A 55-year-old German widow – named in reports as Gabriele P. – has reportedly been mandated to pay for court costs for both herself and Eric Clapton, after the electric guitar player successfully sued her over the sale of a live bootleg CD on eBay.
According to the German newspaper Bild, the bootleg, Live USA, was purchased by the defendant's late husband at a department store more than 30 years ago. Gabriele then went on to list the album on eBay for €9.95 (~$11) in July, after which Clapton – citing the illegal nature of the album – sent the court an affidavit.
The Düsseldorf Regional Court ruled in Clapton's favor, and yesterday (December 15) rejected Gabriele P's appeal on the initial ruling, saying that the facts that she neither bought the CD herself initially nor knew, at the time she listed it on eBay, that it was a bootleg, were immaterial.
Gabriele P. now reportedly faces either a €250,000 fine or six-month prison sentence if she continues her efforts to sell the album.
It's not the first time in recent months that Slowhand has found himself in the news for reasons other than his music.
Blues guitar veteran Robert Cray told The Washington Post back in November that he ended his 35-year friendship with Clapton over the latter's likening of COVID-19-related lockdowns to slavery in the 2020 song he recorded with Van Morrison, Stand And Deliver.
“I’d just rather not associate with somebody who’s on the extreme and being so selfish,” Cray said. “We started playing a music that wasn’t particularly popular to start off with at the time we started playing. We’ve gained some notoriety, and I’m fine with that, but I surely don’t need to hang out with Eric Clapton for that to continue.”
