Last night, Eric Clapton played the first of three nights at the Royal Albert Hall.
He may have turned 80 this year, but the blues rock guitarist is impressively sprightly to play through an almost 2 hour set without a break.
Clapton kicked off with an energetic rendition of Cream’s White Room before he and his band went way back to their genre roots with a toe tappin’ performance of Willie Dixon’s I’m Your Hooch Coochie Man, followed by the always much appreciated Sunshine of Your Love.
Sandwiched between the electric sections of the show was the acoustic section, as the bespectacled musician slowed down the mood from his stage carpet for some Robert Johnson’s Kind Hearted Woman Blues.
The acoustic segment ended beautifully with Tears in Heaven before Clapton took up another electric guitar, this time one emblazoned with the Palestinian flag, which remained for the rest of the concert. Having performed the iconic Wonderful Tonight at his Nottingham show, no doubt fans were disappointed it was missed from last night’s set, alongside other favourite Layla. Nevertheless, the blues legend took us through Tell the Truth and a couple more Robert Johnson classics, before an epic extended version of Cocaine.
This was particularly spectacular as his band members gave us some groovy improvised solos, with a special mention to organist Tim Carmon. Clapton and his fellow musicians were clearly loving every minute of their jam session, as were we, before his encore of Bo Diddley’s Before You Accuse Me concluded a fantastic night.
For more information on tickets for Eric Clapton’s 2025 UK tour, click here.