
Ab ca. 2:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_uD1KAdfQY
Eric Clapton at Royal Albert Hall London 14h - 23rd May 2015. The old sock played like a man possessed! We went to London with the intention to simply enjoy that Eric Clapton is still gracing the stage. After all it could be the last time, as in the tourbook foreword he swears that this is it, no more! Although the set didn’t change much from last year’s there was a huge difference, as we experienced a brilliant and energized Clapton. He himself said it was a fantastic but tough week and he did look tired in the end but so did we just from watching and we’re not even 70 yet... 15th May marked Eric’s 200th appearance at RAH and there were many special moments throughout the run, like dedicating Let It Rain to his wife or thanking the crowd for their support over the years or hugging his band members after the show. It’s more than just a professional relationship that Eric has with his fantastic band, they are his friends who he can duck and dive with. He broke a string (have a close look at my picture) on three consecutive nights and just kept on playing as if it hadn’t happened. There were proper birthday chants on 14th, 15th and 18th May and Eric joined in playing guitar at least twice. He seemed happy and content and he talked. He let us know that he is wearing a heat pad (guess what is in my first-aid kit?!) and the next night updated us about the result of a soccer game. West Brom won 3:0 against Chelsea and he couldn’t believe it! Sadly the news broke on 15th May that BB King had passed away. Eric dedicated that night’s show to BB and did a beautiful tribute on 18th May repeatedly calling out BB King’s name in Little Queen Of Spades. It was very simple but so emotional. 18th May turned out to be the best performance in my opinion, as it perfectly flowed from the beginning to the end and I Shot The Sheriff was a blinder. 20th and 21st May were filmed, so we might get to see some footage in the future. As another tribute to BB King Eric played Rock Me Baby instead of Drifin‘ on 23rd May. On a personal note, one of my photos was considered for the tourbook and my name mentioned in the credits which is such a huge honour! The design team did a bit of art work on my picture and it turned out stunning, to say the least! Will make it my cover photo when I have a moment. It was great to meet with so many people from all over the world, my EC family, and hopefully we can do this again. Eric retiring? What‘s he talking about? Many thanks for the music, Eric & band, and for enriching our lives!
Eric Clapton - guitar/vocals, Chris Stainton - keys, Paul Carrack - organ/keys/vocals, Nathan East - bass, Dr. Steve Gadd - drums. Michelle John and Shar White - backing vocals