Known as Slowhand to his fans, the nickname comes from the slow handclapping that would happen whenever he stopped playing.  He is the only artist in history to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 3 times – with the Yardbirds in 1992, with Cream in 1993, and finally as a solo artist in 2000.  In 1998 Eric became the first musician ever to have a Fender Stratocaster signature model. Born in England in 1945 Clapton got his first guitar aged 13, but struggled and lost interest.  He picked it up again when he was 15.  He would listen to old Blues records and try to play along.  He joined his first band when he was 17 – The Roosters. A year later he joined The Yardbirds who got a cult following after they took over the residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond from the Rolling Stones. Clapton remains one of the most influential guitarists of all time – coming in at number two on Rolling Stone’s ‘100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time’.  Number 1 went to his close friend Jimi Hendrix.