Queen guitarist Brian May has joined the chorus of artists who have looked askance at Eric Clapton for his anti-vaccine rhetoric and refusal to perform at any concert venue that requires fans to be vaccinated.
“I love Eric Clapton, he’s my hero, but he has very different views from me in many ways,” May told The Independent. “He’s a person who thinks it’s OK to shoot animals for fun, so we have our disagreements, but I would never stop respecting the man.”
“Anti-vax people, I’m sorry, I think they’re fruitcakes,” he continued. “There’s plenty of evidence to show that vaccination helps. On the whole, they’ve been very safe. There’s always going to be some side effect in any drug you take, but to go around saying vaccines are a plot to kill you, I’m sorry, that goes in the fruitcake jar for me.”
Clapton is launching an eight-date U.S. arena tour on September 13th that hits mostly Red State cities like Forth Worth, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and New Orleans, Louisiana. In May 2022, he’s playing two nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall. As of now, they’re requiring that guests provide proof of vaccinations, evidence of a negative lateral flow test taken with the last 48 hours, or proof of natural immunity based upon a positive PCR test taken within 180 days of the concert.
Many American concert venues and festivals are taking on similar measures due to the spread of the Delta variant, while everyone from Fall Out Boy and Foo Fighters to James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, REO Speedwagon, and Randy Bachmann/Burton Cummings have had to cancel or postpone shows.
Peter Frampton was midway through his farewell tour when the pandemic forced him off the road. He hasn’t scheduled any upcoming dates, and he’s grown very frustrated by people like Clapton who have spread misinformation about the vaccine. “If I hear, ‘I trust my immune system!” …one more time,” he tweeted. “The Delta variant is twice as contagious and doesn’t give a shit about your immune system.”
From Rolling Stone US
