Eric Clapton has never slowed down when it comes to performing live and releasing new music. But the age factor comes into the scene at some point. The guitarist has been struggling with his health for the last couple of years. Considering his age, Clapton’s health has been impressively steady until a few years back.
Unfortunately, Clapton isn’t in his greatest shape. He’s been spotted at an airport in a wheelchair a couple of years ago. He’s also diagnosed with a disease that can possibly end his career.
Eric Clapton Was Seen In A Wheelchair
Clapton’s representatives shared a series of posts on his official Twitter page in 2017. They announced the postponements of two shows at Los Angeles venue The Forum. The reason for the cancellation was revealed as severe bronchitis.
The statement in the Twitter post follows:
“Due to severe bronchitis and under doctor’s advisement, Eric Clapton is rescheduling this weekend’s two shows at The Forum in Los Angeles.”
They also added:
“He is very sorry to disappoint his fans but looks forward to these shows.”
A few days after the announcement, Eric Clapton was spotted at Los Angeles International Airport. Fans were quite worried after seeing him in a wheelchair, being escorted by airport staff and his daughter through the terminal. Clapton looked like he was okay other than coughing and looking pale as he smiled and waved his fans at the airport.
Clapton Also Has Other Diseases
In an issue of Classic Rock magazine back in 2016, Eric Clapton opened up about health issues and revealed a condition he has that prevent him from playing the guitar from time to time. Clapton was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. This is a condition that occurs when nerves from the brain to the spinal cord are damaged or diseased.
Talking to the magazine, the musician revealed how he discovered his disease. The first pain started with his lower back, and he realized he has peripheral neuropathy after an examination. The musician says having this disease is like having electric shocks going down your leg.
Speaking to Classic Rock Magazine, he said:
“I’ve had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain, and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy – which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg… I’ve had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old.”
Clapton has also been struggling with tinnitus. This makes him lose his hearing gradually. The musician once opened up about this during an interview with BBC Radio 2 in 2018. He said how hard it is to perform live with all the diseases he has, but he sounded like he’s wasn’t going to stop any time soon.
During an interview with BBC Radio 2, Clapton stated:
“The only thing I’m concerned with now is being in my seventies and being able to be proficient. I mean, I’m going deaf, I’ve got tinnitus, my hands just about work.
I’m hoping that people will come along and see me just because, or maybe more than because I’m a curiosity. I know that is part of it because it’s amazing to me I’m still here.
I have to get on the bottom of the ladder every time I play guitar, just to tune it. Then I have to go through the whole threshold of getting calluses on the fingers back, coordination.”
Clapton himself is surprised to be able to perform all of those shows. But what about now? Since these interviews were a few years back, let’s see.
How Is Eric Clapton Now?
Clapton is still performing live shows and releasing music. During an appearance on Oracle Films, the guitarist opened up about his world tour that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Clapton stated that he’s worried about the future of his music due to his age. At some point in the interview, he admitted not knowing how long he can carry on performing.
He said the following:
“I don’t know anything about sociology and science, I’m a musician but I did realize that I was setting out do to a world tour and I had to cancel a year’s work immediately because there was no leaving it to the last minute tickets that were about to be sold which form a selfish point of view is devastating because I’m of an age now where I don’t know how long my faculties will go on.”
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