Eric Clapton, who said last summer he reserved the right to cancel performances at venues where spectators were required to show proof of Covid vaccination, did indeed cancel two shows, but for a different reason : Clapton has just tested positive for coronavirus.
The announcement of the canceled shows in Zurich and Milan was made last night on Clapton’s official Facebook page.
“Eric Clapton is sadly suffering from Covid after testing positive shortly after the second concert at the Royal Albert Hall,” the post read. His medical advisers told him that if he were to start traveling and performing again too soon, it could significantly delay his full recovery. Eric is also keen to avoid passing on any infection to any of his bands, his team, the promoters, their staff and of course the fans.
The performance in Zurich was scheduled for today, May 17, with Milan originally scheduled for May 18. Clapton’s team says the guitarist hopes to resume touring beginning with concerts in Bologna on May 20 and 21.
Clapton was a prominent opponent of Covid protocols in the UK and US, including lockdowns and business closures enacted during the early days of the global pandemic. Clapton, who claimed last year he had suffered ‘disastrous’ side effects – his hands and feet he said were ‘frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks – collaborated with singer Van Morrison in 2020 on the anti-lockdown song “Stand and Deliver,” which included the lyrics “Do you wanna wear these chains/ Till you lay in the grave? “
In 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…It’s gotta stop/Enough enough is enough/I can’t take this BS anymore.He then subscribed to a conspiracy theory that vaccination was being promoted by subliminal hypnosis and “mass psychosis”.
On his Facebook page last night, Clapton’s team wrote: ‘It is very frustrating that having avoided Covid throughout the lockdown and throughout the time travel restrictions have been in place, Eric would have had to succumb to Covid at this point, but we really hope he will have recovered sufficiently by the end of the week to be able to perform the rest of the scheduled performances.
A further announcement will be made regarding the rescheduling of postponed shows at a later date.
Clapton recently announced their North American tour dates for September, including stops in Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Pittsburgh and two shows at Madison Square Gardens in New York.