The early life of Jhonny Deep

He was born John Christopher Depp II on June 9th, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky – the self-styled “barbecue capital of the world”. His father, John Christopher, was a city engineer, and his mother, Betty Sue, a waitress. He was always very close to his mother, but perhaps even closer to his grandfather, who he knew as Pawpaw (Depp himself was known as Dipp or Deppity Dawg). He’d visit Pawpaw often, and happily recalls sunny days picking tobacco together. It was a terrible shock to the seven-year-old boy when Pawpaw died.

Also traumatic was the family’s move to Florida soon afterwards. John Christopher did eventually find secure work as director of public works at Miramar, but the family spent a long time living in motels and were constantly shifting from place to place – well over a dozen in total. It was bad for the older kids – daughters Debbie and Christie (now Johnny’s personal manager), and brother Danny (known as DP, now a screenwriter) – but Johnny took it especially hard. Though an inquisitive child – at 8 he was hugely interested in Evel Knievel and World War 2 – he did not take to school and went off the rails, once being suspended for mooning the gym teacher. By 12, he was smoking, very soon came drinking, and drugs. There was petty theft and vandalism, he lost his virginity at 13. Small wonder he got into rock and roll.

Johnny first discovered a love of music back in Owensboro, when attending the church of his uncle, a fundamentalist minister. His uncle would preach, the people would clutch his feet and be redeemed, but Johnny was more taken by the gospel music. In Florida, as this troubled adolescent became a surly teenager, he received a guitar from his mother and, like millions before him, retired to his room and taught himself to play.

On emerging, he was a competent garage rocker. After trying out with various outfits, he joined punksters The Flame and found himself making $25 a night at Florida’s nightclubs. There were drawbacks. Still underage, he had to enter clubs through the back-door and leave after the first set. But it was good, and got better. Changing their name to The Kids, the band started to take off, supporting such luminaries as Talking Heads, B-52’s and Iggy Pop (Depp remembers his first self-consciously punky words to Iggy being “F*** you! F*** you! F*** you!”. Iggy called him “a little turd” and ignored him). Depp had dropped out of High School at 16 to concentrate on music (his parents were divorced the year before). Now, in search of the big time, the band relocated to Los Angeles.