As one of rock music’s pioneers, Eric Clapton may not be in full agreeance with every move made in his career. During a Q&A at the premiere of his highly anticipated rockumentary, Life In 12 Bars, Clapton revealed that he was ‘disgusted’ with himself for his ‘chauvinistic’ and ‘fascistic’ decisions in the past.
As the film reveals, the guitar-lord “would drink a bottle of cognac by midday, before snorting cocaine from a knife by lunch” with Clapton detailing his regret at overtly showcasing support for the National Front during a 1976 concert in Birmingham.
Clapton regretfully referred to himself as a ‘semi-racist’, saying “I was so ashamed of who I was, a kind of semi-racist, which didn’t make sense. Half of my friends were black, I dated a black woman and I championed black music”.
As the Daily Mail reports, Clapton said, ‘I sabotaged everything I got involved with’ during the Q&A, adding that he was friends with African American stars such as Jimi Hendrix and BB King whilst ‘Keep Britain White’ slogan as he applauded controversial Tory MP Enoch Powell before exclaiming: ‘Get the foreigners out, get the w**s out, get the c***s out’.
Clapton also added that “early rejection” from mother heavily impacted his relationships, quite notably when his ex-wife refused to leave George Harrison for him.
Watch this incredible video of Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Neil Young and Tom Petty rehearsing together.
