The latest single from the upcoming album 20th Century Paddy – The Songs of Shane MacGowan features a duet between Imelda May and Johnny Depp of the Hollywood Vampires. Originally the song was penned for the Sid and Nancy soundtrack, with the 1995 duet featuring Sinéad O’Connor transformed a ballad into a hauntingly beautiful anthem of eternal devotion.
Imelda May says of the new recording that “It’s such an honour to pay tribute to my beloved friends Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor soon after losing both precious souls in such a short space of time by singing Shane’s beautiful song Haunted’on this special album with my dear and incredibly talented friend Johnny Depp. We recorded this duet before we knew of this tribute album as we were (and often are) overcome by the absolute brilliance of Shane’s writing. He was a truly gifted poet, romantic treasure and literary genius who always wrote with such fine detail and purest truth that resonates deeply with every listen. The dynamics of Shane and Sinéad’s voices dance like a dream around each other and the chemistry of their performance is everything…sweet, strong, sensual, honest, ridiculously cool and vibey as hell.”
The Hollywood Vampires guitarist and vocalist Depp added “There are people you meet in life who carry something timeless in them — a kind of knowing. Imelda is one of those people. Making music with her has been one of my greatest joys. Collaborating on Haunted felt like more than just recording a song — it felt like honouring Shane and Sinéad, and everything they stood for. Two people who told the truth when the rest of us were still working up the courage. Shane was one of the greatest poets of his generation. His words have a way of cutting right through you — they did to us, and I think that’s exactly what you hear in the song. And Sinéad, there was simply nobody like her. That voice, her courage, the refusal to be anything less than completely herself. You only experience talent like that once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky. Losing them both felt like the world losing two of its most necessary voices. This song found us both, I think, at exactly the right moment. I’m so happy it’s going out into the world. I hope it finds whoever needs it.”
