BIOGRAPHY

Eric Patrick Clapp, 30 March 1945, Ripley, Surrey, England. The world's premier living rock guitarist will be forever grateful to his grandparents, for they gave him his first guitar. The young Eric was raised by his grandparents Rose and Jack Clapp when his natural mother could not face bringing up an illegitimate child at the age of 16. He received a £14 acoustic guitar for his fourteenth birthday, then proceeded to copy the great blues guitarists note for note. His first band was the Roosters, a local R&B group that included Tom McGuinness, a future member of Manfred Mann, and latterly part of the Blues Band. Clapton stayed for eight months until he and McGuinness left to join Casey Jones And The Engineers. This brief sojourn ended in 1963 when Clapton was sought out by the Yardbirds, an aspiring R&B band, who needed a replacement for their guitarist Tony Topham. The reputation swiftly established by the Yardbirds was largely centred on Clapton, who had already been nicknamed "Slowhand" by the partisan crowd at Richmond's Crawdaddy club. Clapton stayed for 18 months until musical differences interfered. The Yardbirds were taking a more pop-orientated direction and he just wanted to play the blues. He departed shortly after the recording of "For Your Love".
The perfect vehicle for his musical frustrations was John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, one of Britain's top blues bands. It was with Mayall that Clapton would earn his second nickname: "God"! Rarely had there been a similar meteoric rise to such an exalted position. Clapton only made one album with Mayall but the record is now a classic; on its famous cover Clapton is sitting reading a copy of The Beano comic. Between Mayall and his next band, Clapton made numerous session appearances and recorded an interesting session with a conglomeration called the Powerhouse. They recorded three tracks - "Crossroads", "I Want To Know" and "Steppin' Out" - the line-up comprising Paul Jones, Steve Winwood, Jack Bruce, Pete York and Clapton.

Clapton was elevated to superstar status with the formation of Cream in 1966, and together with ex-Graham Bond Organisation members Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, he created one of the most influential rock bands of our time. Additionally, due to his close friendship with George Harrison, he was asked to play the beautiful lead solo on Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The Beatles ("The White Album"). Cream lasted just over two years, and shortly after their demise he was back with Baker, this time in Blind Faith. The line-up was completed by Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. This "supergroup" was unable to stay together for more than one self-titled album, although their financially lucrative American tour made the impending break-up easier to bear. During the tour Clapton befriended Delaney And Bonnie, decided that he wanted to be their guitarist, and then joined them before the sweat had dried following his last Blind Faith gig in January 1970. He played on one album, Delaney And Bonnie On Tour, and three months later he had again absconded and finished up recording the disappointing Eric Clapton. Most of the previous band sessioned on that recording and three members (Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock and Carl Radle) ended up flying over to the UK to join Clapton again.

The 80s were kinder to Clapton, with every album selling in vast quantities and being critically well received. Another Ticket and Money And Cigarettes, which featured Ry Cooder, were particularly successful at the beginning of the decade. Behind The Sun benefited from the firm production hand of Clapton's close friend Phil Collins. Collins played drums on his next album, August, which showed no sign of tiredness or lack of ideas. This particularly strong album contained the excellent hit "Behind The Mask", and an exciting duet with Tina Turner on "Tearing Us Apart". Throughout the record Clapton's voice was in particularly fine form. Journeyman in 1989 went one better; not only were his voice and songs creditable but "Slowhand" had rediscovered the guitar. The album contains some of his finest playing and, not surprisingly, it was a major success.

Clapton has enjoyed a high profile in recent years with his touring, television documentaries, numerous biographies, and the now annual season of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall. His 24 nights there in 1991 represented a record - such is his popularity that he could fill the Albert Hall every night for a year. As a final bonus for his many fans he played three kinds of concerts, dividing the season with a series of blues nights, orchestral nights and regular nights. In the 90s Clapton's career went from strength to strength, although the tragic death of his son Connor in 1991 halted his career for some months. In December of the same year he toured Japan with George Harrison, giving Harrison the moral support that he had received more than a decade earlier. Unplugged in 1992 became one of his most successful albums (US sales alone were 10 million copies by 1996). On this he demonstrated his blues roots, playing acoustically in relaxed circumstances with his band (including Andy Fairweather-Low), and oozing supreme confidence. The poignant "Tears In Heaven", about the death of his son, was a major hit worldwide. From The Cradle was a worthy release, bringing him full circle in producing an electric blues album. Those guitar buffs who mourned his departure from Mayall and despaired when Cream called it a day could rejoice once again: "God" had returned. The follow-up, Pilgrim, was a long time coming, giving rise to doubts about what he would do next and in which direction, blues or AOR. He fooled everyone by releasing a great soul-influenced album, sounding more like Curtis Mayfield than anybody else. Clapton has already earned the title as the greatest white blues guitarist of our time, but at the present time he seems to be working on his voice and his songwriting.

In 1998, he parted company with his long-time manager Roger Forrester and aimed to spend more time working with Crossroads, the drug rehabilitation centre he founded in Antigua. The auction sale of over 100 of his personal guitars raised money for this establishment. He changes his styles of rock music as often as he changes his hairstyle and spectacles. Ultimately he returns time and time again to his first love affair, the blues. His wonderful collaboration with B.B. King, Riding With The King, was an artistic and commercial success. Reptile built upon the soulful direction taken on Pilgrim. While guitar aficionados might be disappointed, those monitoring his "new improved voice" will be impressed, notably with the slick cover version of James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight".