Eric Clapton's Helicopter

Eric Clapton Arrives at Blackbushe 1978

Here is a photograph that shows the level to which Rock Stars are pampered. It is taken Backstage at Blackbushe Airport at the Bob Dylan Concert.

Dylan was quite happy to arrive in a coach with his Band, he enjoyed looking out if the window at the surrounding British countryside, but Eric Clapton had a different idea, he wanted to excerpt the minimum effort to get to the gig, and wanted it done in the shortest time possible.

So a Helicopter was sent to his Country House where it landed in on his lawn. Eric walked the short distance from his house to the waiting Helicopter.

After a journey of less than thirty minutes he arrived at the Gig, the Helicopter landed about 200 yards from the Backstage area, but to save him from any physical exertion and to keep him in the luxurious style he was used to a Rolls Royce was parked nearby.

Eric then walked over to the waiting Rolls, got into the back seat, and was driven to his dressing room, a journey which took less than a minute to complete.

How nice it must be to live inside a superstar bubble, to have everything at your disposal, to simply have to walk about twelve steps from Helicopter to Rolls Royce.

But, to me, as well as documenting one of Rock's more surreal moments, it shows off the impeccable style of the British Roadie, just take a look at the guy's shorts, it's living proof of why Roadies often got more girls than the Band.