quarta-feira, 9 de setembro de 2009

Eric Clapton listens to Sgt Peppers, with the Beatles

"I used to hang out a lot at a club called the Speakeasy, in Margaret Street. This was a musicians' club run by Laurie O'Leary, who had previously managed Esmeralda's Barn for the Krays, and his brother Alphi. Everybody went there and jammed with whoever was the resident band that night. It was at the Speakeasy, around this time that I had my first LSD trip. I was in the club with my girlfriend Charlotte, when the Beatles came in with an acetate of their new album, Sgt Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Monkees arrived and shortly afterwards someone in the club started handing out these pills, which he said were called STP. I had no idea what that was but somebody explained that it was superstrong acid, which would last for several days. We all took it, except for Charlotte, who we both agreed should stay straight in case of any emergency, and shortly after that, George gave the DJ the acetate to play. Even though I was not overawed in the least by the Beatles, I was aware that this was a very special moment in time for anyone that was there. Their music had been gradually evolving over the years, and this album was expected by everybody to be their masterpiece. It was also supposedly written under the influence of acid, so it was an amazing experience to be listening to it in the condition we were in. They also begun to explore Indian mysticism, perhaps as a result of George's influence, and at some point the chanting of 'Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare' began to be heard in the club. The acid gradually took effect, and soon we were all dancing to the sounds of 'Lucy In The Sky' and 'A Day In The Life'. I have to admit I was pretty moved by the whole thing.
At about six in the morning we piled out into the street, where there was a huge gathering of policemen waiting on the other side of the road. There seemed to be hundreds of them. Maybe someone had tipped them off that the Beatles were inside getting stoned, who knows. The point was, they seemed frozen, unable to move. John came out of the Speakeasy with Lulu on his arm and as he did so, his beautiful hand-painted Rolls-Royce came around the corner. It pulled up outside the club, and as he got into it, he gave the police the V-sign, and it was as if there was a force field all around them. They stood there paralysed, and we all just took off. I stayed high for three more days."
- in 'Eric Clapton: The Autobiography'

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