Introduction
Once Derek and the Dominos broke up in May 1971, Clapton's drug dependence worsened, the subsequent death of Duane Allman in a motor cycle accident in October 1971, coming not long after the death of Jimi Hendrix, one of Eric's best friends, in September 1970, all induced a deep depression in Clapton and kept him virtually a prisioner in his home for the rest of 1971.
Eric came out of self-imposed exile to play at George Harrison's charity concert in aid of the people of Bangladesh, on August 1. He nearly didn't appear at the Bangladesh concert. He was sick, too sick to attend the rehearsals at Nola Studios on W. 57th street, and Jesse Ed Davis was brought in to play second lead to Harrison. He didn't even make the final run through at Madison Square Garden the night before the concert, the final crisis came when Eric shot up some junk that had been cut with talc and collapsed. But, finally he managed to turn up in time for the first show.
He played better than he should have under these circumstances. He used a Stratocaster in the afternoon show and a Gibson Byrdland in the evening show.
On December 4, Clapton joined Leon Russell in a 10-minute jam. His arrival at Leon Russell's concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London was even more unexpected. He just walked on after the first number and played away.
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The Concert For Bangla Desh |
 | Sun | 01-Aug-1971 | Madison Square Garden | New York City, New York (United States) |
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Guest appearance with Leon Russell |
| Sat | 04-Dec-1971 | Rainbow Theatre | London (England) |
