As promised, we’re following up with more deets on that epic Haiti charity single put together by Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, renaissance man Nick Cave and actor/musician Johnny Depp. If you recall, MacGowan, Cave, Depp and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie were reported to have teamed up to cover Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “I Put a Spell on You.”
But that’s not news, that’s olds (to paraphrase Ricky Gervais). The new bit is that the already-epic team was joined by Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Mick Jones of The Clash, and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders—and the session was covered by the UK’s Channel 4 (video below). Notably absent from the television segment was Depp.
The whole project was “old school, pulled together in a matter of days,” according to MacGowan’s partner, writer Victoria Clarke. And true to their old school roots, the group’s totes not threatened by certain other celebrity singles to be released to benefit relief efforts in Haiti. Matlock lists them off: “Well, I’d take Quincy Jones. I’m not quite sure about Lionel Richie, and I’m very not that concerned about the Simon Cowell one, musically. But if he’s doing that, that’s cool.”
And this sort of a project is right up Hynde’s alley, anyway: “I’d do any charity that I was asked to do. Cause it’s just singing, I mean, it’s a no-brainer…. It’s when you’re asked for personal effects to give to auctions that it seems a bit creepy, because that’s your gear.”
No new information on the release date—the song’s still slated for late February, so put it on your calendar. Proceeds from the track will go to Concern Worldwide, an Irish charity with a 16-year presence in Haiti.