God is still playing the guitar like an immortal

Eric Clapton

Utilita Arena, Newcastle

★★★★☆

“I’m going deaf, I’ve got tinnitus, my hands just about work,” Eric Clapton admitted in 2018. “It’s amazing to me I’m still here.”

Yet, here he was, at 79, strolling on stage, on the first date of another world tour, his first live appearance of the year. There was a tangible nervousness as Clapton, who has spoken about nerve damage in his fingers, stood in the shadows repeatedly strumming two minor chords with the simplicity of a beginner. Then as his seven-piece band eased into the rhythm, he tentatively picked out a silvery motif, before unleashing a flutter of sweet, long high notes. The piece was Blue Rainbow, an unrecorded and unreleased instrumental, but the crowd’s roar might have made you think you were hearing a long-lost classic. God was back in the house.

The “Clapton is God” graffiti that pronounced his deified status appeared on a wall in London in 1967. The blues tyro was the first real guitar hero of the modern rock age. Six decades on, he’s still playing like an immortal.

This was his first time in Newcastle since the 1960s. He spoke about playing a show with the Animals’ Eric Burdon, although it might actually have been in Leeds or Manchester. “Who can remember?” he shrugged. It was about all he said, but he let his fingers do the talking on a satisfying set that included Cream heavy-rock classics (White Room, Crossroads), a warm blast of gospel-y Blind Faith (Presence of the Lord), and solo favourites (a sincere acoustic rendition of Tears in Heaven and a crowd-pleasing romp through Cocaine).

His voice – never his strongest asset – has thinned, but as a bluesman, he seems content to express himself with whatever he has at his disposal.

There was no room for his most beloved hit, Layla, and some speculated it was because Clapton is upset that his ex-wife Pattie Boyd (the subject of the song) recently auctioned off his love letters. But let’s see. It is the first night, and singing lovelorn odes to estranged exes is a huge part of what the blues is all about.

Back in the 1960s, Clapton’s take on the blues was worldchanging. Now the blend of shuffles, rockers and Delta acoustic blues is standard bar-room band fare. But in the hands of a guitar god, it was delivered with a finesse that elevated it to a genuinely heavenly plane.

Touring the UK until May 24; ericclapton.com

Deified status: Clapton may be Slowhand, but the fingers are working just fine