Last week, the 59-year-old actor opened Cannes Film Festival with his film Jeanne du Barry but last night was in full musician mode while honouring Jeff at the tribute show, who died ‘suddenly’ in January after contracting bacterial meningitis aged 78.
Taking to the stage in a white shirt, hat, and sunglasses, Oscar-nominated Johnny even addressed those in the audience directly as they cheered him on, telling them: ‘Bless your hearts, this is a beautiful turnout for Mr Jeff.’
The likes of Ronnie Wood and Imelda May also joined the star on stage.
Confirming Jeff’s death at the beginning of the year, his representative said in a statement: ‘His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.’
Jeff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992, and again as a solo artist in 2009.
In 2020, Jeff teamed up with Johnny for a cover of John Lennon’s song Isolation. At the time, he explained that this was the first record release from an ongoing musical collaboration between the two men.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor had also been supporting the guitarist during his UK tour last year.
Johnny’s appearance in London comes days after he controversially opened this year’s prestigious film festival in France, hitting the red carpet for the premiere of his new film Jeanne du Barry, in which he plays King Louis XV.
Directed by Maiwenn, the film received an incredibly lengthy standing ovation, during which dad-of-two Johnny became visibly emotional.
At one point, Johnny appeared to become tearful and wiped his eyes and was also seen hugging his co-star and director, Maiwenn.
Maiwenn, who plays the titular character, took to the stage to address the audience and said: ‘I want to share this moment with my lover, with my producer, with Le Pacte.
‘It was a production that was difficult to finance … and I want to share this moment with all my team across the theatre.’
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