Eric Clapton, who last summer said he reserved the right to cancel performances in venues where audiences had to show proof of the Covid vaccination, may have canceled two shows but for a different reason: Clapton just got positive tested for the coronavirus.
The announcement of the show cancellations in Zurich and Milan was made last night on Clapton’s official Facebook page.
“Eric Clapton is unfortunately suffering from Covid having tested positive shortly after the second concert at the Royal Albert Hall,” the post read. He has been told by his medical advisers that if he were to travel and perform again too soon, his full recovery could be significantly delayed. Eric is also keen to avoid spreading infection to his band, crew, promoters, their staff and of course the fans.”
The gig in Zurich was scheduled for today, May 17th, Milan originally for May 18th. According to Clapton’s team, the guitarist hopes to resume touring, beginning with the May 20-21 Bologna concerts.
Clapton has been a prominent opponent of the Covid protocols in the UK and US, particularly the lockdowns and business closures enacted in the early days of the global pandemic. Clapton, who last year claimed he had “catastrophic” side effects – his hands and feet, he said, were “frozen, numb or burning and pretty much useless for two weeks” – worked with singer Van Morrison on the anti-lockdown in 2020 -Song “Stand and Deliver” which contained the lyrics “Will you wear these chains / Until you’re in the grave?”.
On his own song, This Has Gotta Stop, Clapton sang, “I knew something was wrong/When you started laying down the law/I can’t move my hands…This has got to stop/Enough is enough/I can’t do this BS endure longer.” He then subscribed to a conspiracy theory that vaccination was promoted by subliminal hypnosis and “mass psychosis.”
On his Facebook page, Clapton’s team wrote last night: “It is very frustrating that having avoided Covid during lockdown and throughout the period that travel restrictions have been in place, Eric should at this point have succumbed to Covid but we do very much hope he will be sufficiently recovered by the end of the week to be able to perform the rest of the scheduled performances.”
Another announcement regarding the rescheduling of the postponed shows will come later.
Clapton recently announced North American tour dates for September, including stops in Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Pittsburgh and two shows at Madison Square Gardens in New York City.