Interviews conducted over the years made it clear that Eric Clapton wasn’t a huge fan of The Beatles. The guitarist considered the band “odd,” labeling them “one person”. Clapton did not become close to the Fab Four until he began to develop a relationship with George Harrison.
When asked if The Beatles’ commercial success bothered him, even though he eventually got to work on a track with them, Clapton acknowledged in a 2014 interview with NDR that it did. Not that I was envious of them. I have always found them to be likeable individuals, particularly John Lennon and George Harrison. We performed in a horrible Christmas entertainment show together at the London Palladium and later the Hammersmith Odeon. I first met them in 1963 while I was a member of the Yardbirds.
The guitarist went on:
At that time, I was reading American underground writers like Jack Kerouac and Ginsberg, watching French and Japanese films, and going through a phase of pseudo-intellectualism. I was far too serious about myself. I opposed significant commercial success!
Clapton continued by saying that he was unable to figure out the craze that surrounded the band:
“I witnessed firsthand the struggles The Beatles faced during the height of Beatlemania. I saw how they were expected to always have a cute smile on their faces, shake their mop top heads in unison for the cameras, and wear their stage clothes even when they were off duty at clubs in the evening. Even worse, I witnessed how they were imitated by half the nation. It struck me as depressing.
He went on to say that it had less to do with the band’s music and more to do with what fame had done to each member, particularly Harrison. Eric clarified:
The absurdity overpowered the music. All that identity loss. George suffered consequences for years after. Hence, I had a bad opinion of The Beatles industry, and a major contributing factor to that was my sympathy for the extremely intelligent guys who made up The Beatles. Does that make sense any better now?
They even shared one of Eric’s “proudest moments” with George. He said:
To be sure, I really enjoyed their later work. And among my greatest achievements was George’s invitation to join the Beatles on their later recording of “My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
