Pattie Boyd Said George Harrison and Eric Clapton Were ‘Immature Emotionally’
In the 1970s, Pattie Boyd lived the unique experience of having two rock stars, George Harrison and Eric Clapton, fight over her. She married Harrison in 1966 and soon, Clapton began expressing interest in her. According to her, the two men were emotionally immature. They dealt with the complicated situation in the only way they knew: by having a guitar battle.
Pattie Boyd said George Harrison and Eric Clapton were immature
By the time The Beatles broke up, Boyd and Harrison’s relationship had reached a rough patch. He treated her coldly and was far more interested in his spiritual development than in their marriage.
“My diary is full of entries about my unhappiness and the disintegration of our relationship,” she wrote in her book Wonderful Tonight. “On July 24 it simply says, ‘Silence reigns and my cheeks get wet.’ I felt so helpless.”
Around this time, Clapton, who was a close friend of Harrison’s, began expressing interest in Boyd. He expressed his love for her, and wrote songs for her. Boyd said Harrison didn’t seem all too bothered by Clapton’s interest. Still, his frustrations occasionally came out. He only showed it when he and Clapton played guitar together.
“Musicians communicate through their instrument of choice and they understand each other through music – so any annoyance, anger and irritation from George only really came out when he was playing guitar with Eric,” Boyd told the Sunday Times (via Guitar.com).
While she said there was no clear winner, both men were giving it their all. She believed they had to have a guitar battle because they were “boy-men: immature emotionally.” They were not able to discuss it maturely.
The couple divorced in 1977
Throughout the 1970s, Boyd became increasingly concerned about Harrison’s fidelity. She noted that he was very close with Ringo Starr’s wife, Maureen Starkey. As it turned out, she was right to be worried. She returned home one day to discover that Harrison and Starkey had locked themselves in a room together.
“Ringo didn’t have a clue what was going on until I rang him one day and said, ‘Have you ever thought about why your wife doesn’t come home at night? It’s because she’s here!’” she wrote. “And he flew into a rage.”
Harrison denied the affair until one tense night at Starr’s house when Harrison admitted to being in love with Starkey. This was the final straw for both couples’ marriages.
Pattie Boyd, George Harrison, and Eric Clapton were able to remain friends
While Boyd and Harrison weren’t officially divorced until 1977, she began a relationship with Clapton before this. Surprisingly, after all the drama, Harrison, Clapton, and Boyd were still able to get along. Harrison even joined Boyd and Clapton for Christmas one year.
“That Christmas we had turkey, and as we were sitting down to it at Hurtwood Edge, George burst in, uninvited,” she wrote. “He was horrified to see me eating meat and berated me — but then we laughed and he had some Christmas pudding with us, and some wine, and it wasn’t awkward at all. I couldn’t believe how friendly he and Eric were toward each other.”
Boyd said she and Harrison remained friendly with one another over the years.
