I wanted to actually place it somewhere where I felt it really belonged. " I didn't want it to get pinned onto this event. For me, it was like a compilation of feelings that go back to every loss that I've ever experienced," he said. All this stuff started coming up like it did for everybody.
"I went around to the newsagents on the Sunday morning and it was on the front page that Princess Diana was dead. Like all great songwriters, Clapton, 65, has long drawn on his own life experiences and poured them into his music to produce songs that have stood the test of time, such as Layla, Tears In Heaven and My Father's Eyes.Īnd with the legend coming to Abu Dhabi, there's no better time to look behind the loves, loathings and losses that have shaped Clapton's musical legacy.Ĭlapton wrote You Were There initially in reaction to the death of Princess Diana at the age of 37 in a car crash in Paris in 1997, but also admits that it turned into a tribute to his longtime manager, Roger Forrester. When the guitarist the world knows as "Slowhand" strolls onto the stage at Yas Arena on Friday as part of the Yas Island Show Weekends, Eric Clapton's legion of fans will be waiting to rock to some of the British legend's greatest hits.Īnd with 2011 marking the 40th anniversary of his acclaimed album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, a whole host of classics spanning his five-decade-long career will certainly be putting in an appearance on the set list.