Eric Clapton ended a concert in Madrid early after being struck by a vinyl record thrown from the audience, causing him to skip the planned encore. The 81-year-old guitarist had just performed “Cocaine” at the Movistar Arena when the object was launched from the crowd and hit him in the chest, according to a video shared on social media. The footage showed him recoil briefly before walking off stage.
Clapton did not appear to be injured and went on to perform in Barcelona on Sunday. A fan said on X that a vinyl record had been thrown at him. He did not return for his usual encore of “Before You Accuse Me,” which had closed previous performances on the European leg of his 2026 tour. The Madrid show marked his first appearance in the Spanish capital in 25 years.
Fans on social media criticised the audience member responsible and expressed frustration at the abrupt ending. One wrote: “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 said: “Got cheated of an encore after idiotic fan threw a cardboard LP sleeve onto stage that struck Clapton.”
Clapton’s European tour continues with dates in Mannheim on 13 May, Cologne on 15 May and Munich on 17 May. He will then return to the UK for a one-off show at Sandringham Estate in August before beginning a US tour in September, which will conclude in Austin, Texas, at the Crossroads Guitar Festival – an event he founded in 1999 to support his addiction treatment centre in Antigua.
The incident follows a series of cases in recent years where performers have been struck by objects thrown from crowds. Bebe Rexha was hit in the face by a mobile phone in 2023, Harry Styles was struck by a thrown object in Vienna, and Pink had a bag of ashes thrown on stage. Ava Max was slapped by an alleged stage invader, and Kelsea Ballerini was hit by a friendship bracelet.
