View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paramount+ (@paramountplus)

First aired in 1992, Clapton’s Unplugged session remains one of the most famous in the series, alongside Nirvana’s iconic performance. Clapton’s performance was a personal triumph, featuring a poignant rendition of ‘Tears in Heaven,’ written in memory of his son Conor. The performance also reworked Clapton classics such as ‘Layla’ into stripped-back, acclaimed masterpieces.  

The accompanying album, Eric Clapton: Unplugged, became the best-selling live album of all time, with over 26 million copies sold. It won three Grammys, including Album of the Year, and helped solidify the Unplugged series as a cultural touchstone, able to attract the likes of Nirvana, Oasis and Bob Dylan in the years following. Clapton’s performance marked a turning point in his career, paving the way for personal, blues-focused albums like ‘From the Cradle’. It also sparked a shift in his guitar technique, as he began re-embracing fingerstyle playing—a method he described as offering “a beautiful sound” and greater tonal control.  

A statement from the event’s website, claptonunplugged.com, suggests that viewers will see the version that was released in 2013, which included 60 minutes of bonus footage, as well as “unaired interviews”. This will make the ‘Over 30 Years Later’ version the most complete show yet.

Screenings will take place across 13 UK cities, including locations in Scotland and Wales. However, fans in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are currently left out of the release schedule. Tickets range from £14.99 to £27.99, depending on venue and seating, and can be found here.  

Reaction to the announcement has been enthusiastic on social media. One fan on X wrote: “This is an iconic concert. It introduced so many people to the other side of Mr. Clapton. Classic!”

This is an iconic concert. It introduced so many people to the other side of Mr. Clapton. Classic! — CRIMSON SUNDAY | SONGWRITER | ROCK’N’ROLL | BERLIN (@CRIMSONSUNDAY) January 13, 2025

Paramount+, the platform behind this re-release, continues to expand its catalogue of music-focused programming. Recent additions include documentaries on Lollapalooza and Willie Nelson, as well as a show featuring Rush’s Geddy Lee. Though the platform’s music offering is fairly limited, investment in musical shows reveal that they want to go toe-to-toe with the bigger streaming services, such as Disney+, the platform home to documentaries on The Beatles, Elton John and Taylor Swift.

Paramount Co-CEO Chris McCarthy recently affirmed the company’s confidence in its streaming position amid reports of them exploring deals with other streaming giants. With 72 million subscribers, Paramount+ is the fourth largest streaming service in the world.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eric Clapton (@ericclapton)

‘Eric Clapton Unplugged…Over 30 Years Later’ will offer fans a chance to relive one of the most celebrated live performances in music history, and, like it did back in 1992, may introduce a new generation to the man affectionately known as ‘Slowhand’.

Dated September 29, 1971, the letter was written during a pivotal moment in both artists’ lives. Clapton had recently disbanded Derek and the Dominos following the tragic death of Duane Allman and had just performed at the Concert for Bangladesh, organized by Lennon’s former bandmate, George Harrison. Lennon, meanwhile, had released Imagine earlier that year and was preparing to release “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” in December.

Each sheet of the eight page draft is listed here:

Você também conhece a música que temos feito e esperamos fazer. De qualquer jeito, depois de perder o show de Bangla-Desh começamos a sentir mais e mais vontade de ir para a estrada, mas não do mesmo jeito que era com os Beatles, noites após noites de tortura.”
(2/3) pic.twitter.com/ODoSephSgs

— The Beatle BR (@TheBeatleBR) December 3, 2024

In the letter, Lennon imagines a lineup featuring Klaus Voormann on bass, Jim Keltner on drums, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Phil Spector as producer. He envisioned a group free from the constraints of traditional bands, stating: “Our uppermost concern is to have a happy group in body & mind. Nobody will be asked to do anything that they don’t want to, no-one will be held to any contract of any sort… and of course, we had YOU in mind as soon as we decided.” Lennon even included Yoko Ono as a creative force, noting that spouses were welcome on stage or behind the scenes, as was Hopkins’ wife.

Had the project materialised, it would have been a meeting of legends. Clapton, no stranger to supergroups—having been part of Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek and the Dominos—would have brought his bluesy guitar to a lineup brimming with talent. The letter hints at the collaborative freedom Lennon was searching for after the dissolution of The Beatles, a way to rekindle the energy he felt rock had lost.

The draft, reportedly in near-mint condition, is part of an eclectic mixture that also includes a lost letter from Mozart, a pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s sandals, and a photograph of Marie Curie. The sale will take place at 6pm, with Lennon’s letter expected to attract significant attention.

While the £100,000 estimate is impressive, it pales in comparison to other Lennon memorabilia, such as his psychedelic Rolls-Royce Phantom, which sold for $2.23 million in 1985, or the Imagine piano, bought by George Michael for $2.1 million in 2000. These figures become even more astronomical when you account for inflation ($6.5 million and $3.85 million respectively).

Lennon and Clapton’s friendship and musical partnership were well established by 1971. Clapton famously played the iconic solo on the Beatles track ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and had performed with Lennon in the Plastic Ono Band during their 1969 ‘Live Peace in Toronto’ concert. The pair also played together as part of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Rock and Roll Circus’, when they played under the name ‘The Dirty Mac’. This letter marked a new step in Lennon and Clapton’s relationship—a potential collaboration where both artists could continue to push musical boundaries.

This letter serves as a testament to Lennon’s restless creativity, even after achieving monumental success with The Beatles. The dream supergroup never came to fruition, but the draft offers a tantalising “what if” for fans of both Lennon and Clapton.

With its mix of rock history, personal insight, and Lennon’s characteristic wit, this letter provides a unique snapshot of a moment when two of rock’s greatest icons nearly joined forces. Fans and collectors will be watching closely as the hammer drops on this unique piece of history.

Mayall’s family announced his passing via Facebook yesterday (July 23) writing: “It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.”

John Mayall was a singer, songwriter and multi- instrumentalist and is often referred to as ‘The Godfather of British Blues’. He formed the group John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers in 1963 which helped him transform the British blues rock secene.

Throughout the 1960s The Bluesbreakers saw a number of British rock superstars have stints in the group before they reached stardom. This included Eric Clapton, Peter Green who formed Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor who later joined The Rolling Stones, Mick Fleetwood, and Jack Bruce, who became the singer and bassist for Cream.

Mayall was born in Macclesfield in 1933 and before becoming a renowned musician he partook in 3 years of National Service for the army where he toured Korea, before studying at the Manchester College of art.

Mayall moved to London in 1963 to form the Bluesbreakers where he recruited John Mcvie for for the earliest lineup of the group which featured on the band’s debut single ‘Crawling Up a Hill’. After leaving The Yardbirds Eric Clapton joined the band in 1965 after they released their first album. Clapton breifly left the band when he was replaced by Peter Green. Clapton then returned to the band and Green was dismissed by Mayall. With Clapton they recorded the 1966 album ‘Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton’ which reached the top ten in the UK album charts.

Clapton then left the band again to form Cream with Jack Bruce who was also briefly a member of the Bluesbreakers. Mayall persuaded Peter Green to re-join the band and they then recorded the album A Hard Road. After Peter Green left the band to form Fleetwood Mac he was replaced by 18-year-old Mick Taylor.

During the 1970s Mayall stopped releasing music with The Bluesbreakers and moved to America. Here he moved away from blues to experiment with jazz, funk and rock. He collaborated with the likes of Paul Butterfield, Patti Smith, and members of Canned Heat.

In 2005, Mayall was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire).  He was also  due to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the ceremony in Cleveland, USA in October this year.

Mayall’s career spanned over 60 years and saw him release over 30 studio albums as a member of The Bluesbreakers and as a solo artist, with his last album being 2022’s ‘The Sun Is Shining Down’.

(1/3) In Memoriam: 2024 Inductee John Mayall was the godfather of British blues. As a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader, Mayall displayed a talent for mentoring gifted young musicians, many of whom he recruited for his groundbreaking band the Bluesbreakers. pic.twitter.com/6qXhj6LVk7

— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) July 23, 2024

The widely acclaimed singer has been described as a vital guide for today’s music, and was known for his unique sound that combined jazz and folk, with huge artists such as Eric Clapton, Portishead and U2 citing him as a influence in their own music. Over his four decade career, Martyn released a whopping twenty three albums, his most well known being ‘Solid Air’, and received an OBE award in 2009, only a few weeks before his passing. He is now survived by his second wife, Theresa Walsh, and his three children.

Alongside selling Martyn’s instruments and equipment that he used for recording and performing, the auction will also include personal items, such as pieces of clothing worn by Martyn.

Thank you to all my fans for supporting #PatientNumber9 which is now my highest charting album around the world! I love you all pic.twitter.com/xmPa860bsM

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) September 20, 2022

Along with the album’s high charting placement within the UK, Patient Number 9 has also broken several records for Osbourne with placements within multiple charts. Within the US, the former Black Sabbath frontman debuted at the top of various charts, including Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales, two charts on which Osbourne had not appeared on before. The singer has also placed within the American charts, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Vinyl Albums and Tastemaker Album Charts and placed at number three within the prestigious Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

Osbourne’s Patient Number 9’s success has not been restricted to the US and UK; the album has sired success within charts worldwide. The heavy metal icon scored his first chart win in Canada; the album has reached the top position within the country’s album charts. Much like his placement within the UK album charts, Patient Number 9 has also placed at number two within the charts in Australia, Finland, Italy, Austria, Germany and Sweden. The album has placed at number three in Switzerland, number four in Norway, number six in New Zealand and the Netherlands, number eight in Belgium and number fourteen in France.

Osbourne’s newest release sees the singer work with producer Andrew Watt for the second time; the pair first began their creative partnership in 2020 on Osbourne’s twelve studio album Ordinary Man. The album not only marked Watt and Osbourne’s first release but also marked the longest time between albums released by Osbourne. Before the release of Ordinary Man, the singer dropped his eleventh studio album, Scream, in 2010. The pair’s newest release, Patient Number 9, has sired three singles thus far, its title track “Patient Number 9” was released on 24th June 2022.

Released via Epic Records, Patient Number 9 is a who’s who of heavy metal and rock music, the genre’s most prominent artists are included as special guests within the album. Those who appear within the star-studded tracklist are Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, legendary axe-man Zakk Wylde, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, Metallica’s bassist Robert Trujillo, Guns N’ Roses bandmember Duff McKagan and Chris Chaney.

The album also features two more exceptional guests whose appearance holds great importance to music and culture. Fellow Black Sabbath band member and guitarist Tony Iommi is present on Patient Number 9; this is the first time the musician has appeared on a solo album by Osbourne. The album also includes the late Taylor Hawkins, the beloved drummer features on three of the album’s tracks, “Parasite featuring Zakk Wylde”, “Mr Darkness featuring Zakk Wylde”, and the album’s penultimate song , “God Only Knows”.

“I’ve never been someone who has guests on albums,” he told The Sun, “You can’t reproduce what they do when you’re playing live but I’m blown away by those people on my record.” Ozzy managed to get the legendary list of names together during Covid, “As usual, America went over the top when the pandemic started. People were buying a thousand f***ing kitchen rolls!” “So they weren’t going on a tour bus and, for about three months, they weren’t even going out at all.”

He went on to say how “gaga” it made him working with artists he admires. On working with Eric Clapton, he says, “He’s f***ing Eric Clapton!” “Nowadays, there are thousands of bands but in the Sixties and early Seventies, there weren’t very many in the business. And Eric Clapton was THE guitar player.”

Someone Ozzy hadn’t worked with before was late drummer Taylor Hawkins. “We were with him the week before he died,” explains Osbourne, “My producer knew him so Taylor came into the studio. He just said, ‘I play for Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl’s my boss’.” “He was a nice, nice man.”

Ozzy says the inspiration for the album’s name, Patient Number 9, is “about being in a lunatic asylum and I should have probably been in a few of those,” he says. The record will be released on 9th September. 

Closing the #CommonwealthGames #Birmingham Forever! pic.twitter.com/CE0qFy3gTC

— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) August 9, 2022

In 2020, Osbourne told Good Morning America that he had been living with Parkinson’s disease. Despite his challenging diagnosis, Osbourne has not been slowing down. Along with releasing his new album, he’s going on tour and even surprised fans with a performance to close the Commonwealth Games in his hometown of Birmingham.

Ozzy rose to fame as the frontman of Black Sabbath, he went on to have a successful solo career, releasing 12 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. He joins fellow Black Sabbath member, Tony Iommi, on two new tracks ‘No Escape From Now’ and ‘Degradation Rules’.

After believing that her late husband bought the CD way back in the 80’s she claims her actions weren’t malicious. But once Clapton’s team found the listing online; they immediately jumped into action informing her of its illegal status. To which the woman responded, “I object and ask you not to harass or contact me any further”, and “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands”. So, they did. An injunction was opened that Clapton inevitably won; the woman unsuccessfully appealed following the result and was ordered to cover the costs of the process.

This, in conjunction with Clapton’s recent anti-vaccination and lockdown views, has really turned him into a bit of a villain in the eyes of the public. His justification for the legal action wasn’t just to impose the David and Goliath vibe that he seems to be carrying, but instead to protect us (the listeners) from “poor-quality illegal bootleg CDs”. We should be grateful, and of course, the incurring fees weren’t his fault either; “This case could have been disposed of quickly at minimal cost, but unfortunately in response to the German lawyers’ first standard letter, the individual’s reply included the line (translation): “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands”. This triggered the next step in the standard legal procedures, and the Court then made the initial injunction order.”. Poor Eric had no choice…

The social media storm has already forced old Slowhand to get defensive and release this statement. As well as this, he decided to waive the fees altogether. Claiming, “it was clear the individual is not the type of person Eric Clapton, or his record company, wish to target, Eric Clapton decided not to take any further action and does not intend to collect the costs awarded to him by the Court.”

See below one of Clapton’s most recent projects. An entire song about how he’s being personally oppressed by COVID-19 lockdowns.

Clapton received his first of two AZ jabs last February. He then shared his thoughts in a Telegram message to Robin: “I took the first jab of AZ and straight away had severe reactions which lasted ten days. I recovered eventually and was told it would be twelve weeks before the second one…”.

Clapton continues in the letter: “About six weeks later I was offered and took the second AZ shot, but with a little more knowledge of the dangers. Needless to say the reactions were disastrous, my hands and feet were either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks, I feared I would never play again, (I suffer with peripheral neuropathy and should never have gone near the needle.) But the propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone…”.

Eric Clapton sent me a message to share on my Telegram channel. You can find it here:https://t.co/XY3irswt0x

— Robin Monotti (@robinmonotti2) May 12, 2021

The letter has been confirmed for authenticity and shared on twitter with Clapton’s permission. He also discussed his views of like minded anti-lockdown politicians and shared his views on rebels saying: “I continue to tread the path of passive rebellion and try to tow the line in order to be able to actively love my family, but it’s hard to bite my tongue with what I now know”. 

Clapton continued with the statement: “I’ve been a rebel all my life, against tyranny and arrogant authority, which is what we have now,” Clapton wrote. “But I also crave fellowship, compassion and love… I believe with these things we can prevail.”

Clapton previously shared his anti-lockdown views and last year alongside his fellow musician Van Morrison, they recorded an anti-lockdown track ‘Stand and Deliver’. The protest song that is part of the ‘Save Live Music’ album, was released on 18th December 2020 and described as ‘dangerous’ by Northern Ireland health minister.

“Stand and deliver / You let them put the fear on you / Stand and deliver / But not a word you heard was true” we can hear Clapton sings on the blues track. The song continues with: “But if there’s nothing you can say/There may be nothing you can do/Do you want to be a free man/Or do you want to be a slave?”. You can listen to the track below.

The ex-Cream guitarist and legendary music icon stormed off stage whilst playing his first gig in Glasgow for three years. It has been reported that Clapton, now 69, stormed off due to a ‘technical issue’ but has left fans irate, especially after paying upwards of £67 for a ticket to see him.

Clapton left midway through playing one of his most recognised songs ‘Cocaine’, but instead of taking it easy and allowing the technical team to sort the problem, he stormed off as a surprised band followed suite, resulting in the concert ending earlier than anticipated.

Twitter was flooded with comments of disappointment from fans leaving the Hydro as the audience began booing the empty stage. When it was reported that he would not be returning, the lights came on the Hydro Bowl staff began dispersing the angry crowd.

Clapton has always been known as a perfectionist, but for someone as renowned it is shameful to hear how he could let down so many devoted fans, some of which had travelled from afar and booked hotels just to see him play.
It has been commented to be the best concert turned into the worst by many commentators on twitter.

Born John Weldon Cale in 1938, Cale was regarded as one of the originators of the ‘Tulsa Sound’ , a genre that fused elements of blues, rockabilly, country and jazz that developed in Tulsa during the late 50s.

Cale released 14 studio albums between 1972 and 2009, as well as working on collaborations with a number of artists. His most well-known songs however gained their popularity when covered by artists like Eric Clapton (Cocaine, After Midnight), Lynyrd Skynyrd and Johnny Cash (Call Me the Breeze).

In his biography, Cale said “Basically, I’m just a guitar player that figured out I wasn’t ever gonna be able to buy dinner with my guitar playing so I got into songwriting, which is a little more profitable business.”

His website released the following statement:

“JJ Cale Has Passed Away

JJ Cale passed away at 8:00 pm on Friday July 26 at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, CA.

The legendary singer / songwriter had suffered a heart attack. There are no immediate plans for services. His history is well documented at JJCale.com, rosebudus.com/cale, and in the documentary, To Tulsa And Back.

Donations are not needed but he was a great lover of animals so, if you like, you can remember him with a donation to your favorite local animal shelter.”

Watch Cale perform After Midnight and Call Me the Breeze here: