Being Eric Clapton’s sideman is no easy feat. Around 1978, Albert Lee found himself in the unenviable position of being Clapton’s right-hand man for five years, following the release of two back-to-back albums, 1977’s Slowhand and 1978’s Backless – and just as Clapton was in the midst of firing his entire backing band.
“We’d met a few times,” Lee tells Guitar World in a recent interview. “When he was with Mayall, I was with Chris Farlowe; we’d play at the Flamingo Club and run into each other fairly often. We didn't hang out much, but he was really friendly; we saw each other a lot and admired each other’s playing.”
Lee was working on an album with Texan singer-songwriter Mark Benno when Clapton’s manager called.
“I did a week in the studio with Eric, and we had a great time. At the end, his manager pulled me aside and said, ‘Do you fancy going on the road with him?’
“My first album was just about to come out, but I thought, ‘I want to do this!’ So off I went with Eric. He fired the whole band at the end of that tour, and I managed to survive. Two years later, he fired another band, and I survived that time, too. So he liked having me around, which is nice! I enjoyed it.”
During this period, Clapton was going through intense mental health struggles while also grappling with substance abuse… which may gone some way to explaining why he was often firing and hiring different band members.
When it came to the music, however, the Clapton–Lee duo worked well, with their contrasting styles complementing instead of competing with each other.
“I thought it would work really well because we’re so unalike. A lot of guys who play with him have always been blues players. But that’s his job, you know? So I thought, ‘I’ll do what I do and try and complement him.’”
Lee was also involved in the 1979 show at Tokyo’s legendary Budokan, immortalized on Clapton’s live album Just One Night. Released in 1980 as a double album, it achieved astounding commercial success, especially for a live album, reaching No. 2 and No. 3 in the US and UK, respectively.
“[I was] in that building and seeing this huge Japanese flag with the rising sun and thinking, ‘Boy, what a place!’” he recalls. Lee goes on to reveal that he was encouraged to play his single, Country Boy, during the show, although it was not included on the live album.
“Eric wouldn’t play on that – he’d usually sit behind his amp with a cigarette and a glass of brandy, going, ‘Go on, Albert! Go on!’ It was great.”
During his time with Slowhand, Lee also wielded a Les Paul Custom that originally belonged to Clapton.
“At the first rehearsals I did with Eric, we were talking about guitars, and I said, ‘I used to have this Les Paul Custom.’ I think I had a picture of it. He said, ‘I’ve got one of those at home somewhere.’
He continues, “And the next day, Alan Rogan, the guitar roadie, walks in with this Les Paul Custom. That became my guitar for when I was working with Eric. That show at Budokan was with the Les Paul.”
Despite Clapton’s personal struggles, Lee notes that he was “very gracious. He let me play solos. I was stretching out towards the end… Maybe I was stretching out a bit too much! [laughs]”
