Eric Clapton ended a concert in Madrid prematurely after being struck by a vinyl record thrown from the audience, causing him to omit the planned encore performance.
Incident at Movistar Arena
The 81-year-old guitarist had just finished performing "Cocaine" at the Movistar Arena in the Spanish capital last week when the object was launched from the crowd and hit him in the chest, as shown in a video shared on social media. The footage captured Clapton briefly recoiling after the impact before walking off stage.
Clapton did not appear to be injured and later performed in Barcelona on Sunday. A fan on X stated that the object thrown was a vinyl record.
Concert Cut Short
After being struck, Clapton did not return for his usual encore of "Before You Accuse Me," marking his first appearance in the Spanish capital in 25 years. According to Guitar World, that song had closed previous performances on the European leg of his 2026 tour.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Clapton for comment.
Fan Reactions
Fans on social media criticized the audience member who threw the object and expressed disappointment over the concert ending without an encore.
One fan wrote on X: "Waiting more than 20 years for Eric Clapton to come and for some overexcited fan to cut the concert short ahead of time by throwing a vinyl record at him that nearly hit him square in the face. He walked off and never came back." Another added: "Closed out a wonderful trip to Portugal & Spain with an Eric Clapton concert in Madrid. Got cheated of an encore after idiotic fan threw a cardboard LP sleeve onto stage that struck Clapton."
Tour Continues
Clapton's European tour is scheduled to conclude with performances in Mannheim on 13 May, Cologne on 15 May, and Munich on 17 May. The guitarist will then return to the UK for a one-off show at Sandringham Estate in August before beginning a US tour in September. The North American leg will end in Austin, Texas, at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, which Clapton founded in 1999 to support Crossroads Centre, his addiction treatment facility in Antigua.
Rising Trend of Object-Throwing Incidents
This incident follows a string of cases in recent years where performers have been struck by objects thrown from crowds. In June 2023, Bebe Rexha was hit in the face by a mobile phone while performing at Pier 17 in New York City, resulting in a black eye and three stitches. In 2024, she ejected a concertgoer who allegedly tried to throw an object at her on stage in Norway. The following month, Harry Styles was hit in the face by a thrown object during a live performance in Vienna. Pop-rock singer Pink was shocked when a fan threw what she claimed was a bag of her mother's ashes onto the stage. A few days later, singer Ava Max said an alleged stage invader "slapped her so hard" during a show in Los Angeles that it scratched the inside of her eye. Country-pop singer Kelsea Ballerini was hit in the face by a friendship bracelet thrown by a fan during her concert in Idaho.
