After seven years, guitarist Eric Clapton will return and start a summer tour in Prague
English guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, who will celebrate his 75th birthday in March, will return to Prague after seven years. On May 29, 2020, he will perform at the O2 arena. This was announced last night by its operators and the organizers of the concert from Bestsport. Tickets will be on sale from next Friday, the price is not yet known.
The concert will begin on the occasion of a tour in Prague. Eric Clapton will then have another 14 concerts by the end of June, the last two in Moscow. The Englishman in Prague will be accompanied by American bassist Nathan East, keyboardists Paul Carrack and Chris Stainton, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II and vocalists Sharon White and Katie Kissoon.
Eric Clapton. | Photo: Bestsport
Clapton has performed in the Czech Republic only twice so far, first coming to the O2 arena in 2006, then still known as the Sazka arena. He returned to the same place in June 2013, now he will visit there for the third time.
“Erik Clapton’s account is one of the world’s music events that will never disappoint. His alpha and omeg is honest music, which you make in collaboration with great individuals,” wrote music critic Josef Vlček after his performance in Hospodářské noviny at the time.
According to him, Clapton does not need any fireworks, confetti, movie clips or a huge light park. “Clapton is mainly treated as a guitarist,” he said.
Clapton, the author of the hits Layla and Tears in Heaven, broke through on the scene in 1963 with the band Yardbirds, progressively playing blues and rock and roll. From 1965 he worked briefly with John Mayall in his famous Bluesbreakers, with which he recorded a single and even more famous record. He then formed the trio Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and base Jack Bruce, which was famous for its compositions Sunshine of Your Love or Badge.
Hit Layla as Clapton played on tour in 2014. | Video: Eagle Rock Entertainment
The first concert took place in 1966, and it was with Cream that Clapton also experienced success in the USA for the first time. “London was tainted with Clapton’s god, God also played half-hour guitar solos, but he didn’t find personal happiness in it. Practically since 1969, he has changed from a guitar icon to a wandering singer and bluesman,” recalled the Cream era Jiří Černý.
Only then did the artist discover a great career. According to the ČTK agency, it now has the reputation of a legend that matured in the ferment of the culture of the 1960s. “He befriended the Beatles, fascinated by the crowds that helped him bring challenging music to the charts. Personal crises, misfortunes, drugs or alcohol knocked her down, but he always came back reinforced and amplified his music with bitter experience,” she wrote to CTK when Clapton celebrated his 70th birthday.
Today, the guitarist has 23 studio records at the end, including the pop album Journeyman, which was bought by two million people in 1989, or the concert recording of MTV Unplugged, which disappeared even at a cost of 15 million.
So far, last year he released the Christmas album Happy Xmas, which contains cover versions of the evergreens White Christmas, Jingle Bells and Silent Night. “All those songs, whether they say carols or not, are really about Christmas. It’s half as true of their musical character. They’re definitely not arranged ‘on one hill’. And they certainly don’t have a common musical language either. So they lack what on the contrary, almost all of Clapton ‘s albums have been characterized so far, “Jiří Černý wrote about the album in Hospodářské noviny.
A recording of Tears in Heaven from Clapton’s unplugged concert for MTV. | Video: MTV
Clapton is often described as one of the best living blues and rock guitarists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times, and Rolling Stone and Time magazine ranked him high on the list of the best guitarists.
He has won 18 Grammy Awards, sold over 100 million records worldwide, and earned the nickname Slowhand. He is known for his virtuoso playing, exceptional professionalism and repertoire, which combines arched lyrical ballads and blues with an admixture of intelligent pop.