It seems that every Tim Burton role that Johnny Depp took on led to this moment he finds himself in, performing on a Gibson Flying V with the Hollywood Vampires at Wembley Arena, in an atmosphere that was utterly intense with the air of expectation ahead of the “super group"'s performance.
Alice Cooper, the truly startling Master of Ceremonies, duly did the honours and charmed the London audience with promises of what was about to commence: introducing songs such as "Raise the Dead", "The Boogieman Surprise" and "Dead Drunk Friends" - original Hollywood Vampires tracks that were co-written with Depp and producer Bob Ezrin [Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Cooper] running into "Randy California", then some Boston blues boogie with Fleetwood Mac's "Stop Messin Around" starring some excellent guitar work from Joe Perry.
"Ace of Spades", a tribute to Lemmy who passed in 2015 (a British regular at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset Strip) went down a storm with the audience before the Hammond organ went bonkers for The Doors' "Walk On Through".!
At the point they hurl into Bowies' “Heroes”, Depp took the reigns on lead vocals and was pretty much word perfect. The encore, of course, had to be Cooper's own "Schools Out" complete with huge helium balloons and an audience singing like it was indeed the end of term.
