In January, iconic British blues-rock guitar hero Jeff Beck died aged 78. Beck had suffered a brief illness, but his passing was sudden and unexpected. Soon after, Beck’s peers and admirers held a tribute to the stars at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The first of two shows took place last night, and it featured many guitar legends on the same stage at the same time.
Jeff Beck basically got his start when he replaced Eric Clapton’s departing Yardbirds in 1965. Clapton was a major driving force behind the tribute show, which also included many of Jeff Beck’s former collaborators. Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, for example, were Beck’s bandmates in his Jeff Beck band, and both took part in last night’s festivities. The show also featured Johnny Depp; Beck’s last album was 18the Depp collaboration that came out last year.
Other participants in last night’s tribute show included Billy Gibbons, John McLaughlin, Robert Randolph, Gary Clark Jr., Joss Stone, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Imelda May, Olivia Safe and Doyle Bramhall. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett also made a surprise appearance. Below, watch some of the videos from last night’s show.