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Eric Clapton's 1976 racist rant: 'Get the foreigners out'
🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Eric Clapton's 1976 racist rant: 'Get the foreigners out'

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • In 1976, musician Eric Clapton expressed racist views, urging immigrants to leave Britain and support conservative politician Enoch Powell.
  • Clapton's remarks, made during a concert in Birmingham, echoed Powell's anti-immigrant sentiments and called for a "white Britain."
  • He later attributed his statements to alcohol and drug abuse, but the incident sparked significant controversy given his career's roots in Black music.

In August 1976, rock icon Eric Clapton delivered a vitriolic, racist tirade during a concert in Birmingham, England. He urged foreign-born audience members to leave the venue and the country, aligning himself with the controversial anti-immigrant rhetoric of conservative politician Enoch Powell.

"If you're foreign, get out of my room, get out of our country," Clapton reportedly shouted to the crowd. "I think Enoch is right. I think we should send all the foreigners back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the blacks out. Keep Britain white."

If you're foreign, get out of my room, get out of our country. I think Enoch is right. I think we should send all the foreigners back. Stop Britain from becoming a black colony. Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the blacks out. Keep Britain white.

— Eric ClaptonClapton's inflammatory remarks during a 1976 concert in Birmingham, echoing Enoch Powell's anti-immigrant stance.

Clapton's outburst came years after Enoch Powell's infamous 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech, which warned of societal collapse due to immigration. Powell's views, though officially condemned by his party, resonated with a segment of the British public. Clapton's embrace of these sentiments was particularly jarring, given his musical career was built upon the foundations of Black American blues and R&B.

Years later, Clapton would blame alcohol and drug abuse for his behavior, stating, "I was having a lot of problems with drugs and alcohol." However, the incident remains a dark stain on his legacy, highlighting a period of intense racial tension in Britain and the complex, often contradictory, relationship between artists and societal issues.

Before I used to do drugs, now I do racism. It's much stronger.

— Eric ClaptonClapton's statement during his 1976 concert, comparing his racism to his past drug use.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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