British guitar legend Eric Clapton was forced to cut his concert in Madrid short last week after an audience member reportedly threw an object at the stage, striking the iconic musician in the chest.
The incident took place on May 7 at Movistar Arena, near the end of Clapton’s set. According to fan-shot footage circulating online, the 81-year-old guitarist had just wrapped up a performance of “C**aine” — originally written by J. J. Cale and later turned into one of Clapton’s signature songs — when an object was thrown from the crowd.
Video from the show appears to capture the moment the object, reportedly a vinyl record sleeve, struck Clapton in the chest as he walked across the stage. The unexpected incident seemingly brought the evening to an abrupt end, with no encore taking place afterward.
Fans quickly took to social media to react to what happened.
“Very sad image today in Eric Clapton concert in Madrid,” the account Value Pond wrote on X. “Some guy threw something to EC at the end, ending with no encore.”
“Very sad indeed,” another use replied, adding video of the incident (see below). “What kind of idiot does that?”
Clapton is currently wrapping up his European run, with the final dates of the trek scheduled for this week in Germany. Later this year, he will return to the United States for a limited North American tour set to begin in September.
The upcoming U.S. dates are as follows:
September 13 — Fort Worth, TX — Dickies Arena
September 15 — Austin, TX — Frank Erwin Center
September 17 — Houston, TX — Toyota Center
September 18 — New Orleans, LA — Smoothie King Center
September 21 — Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena
September 23 — Atlanta, GA — Gas South Arena
September 25 — Tampa, FL — Amalie Arena
September 26 — Hollywood, FL — Seminole Hard Rock
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