Eric Clapton Interview

Infamous Rock journalist and internationally acclaimed interviewer Claude Balzac recently sat down for an in depth conversation with the legend Eric Clapton.

Madhouse Magazine: Hi Eric, Good to see you again. Thanks for talking with me today.

Eric Clapton: Are you kidding, I called you guys. I love Madhouse Magazine. I couldn’t wait to talk to you. Your story about Ginger Baker beating those 2 robbers is a masterpiece. I laughed for days when I first read it. I used to read Madhouse to Patti to woo her away from George.

Madhouse: That’s so nice of you to say. You mentioned Ginger Baker, so tell us what it was like playing with him.

Clapton: Oh my, It was quite insane. Ginger and Jack Bruce used to fight non stop. After Baker fired Bruce from the band, Bruce continued to arrive for gigs; ultimately, Jack was driven away from the band after Baker threatened him at knifepoint. Bruce once threw a live grenade in Baker’s bass drum.

Clapton is God

Madhouse: How did the Clapton is God thing get started?

Clapton: Well I never told anyone this before. This may shock you, but I wrote it myself. Yes, I wrote Clapton is God on that wall in London. I spray painted it and it caught on. Some wino saw me spray painting it, so I bludgeoned him to death and buried him in a shallow grave. It was pretty good publicity I must say. We can laugh at it now.

Pattie vs. Les Paul

Madhouse: George Harrison once told me that he traded his wife Pattie Boyd to you in exchange for a Gibson Les Paul Guitar.

Clapton: Oh yes, that is 100 percent true. He knew I was a perv and wanted Pattie. He said he will trade Pattie for Lucy. Lucy was my beautiful red Gibson Les Paul. I did not want to give up that guitar so I offered Ginger Baker to George instead. He refused so I gave in. I was obsessed with Pattie.

Madhouse: Wow, Pattie must be something?

Clapton: Oh yeah, she’s got a snapping gyro for sure. That thing can talk.

Madhouse: It must do more than talk for all of you guys to be crazy for her?

Clapton: Heck yeah, basically every song written in the 1960s and 1970s were aboutPattie. But then I ended up cheating on her as well. It gets old fast.

Madhouse: Well you did get a great song out of it.

Clapton: Yes there is that

Eric Clapton Illustration By P aul King Art

Madhouse: I love the new material and want to thank you for being one of the last rebels.

Clapton: Ain’t that something? It’s just me and Van Morrison. Everyone else has gone radio silent and are a bunch of establishment flunkies. I never trusted those damn hippies. I knew they were full of BS.

Madhouse: And tell us about your latest passion.

Wing Suit

Clapton: Well you must mean wing suit racing? It truly is my passion. It’s such a rush. I feel like a superhero, like an eagle soaring through the clouds. Like Wylie E Coyote flying through the sky at over 200 mph. I never felt freer in my life. Well, except when I was on Heroin. That was fun too.

Madhouse: Do you miss the old days?

Clapton: I do. I miss the drugs. I miss the birds, I miss my old mates and I miss the freedom. Jimi Hendrix is the one I miss the most. He was a wonderful man. He definitely wouldn’t be an establishment chump. Jimi was a rebel and had ideals.

Whats Next

Madhouse: What’s next for you? You never could stay in one place or one band. Do you think you could ever be part of a band again?

Clapton: Oh god no, I have a small window of tolerance for being around other people. People always let me down and they are a huge pain in the arse. I get sick of people real fast. I have like a one year expiration date with others. (Except my children and grandchildren, of course). I have to keep moving on. I need to be a solo artist. Jamming with people, touring and collaborating is fine, but that’s about it. I need to be the boss and hire a band to shut up and play. People really are the virus, I can’t wait for humans to be extinct. It is oddly comforting to know that someday only animals and Keith Richards will roam the earth. I love Keith.

Madhouse: We love Keith and you too. It was great to see you again. Take care out there and keep being you.

Clapton: Thank you and god bless you. We need comedy and satire more than ever. You guys at Madhouse keep me laughing. Your magazine kept me sane during my darkest times. You are an international treasure.