Eric Clapton
Posted October 26th, 2009 at 2:51PM
Just why is Mr Clapton revered so much? To me, this man who has made a forune and a gigantic reputation peddling sub-standard blues and an ill advised stab a t reggae (my opinion I know, but the next bit is fact), is the biggest hypocrite ever to operate in music.
On stage in 1976 in Birmingham, Clapton told the crowd that England had "become overcrowded" and that they should vote for Powell to stop from becoming "a black colony"." Clapton told the audience that Britain should "get the foreigners out, get the wogs out, get the coons out" and then repeatedly shouted "Keep Britain White".
The head of media studies at my uni was in the crowd. At first, he tried to see if Clapton was maybe being ironic to make a point about racism before coming to the inevitable conclusion that his hitherto hero is a racist. From that moment on, he hasn't listened to another note.
It isn't as if Clapton has seen the light. In 2004, he told Uncut mag that Powell was "outrageously brave" to make the comments.
The only good thing to come of this was the formation of 'Rock against Racism'.
Eric Clapton is a racist and a charlatan.
Edit:
This is a transc
Do we have any foreigners in the audience tonight? If so, please put up your hands. Wogs I mean, I'm looking at you. Where are you? I'm sorry but some ******* wog...Arab grabbed my wife's bum, you know? Surely got to be said, yeah this is what all the ******* foreigners and wogs over here are like, just disgusting, that's just the truth, yeah. So where are you? Well wherever you all are, I think you should all just leave. Not just leave the hall, leave our country. You ******* (indecipherable). I don't want you here, in the room or in my country. Listen to me, man! I think we should vote for Enoch Powell. Enoch's our man. I think Enoch's right, I think we should send them all back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism. It's much heavier, man. ******* wogs, man. ******* Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and ******* Jamaicans and ******* (indecipherable) don't belong here, we don't want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don't want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome. England is for white people, man. We are a white country. I don't want ******* wogs living next to me with their standards. This is Great Britain, a white country, what is happening to us, for ****'s sake? We need to vote for Enoch Powell, he's a great man, speaking truth. Vote for Enoch, he's our man, he's on our side, he'll look after us. I want all of you here to vote for Enoch, support him, he's on our side. Enoch for Prime Minister! Throw the wogs out! Keep Britain white!
Please note, at no time since has he retracted anything he said. What a pathetic man.
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Wow ... you learn something new every day Mizz ... thanks for this ... I've honestly never heard that before ...
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I didn't realise that either. Musicians and celebrities need to think carefully before they express controversial opinions because it can never be unsaid, people don't forget.
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There's more where that came from, WiB. I've just been on Youtube. There is a verbatim transcript of what he said. I'm sorry, I'm rubbish with em
bedding videos, but here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg9IZyx_-Os
It is worse than you can imagine. I had some inkling through my ex tutor but even Nick Griffin wouldv'e found it hard to keep this tirade up. Clapton is a disgusting human being.
Mizz -
Well I'm a firm believer that the planet has not moved forward one wit on racial harmony and the reason is because neither side wants to move forward. Both sides are to blame and the idea that whitey is the only one that can be racist is utter nonsense. 100 years from now I think race relations will be where they are today because both sides stir it up to keep it that way for their own ends.
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That would be very interesting Sunstone:)
The getout for people who try to fathom it out is that he was completely plastered. This, of course, is no excuse whatsoever.
Obviousely Clapton lost his son, and has that caring side to him, but it does not excuse one word of his racism. My ex tutor was shocked to his core. He was a huge fan, and tried to make excuses, but could find none.
Mizz -
Not that I've come across yet. Therefore it is alleged in the sense of that particular transcript. Sorry to keep referring to my 'ex', but he gave me a fair idea of just how bad Clapton's tirade was, but the level of venom expressed, if true, took me back. There are thousands of eye witnesses to this disgusting outburst.
I have always found it hypocrisy of the highest water that anybody so indebted to black musicians should hold these views, and it is not something he has ever retracted in public.
Mizz -
Well, he definitely said some of it. I don't know whether that was a verbatim script, but sadly he definitely said some horrible things. As I say, the one positive thing to come of it was the Rock against Racism movement, set up as a direct result of what Clapton said. Actually, what I will do is make some enquiries with a couple of couple of organisations and see if there is any footage.
Mizz -
Yo, I couldn't believe this. so i just researched it. turns out, you are 100% right-he absolutely said those words, it was the reason for forming that "rock against racism" thing, and clapton will never get another penny from me or anyone i know ever again.
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I've just left a couple of email messages with NME and 'Lovemusichateracism', and I'll carry on with a few more...you're right, in that era it wasn't illegal or unusual to come out with this filth, and it wasn't helped by 'entertainment' such as 'The Black and White Minstrels' or 'Love Thy Neighbour'...:(
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thanks intrepidtraveler:)
I was reminded about the whole thing by seeing Clapton supporting Smokey Robinson' on 'Later' last week, as well as the whole Nick Griffin 'Question Time travesty. I have always found it hard to stomach that Clapton is this revered figure, when he is a racist. I feel you have to do what you can to bring these issues to people's attention, so that we can tackle bigotry wherever and whoever it comes from.
Mizz -
ditto. i am telling my family and friends asap.
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I've emailed a number of anti racist and anti fascist organisations this evening to see if there is any live footage of that gig...I'll post anything else I find...
Mizz -
Yes, it was
Yes, it's hard to put across just how hideous '..neighbour' unfortunately as you say these attitudes are alive and well, I know your feelings on this and you know I feel exactly the same, the good thing from my point of view is that it has made me more determined that ever to rid us of this cancer on humanity, the more we can all get together and collectively do something, the better, swap experiences, whic we do on here, but also how we can fight this collectively (form an action group maybe?), as well as individually.
Mizz -
If this is true I am very disappointed.
I thought he was above that.
Let´s not forget he was an alcoholic and was a heavy drug user and those things can cause further damage to a brain already damaged by racism. -
I've received an email from 'Searchlight', the anti-fascist magazine, who are going to look into whether there is live footage of the gig, and get back to me. I've emailed a number of people, so I'll wait and see about progress. In the meantime, I found a little video this morning. The link is below
http://www.vimeo.com/6498432
It includes an interview with a bloke who was in the audience, and also Red Saunders, one of the founders of 'Rock against Racism'.
Mizz -
I've listened to Eric Clapton a few times. Someone told me that he is a great guitar pla
yer. I didn't care for his music. I have never been interested in the private lives of entertainers. I am always sad to hear that anyone is a bigot or a racist---I seldom listen to the so-called "news"... Nowadays, it seems mostly like gossip and propaganda....one really has to work to find out what's actually going on in the world. -
I've heard whispers about this racist rant that Clapton supposedly spewed at a concert years ago. It always sounded so weird to me. Because everytime I had seen Clapton interviewed about his music, (many times) he is talking about his reverence for black blues, black blues musicians, his debt to the black blues tradition for his own career and his commitment to keeping the authentic tradition alive. Why would somebody like that have an ulterior racist agenda? Very curious.
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The evidence is there that Clapton came out with a racist outburst, and that he has not recanted.
The link above has eye witness testimony, my uni tutor, a diehard Clapton fanatic, was in the crowd, as were thousands of others.
Searchlight have sent me a second email:
Clapton went into a rap about Enoch. His initial line was "Enoch's right - I think we should send them back." I don't think he said "******" he said "wogs". He definitely said, "Keep Britain White". Nobody cheered, but after he played another song, he did the same again. It was extraordinary - but he stood there being overtly offensive and racist. I was completely mystified as to why this man playing black music would behave this way."
Caryl Phillips, referring to the aforementioned Birmingham concert in 1976, at which Phillips was present. Quoted by author Robin Denselow in When The Music Stopped: The Story of Political Pop, Faber and Faber (1989), pp. 138-139.
There's also lots of stuff on RAR and its foundation following Clapton's remarks in Dave Renton's history of the ANL which, if memory serves, is called We Touched the Sky or something similar.
The good folks of 'Love music, hate racism' are emailing the founders of 'Rock against Racism', founded as a direct result of the tirade, to see if they can find out if anyone has got any film of the gig.
Clapton's undoubted love of the blues makes it all the more galling that he should come out with this invective.
Mizz -
I just read the comments of everyone two years after they posted them, because i am writing a play that encompasses that time in the mid to late seventies. A time that has chilling memories for me, but looking back and to the present, have we learned anything? We must have, but whatever it is we have learned, it is not enough! I'm not worried by clapton he's shown his true colours but there's a lot of people, organisations and the like who never let there guard slip and continue to put us against each other! Anyone with feedback on the RAR concert 1978, please email me i need some of the rheteoric for this thing i'm doing!
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Good luck with your project. Love Music, Hate Racism has taken up the admirable baton left by RAR. I had just started reading the music weeklies (MM and NME) when RAR came into being, and I remember feeling that I wanted to be involved. As for Clapton, he pretty much makes me sick every time I see him. The biggest hypocrite in music, and a very mediocre musician.
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I did not know this..thanks for sharing.
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You're welcome, absofabo. I have never understood how he is revered by so many. Those who are apologists for him are aware of what he has said, but he continues to be deified. He is the biggest fraud in music, a racist and a pretty mediocre musician.
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I am not a fan of his and have none of his music...this guarantees i never will.
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I am baffled. Why don't more people know about this? I had no clue clapton had said things like this, its disgusting. I can't believe his PR rep didn't make a statement to the press regarding this. Wow, just wow. Thanks for the info.
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You're very welcome. I don't find it surprising that his PR rep would keep quiet, Clapton's 'people' hope that not too many people realise what he is and what he has said. Every time I see him, my skin creeps. Horrible man.
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How did this not get more publicity? Its crazy... he must have friends in high places, I can't believe he hasn't been outted on a more national level.
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Oh wow! I had no idea he that he was a racist. Thank you for sharing. It is tremendously sad when someone that famous and that talented uses his fame as a platform to espouse such vile, ignorant and hateful opinions.
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Thanks for your comment, gumshoe. Yes, it is very sad when someone uses the platform given to him by so many fans to spout his vile prejudices.
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Has anyone informed clapton that the likelihood he will get to see his child in heaven maybe in jeopardy due to his clearly un christian like behavior?
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WOW! I don't care for Clapton and this just solidifies that. Clapton has become the historian for American Blues somehow. Just never cared for him and thank you , I have thought for many years I was the Lone Ranger on this topic
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Let's Kick racism out of anywhere
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Yes, indeed. Rid society of racism!
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