Fact #100468
When:
Short story:
Eric Clapton reveals in Melody Maker that he is considering the formation of a group with Steve Winwood. The group will turn out to be Blind Faith.Full article:
"We weren't putting a supergroup together," says Steve Winwood. "That was the furthest thing from our minds. We just wanted to be a bunch of guys who would enjoy playing together."
The supergroup they weren't trying to put together turned out to be Blind Faith, and just about the only thing they never did was enjoy playing together. In the middle of 1968, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood were unhappy men, trapped in successful groups, Cream and Traffic respectively, which they no longer enjoyed.
"In Cream, there was a constant battle between Ginger and Jack," Clapton revealed later. "They loved each other's playing but they couldn't stand the sight of each other. I was the mediator, and I was getting tired of that." Clapton felt, however, that Cream could be rescued if he brought in his old mate Steve Winwood on keyboards. "I'd heard the tapes of Music From Big Pink by The Band and I thought, well, this is what I want to play, not extended solos and maestro bullshit, but just good funky songs."
Winwood, he believed, could strengthen the element of song composition in Cream, and shift the focus onto vocals rather than guitar heroics.
Winwood, simultaneously, was experiencing conflicts in Traffic, particularly with Dave Mason, and found his thoughts turning to the many occasions on which he had jammed with Clapton and enjoyed every minute. "I saw no reason why I shouldn't leave Traffic and move on to another band," he recalls. "It just seemed to me a normal thing to do."
So, when Clapton took the initiative and asked Winwood, he was ready to jump.
"I've no memory of being approached to join Cream," points out Winwood, "but when I left Traffic, I knew I was going to work with Eric. We'd talked about it for ages."
The pair began rehearsing at Winwood's cottage in Aston Tirrold, Berkshire, during February and it wasn't long before former Cream drummer Ginger Baker arrived in the fold. "I had to convince Eric to let Ginger join," points out Winwood. "We'd played together before and he was someone I really respected as a drummer and enjoyed working with
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The supergroup they weren't trying to put together turned out to be Blind Faith, and just about the only thing they never did was enjoy playing together. In the middle of 1968, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood were unhappy men, trapped in successful groups, Cream and Traffic respectively, which they no longer enjoyed.
"In Cream, there was a constant battle between Ginger and Jack," Clapton revealed later. "They loved each other's playing but they couldn't stand the sight of each other. I was the mediator, and I was getting tired of that." Clapton felt, however, that Cream could be rescued if he brought in his old mate Steve Winwood on keyboards. "I'd heard the tapes of Music From Big Pink by The Band and I thought, well, this is what I want to play, not extended solos and maestro bullshit, but just good funky songs."
Winwood, he believed, could strengthen the element of song composition in Cream, and shift the focus onto vocals rather than guitar heroics.
Winwood, simultaneously, was experiencing conflicts in Traffic, particularly with Dave Mason, and found his thoughts turning to the many occasions on which he had jammed with Clapton and enjoyed every minute. "I saw no reason why I shouldn't leave Traffic and move on to another band," he recalls. "It just seemed to me a normal thing to do."
So, when Clapton took the initiative and asked Winwood, he was ready to jump.
"I've no memory of being approached to join Cream," points out Winwood, "but when I left Traffic, I knew I was going to work with Eric. We'd talked about it for ages."
The pair began rehearsing at Winwood's cottage in Aston Tirrold, Berkshire, during February and it wasn't long before former Cream drummer Ginger Baker arrived in the fold. "I had to convince Eric to let Ginger join," points out Winwood. "We'd played together before and he was someone I really respected as a drummer and enjoyed working with