RICHARD CLAPTON

RICHARD CLAPTON

Richard Clapton, the Australian rock singer/songwriter/guitarist and overall legend, is performing at the equally iconic State Theatre to celebrate his 40th Anniversary in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Fans will hear all of Clapton’s greatest hits from the last four decades including fan favourites, I Am An Island, The Best Years of Our Lives, Capricorn Dancer, Girls on the Avenue, and Down in the Lucky Country.

The State Theatre became Clapton’s favourite venue when he first held a concert there to celebrate an impressive 35 years in the industry during 2008. The event was sold out in days and also featured a line-up of other Australian musicians including Jon Farriss from INXS. The performance was also recorded for the Live at the State Theatre album released that October.

At the age of 18, Clapton was a talented graphic designer working in London, an epiphany came when he realised that music was his calling and he never looked back. Once Clapton realised a huge passion and ability for performing and producing music, he joined bands in London and also Berlin during the sixties. He explains that this is when early inspiration came from the likes of Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.

Clapton returned to Australia in 1973 and released his first album Prussian Blue. Commerical success soon followed when Girls On The Avenue was released as a single and it reached number two in the national charts. With thirteen studio albums spanning four decades, including 1977’s iconic album Goodbye Tiger, 1982’s The Great Escape and most recently 2012’s Harlequin Nights, Richard Clapton has earned his status as one of Australia’s most admired musicians, collecting a diverse fan base in the process.

Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane described Clapton as “one of the most important Australian songwriters of the 1970s” and in 1999 he was added to the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Clapton is now based in Sydney and classes the best moments of his career as performing at The State Theatre where the highlight is when “the band kicks into gear and we get into ‘the zone’. On a good night the audience comes along for the ride!” (LK)

Nov 2, State Theatre, 49 Market St, Sydney, $89, 9373 6655, statetheatre.com.au

BY LYNDSAY KENWRIGHT

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