Conor Clapton was four years old when he fell out of the window of his family’s home in New York, on the 50th floor of an apartment building, in a tragic accident. Father Eric Clapton, one of the most prolific and talented musicians on the planet, expelled pain with one of his most famous creations.
With the movie “Tears in Heaven”, which broke sales records, the world was touched by Clapton’s pain. Thirty years later, the world seems to be uniting in a common hatred of the Yardbirds debut guitarist, bursting into Cream and establishing his solo legend as one of the best rock and blues artists. But what makes a hero fall off the altar and become the target of so much anger?
The last episode featuring the 76-year-old musician made headlines around the world, not only because of his apparent insensitivity, but also because of the caricatures he draws for one of the most successful artists of his time.
It all happened when a German woman was called to court after trying to sell a pirated copy of Clapton’s Record on the Internet for about 15 euros. The 55-year-old German woman was ordered to pay more than 5,000 euros, under the threat that if she tried to sell the album again, she would face a fine of close to 400,000 euros and imprisonment for six months.
Michael Eaton, Clapton’s director, noted that “Germany is a country where the sale of pirated copies is rampant, harming the industry and customers due to poor quality and misleading recordings.”
In contrast, Clapton did not convince the fans, he revealed on Thursday, December 23, that he will not keep the money that the court decided to indict the German. “This is not the kind that Eric Clapton or his publisher is targeting,” they revealed in a statement.
This fight between David and Goliath is far from being the only flaw in the image of Clapton, who has exploited the pandemic to reveal himself as an intense denial. The conspiracy theories peddled over the past two years have shocked fans, especially the musician’s former friends and bandmates.
Also in the summer, Clapton refused to give concerts in concert halls that required a vaccination certificate. Two months earlier, he launched an angry public speech against vaccines.
“I took the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and had a severe immediate reaction that lasted for ten days. I eventually recovered and was told I would have to take another 12 weeks after that. Six weeks later I was offered the second dose and moved forward, this time with more knowledge About the risks,” he wrote.
Needless to say, the reactions have been disastrous. My hands and feet were either frozen, numb, or burned. It has not been used for two weeks. I was afraid I would never touch again – I have peripheral neuropathy and should never go near a needle. But the ad said vaccines are safe…“
Some fans were shocked, and others were quick to remember that Clapton’s symptoms, as well as their lack of resemblance to the most common – revealed by the pharmacist as a result of clinical trials – were actually the musician’s complaint in 2013 who then attributes their effects to neurological problems.
By this time, the world could predict that Clapton was not a big fan of the pandemic response. In late 2020, he teamed up with Van Morrison to sign a case staunchly opposed to incarceration.
“Do you want to be a free man or do you want to be a slave? Do you want to listen to these currents until you lie in your grave?” Read the lyrics of “Stand and Deliver.” This is in the midst of constant online and offline comments, in which the musician has questioned everything, from scientific studies to expert opinion, which he categorized as “just hype”.
Clapton seems resigned. On a podcast, he realizes that his family and friends think he’s “a little crazy.” “Over the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of disappearances, and a lot of people have fled quickly. It was a way for me to improve the quality of the friendships I had. It’s been reduced to a group of people that I obviously love and need.”
One of the old friends who decided to cut ties was Robert Cray, a blues musician who was shocked by Clapton’s choice to blend slavery and confinement into the theme of “stand up and surrender.” I have sent you an email to clarify the matter.
“His reaction was to tell me he was referring to slaves of England,” he says. Clapton never backed down and Cray failed to respond, as well as canceling his appearance on the British musician’s North American tour. This did not prevent Clapton from returning to launch two other issues related to imprisonment.
“I’ve talked to other musicians, old friends, and great artists, and I won’t say who they are, but they all say, ‘What the hell is he doing? Break the record “Unplugged”.
“Nobody I’ve talked to knows Eric has an answer,” says drummer Jim Keltner, who has known Clapton for more than five decades. “We are all in the same boat. No one can understand what is happening.”
The British guitarist’s recent notoriety has sparked other controversies. Rolling Stone, in a long piece about the musician’s new black face, recalls the controversial 1976 episode Clapton starred in.
On stage, drunk and under the influence of drugs, Clapton decided to take part in the political campaign and publicly show his support for the far-right politician Enoch Powell and an ardent supporter of anti-immigration laws. Without anything to make him expect, Clapton questioned the audience if there were any aliens present.
“I don’t want you here, in this room or in my country,” he shot the musician. “Listen, I think we should all vote for Enoch Powell, he’s our man, he’s right: we should kick them all out.”
The speech could have ended here, but no. “Don’t let Britain turn you into a black colony. Banish the foreigners. Throw out the scum. Throw out the blacks. ‘Keep Britain white’,” he said. “I used to enjoy drugs, now I enjoy racism. It’s a lot heavier.”
Clapton lost his way forever. “Keep away the squatters, the blacks, the Arabs, the bastards of the Jamaicans. They don’t belong here, we don’t want them here (…) What happens to us?”
With the problem of alcohol and drug addiction, Clapton was expected to scour every church asking for forgiveness for the disaster. No. Apologies arrived shy and expensive. He even downplayed racist rhetoric as a “comical thing”. I don’t understand much about politics. I don’t even know if it will be good or bad for him [Powell] won. I don’t know who the prime minister is. I don’t know what happened to me that night. It must have been something that happened that day, but it turned out to be weird.”
He reiterated that he was not racist in 2004, but stuck to the view given in 1976: Powell’s immigration policies were correct and the politician was “too brave.”
“I’m kind of embarrassed because I was a bit racist, which doesn’t make sense. Half of my friends were black, and I dated a black woman and played some kind of black music,” he explained in a documentary about his life. “I’m not apologizing, it was a terrible thing,” he said, before immediately turning back. “I even thought it was a comedic thing.”
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