Guest blog: Eric Claption - My Autobiography

So, there we were. We'd had a lovely, home-cooked dinner, had polished off a bottle (or so...) of wine, and were idly sitting on the sofa talking about everything and nothing. Talk turned to books, and Boyfriend gave me the lowdown on the Eric Clapton autobiography, which he had got for Christmas. I, a glass or two of vino to the good, suggested he write me a blog post about it, and hurrah, he has. And here it is. Over to John...

I’ve been a fan of Eric Clapton for many years and it was with great excitement that I went to see him in concert for the first time at the Edinburgh Playhouse on the 9th of April 1983. I was 16 at the time and that was the gig that made me want to play electric guitar and blues in particular. I’ve seen him three times since, the last time being in Glasgow in 1992, and every show was a transcendent experience for me.

There have been several biographies of Clapton written over the years, authorised and unauthorised, a few of which I’ve read. So when I heard there was to be an autobiography, I was naturally interested to read what the man had to say about his own life. No one could deny that he has led an interesting life, or that as a guitarist he has been enormously influential, and the biographies covered these aspects satisfactorily enough, even going into some detail about the making of albums or what guitars and amplifiers Clapton used at various points in his career. They also presented a fairly sympathetic view of him as a thoughtful, modest person without glossing over his fairly well publicised problems with drugs and alcohol, not to mention his pursuit and eventual marriage to Patti Boyd, George Harrison’s then wife.

I have to say I found the autobiography a sketchy, unsatisfactory and rather shallow read. The greatest detail is reserved for the casual willingness with which he threw himself into the drug scene and how he bedded virtually every woman that seemed to enter his field of vision even after he had won over Patti Boyd after several years of trying. The recording of his greatest albums and songs are dealt with all too briefly and there’s nothing like enough information for the guitar geeks amongst us, but then he did spend most of the ‘70s and half the ‘80s in an alcoholic haze, so perhaps the lack of detail is understandable.

I think what disappoints me most though, is that the man himself comes across as a rather shallow, cold individual who seems now to have become part of the landed gentry. I have to confess a certain distaste for rock musicians who, when they become wealthy, buy huge country piles and seem unable to come across any kind of fauna without shooting it, but maybe that’s just me. Still, I remain a fan of Clapton’s best work and as a live blues guitarist he still has the ability to be breathtaking. I guess the old saying about idols and feet of clay is often true and, difficult though it may be, it’s best to let these people’s work speak for them and pay less mind to their personalities.

Comments

[Lauren]

Wealth perverts.

[Boyfriend]

In many cases it certainly does.

[claire]

That's a real shame and surprising, he's one of the few celeb autobiography-ers that I thought would have something insightful to say for himself. Wouldn't have expected him to come across as shallow.

I totally agree. I always think it's best to actively avoid finding much out about the people behind the music, as you'll only be disappointed. As a loyal Beatles fan i'm not sure if you'll agree but John Lennon: a voice that'll send shivers up your spine but he always comes across as a bit of an eejit doesn't he? See also: Morrissey.

[dovegreyreader]

This is obviously better on an abridged audio and read by Bill Nighy (I think, can't be bothered to go and look) than in book form because I really enjoyed listening. But I had also listened to Patti Boyd's version of events the week before so I was taking it all with a large pinch of salt. How Eric's liver survived is a minor miracle but yes, let's appreciate the music and hats off to Eric for his honesty over it all and for taking the rap for all his life's mistakes.He never blamed anyone else for any of it as far as I can recall and that stood out for me.I did actually have to pull over in the car and park up when it got to the bit about Conor falling out of the window, I knew it was coming as my week's listening progressed and I was almost dreading the moment. It is gut-wrenching when read out loud.

[Isorski]

I thought the book was a good read. It was well-paced and didn't fall into the mire of too many details, like McCartney's War and Peace-rivalling tome or Bill Wyman's 400 page list of all the girls he screwed. But I agree he does gloss over many of his albums. Like someone said, his memory is probably a bit foggy... I wrote a review of "Clapton" at http://isorski.blogspot.com/. Check it out!

[Boyfriend]

I liked the McCartney book very much. He is, after all, a songwriter and musician and it seems only right that that's what he should talk about most. I don't think there can be too much detail.