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Lot Essay
In her 2007 autobiography, Pattie Boyd recounts that special day: Almost immediately after [his fortieth birthday party] Eric started a fifteen-week tour of America and Canada. He broke off in July, in the middle of it, to play in the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, organized by Bob Geldof in aid of the starving in Africa. I flew over and joined him, and I can’t remember a more electrifying day. There were ninety thousand people in the stadium and the energy levels, both on-and offstage, were beyond belief. The show ran simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and absolutely everyone was playing at one or the other location. We sat in the hotel in Philadelphia, with Mick Jagger and others popping in and out, and watched the Wembley concert on television. We saw Phil Collins play in London, then left for the show. By the time we arrived backstage, Phil was in Philadelphia ready to drum for Eric: he had taken the Concorde so he could play in both concerts. Eric played three songs - “White Room,” “She’s Waiting,” and “Layla.” He had been nervous but I’d never seen him play so brilliantly and never felt so proud to be his wife. It was the world’s biggest-ever rock festival. More than a billion and a half people watched it on TV and it raised £30 million - three times what Bob had expected.
In Clapton's own 2007 autobiography, he remembered his performance: By the time we got out to the stadium, I was in such a state of nerves that I was literally tongue-tied. It was also boiling hot, and the whole band felt faint. In fact Duck Dunn and I later confessed to each other that we’d been close to passing out. The tunnel, which we had to walk through from the dressing rooms to the stage, was crowded with security, which was unnerving in itself, and things weren't helped by the fact that we had been given different guitar amps to those which had been specified by my roadie, who was subsequently screaming blue murder as we reached the stage itself. To say the whole band was jumpy would be an understatement. As I climbed on stage, I luckily saw the reassuring presence of my old mentor, Ahmet Ertegun, standing in the wings, smiling broadly at me and giving me a big thumbs up sign. Things got off to a shaky start. When I moved up to the microphone to sing the first line of ‘White Room’, I got a great big shock off it, further unnerving me, and meaning that I had to sing the rest of the show with my mouth not quite touching the mike, but still close enough to hear myself, since the monitors weren’t very good. We played three songs, ‘White Room’, ‘She’s Waiting’, a song from Behind the Sun, and ‘Layla’, and then we were off and it was all over. Phil Collins came on, followed by Led Zeppelin, then Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. After that, I remember very little, other than being herded back on stage at the end to join in the finale, singing ‘We Are The World’. I think I was just in a state of shock.
Pattie Boyd recalls that she received the Live Aid earrings from the US promoter Bill Graham.
In Clapton's own 2007 autobiography, he remembered his performance: By the time we got out to the stadium, I was in such a state of nerves that I was literally tongue-tied. It was also boiling hot, and the whole band felt faint. In fact Duck Dunn and I later confessed to each other that we’d been close to passing out. The tunnel, which we had to walk through from the dressing rooms to the stage, was crowded with security, which was unnerving in itself, and things weren't helped by the fact that we had been given different guitar amps to those which had been specified by my roadie, who was subsequently screaming blue murder as we reached the stage itself. To say the whole band was jumpy would be an understatement. As I climbed on stage, I luckily saw the reassuring presence of my old mentor, Ahmet Ertegun, standing in the wings, smiling broadly at me and giving me a big thumbs up sign. Things got off to a shaky start. When I moved up to the microphone to sing the first line of ‘White Room’, I got a great big shock off it, further unnerving me, and meaning that I had to sing the rest of the show with my mouth not quite touching the mike, but still close enough to hear myself, since the monitors weren’t very good. We played three songs, ‘White Room’, ‘She’s Waiting’, a song from Behind the Sun, and ‘Layla’, and then we were off and it was all over. Phil Collins came on, followed by Led Zeppelin, then Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. After that, I remember very little, other than being herded back on stage at the end to join in the finale, singing ‘We Are The World’. I think I was just in a state of shock.
Pattie Boyd recalls that she received the Live Aid earrings from the US promoter Bill Graham.
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Lot 106
Sale 22891
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Two custom guitar picks, 1985
Eric Clapton at Live Aid
Estimate: GBP 600 - 800
A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.
Lot 106
Sale 22891
Two custom guitar picks, 1985
Eric Clapton at Live Aid
Estimate: GBP 600 - 800
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Estimated total cost exclusive of duties