Eric Clapton has revealed that he has suffered health problems in recent years and said that he's 'going deaf' in a new interview with BBC Radio 2.
The iconic guitarist, who turns 73 in March, was promoting the new documentary about his life - 'Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars' - when he made the comments.
"The only thing I’m concerned with now is being in my seventies and being able to be proficient," he said, after confirming that he intends to continue gigging. "I mean, I’m going deaf, I’ve got tinnitus, my hands just about work. I’m hoping that people will come along and see me just because, or maybe more than because I’m a curiosity. I know that is part of it, because it’s amazing to myself I’m still here.
He added: "I have to get on the bottom of the ladder every time I play guitar, just to tune it. Then I have to go through the whole threshold of getting calluses back, coordination.”
Clapton headlines London's Hyde Park this summer, but his last Irish gig was in 2013.