outside the President said, 'You're the man from the corridor,' and I said, 'I'm also the man from the Sex Pistols.'

Tommy Steele is the one performer I would like to know better. He was England's first rock and roller. I was sitting at the next table to him at Grosvenor House, at the 2010 Ivor Novello Awards, when Tim Rice nominated Tommy to present him with his academy fellowship. Tommy went up on stage, leaving his bags on the chair.

At the end I was the last one there, waiting and waiting for Tommy to return and collect his stuff, so I could say hello to him, but he never went back. The moral of that story is get in while the going is good.

I've toured for four decades. I'd like to say my work ethic came from my family - my father drove a black cab and my mother worked at a factory. Being in a band is being paid to show off."

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