ERIC CLAPTON LIKES NOTHING BETTER THAN TO ESCAPE LIFE AND HEAD TO THE TRANQUILLITY OF THE SEA TO ENJOY THE MELANCHOLIC CALM ON BOARD HIS YACHT, VA BENE WORDS: JAMES EVANS
CAPTAIN SLOWHAND
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ric Clapton is a modern icon many will look upon with envy – a supremely talented musician, a creative, and someone who
can construct melodies with such ease and beauty. He is a man who, alongside those talents, has run the full spectrum of rock ‘n’ roll excess -spates of excess, addition and exuberance so typical of being a rock figure who circumnavigates multiple generations of music lover.
And yet there is also the sadness that draws alongside at the most inconvenient of moments. From the day his four-year- old son Conor fell tragically to his death – now some 28 years ago – the guitarist admits he has never been the same person; though even before then, the England-born frontman’s mind was often fogged by confusion, disillusionment and, at times, despair, from the noise of the world.
“It’s difficult to say what I was looking for across many of those years,” he says. “It wasn’t solitude, but it wasn’t the things, the emotions and the experiences I had around me.”
To that end, to escape life and head to the tranquillity of the sea perhaps was a natural diversion for someone who, on occasions, felt imprisoned by what he saw around him on dry land.
Indeed, the blue waves even crept into his writing projects when the time has felt right – for instance, when he penned
the song Signe, which appeared on his Unplugged album from 1992, combining images of sunshine Riviera charm with a floating, mesmerising dazzle across the waves.
“It’s true I did write Signe after a boat we chartered,” he says. “Whatever I’m doing, I will very often find songs creeping into my head, and I’d never thought about something that sounded nautical, which is perhaps a surprise because I’ve always loved getting out on boats and feeling that gentle tranquillity.
“I know many people see yachts as party locations but I’ve never ever thought of them like that - it just doesn’t fit with me. I guess I approach things from a different side than do the younger generation of people who get out on the sea, but yachting and being on craft for me has always been about peace, reflection and serenity. If I want to step it up I’ll get back to shore and lose myself in urban life, traffic, noise. I could never get revved up by the sounds of the waves.”
Signe itself is a weaving, moving, massaging two-and-a-half minutes of Clapton at his best, and what a rollcall of majestic music magnificence his career has been. His curriculum vitae stands up to itself – he is the only three-time inductee to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall
of Fame, he’s ranked second in Rolling Stone’s ‘Top 100 Guitarists of All Time’, is the recipient of 18 Grammy Awards, one Brit, and in 2004 was awarded the CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music. From The Yardbirds to Cream to Derek & The Dominos, his rock legacy can never be disturbed or placed in doubt, even if the now 73-year-old hasn’t scored a top 40 hit in his native UK for over two decades.
It’s fitting that Clapton’s influences are so richly draped in blues and soul music – from BB King to Muddy Waters to Hubert Sumlin – since his persona has always been so understated and calm. The musician disputes those iconic music genres are what have made him so happy to be relaxed and reflective on a yacht, suggesting blues, in particular, is more about bitterness, anger and frustration; but even so, the guitarist’s ability to take comfort in the sombre has undoubtedly led him to greatness.
And, by the same token, that happy melancholy means he doesn’t elevate himself very often towards the materialistic trappings of his success. “It doesn’t give me the thrill that I can see in others,” he admits. “Of course, it’s satisfying to have good things – a nice house, a boat; but it doesn’t generate in me that party vibe… it doesn’t make me want to shout about it and take photos – it’s just a biproduct for me.
“If I had to say what guided me through life it wouldn’t ever be anything in the physical form,” he says. “It sounds like a cliché, but playing and listening to music was the best therapy anyone ever gave me and I was self-medicating on that for a long time… I still am!”
While Clapton’s refuge is clearly in his music, his yacht and the sea continue to enchant him.
“When you’re out there, every experience is different,” he adds. “I do like to entertain
Just gazing into the water can be a really nice way to reset, to get away from the pressures.
ONBOARD | SPRING 2019 | 21
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