Now that 600,000 are dead from COVID, rock stars want to get back on the road and make some money.
The only way they can do that is if fans are vaccinated for shows in arenas and stadiums. But will you pay $200 to a rocker who is adamantly anti-vaccination?
Both Eric Clapton and Van Morrison have been very publicly against the vaccination. Yet now they’ve each announced tour dates for the US. Will you go into a large crowd to see either one of them and risk getting sick? That’s their question.
Clapton has been giving interviews in which he says he was sick for three weeks after his first shot, and recommends people skip it. He recorded a song written by Morrison called “Stand and Deliver” in which he compared the lockdown to slavery.
Clapton, of course, fails to mention his years of heroin addiction and other substance abuse. He’s a gifted rocker but a little short sighted about why didn’t feel well after getting his vaccine.
Morrison has also had his share of problems with alcohol and drug dependency.
But the lockdown — still in place in many parts of the world — was meant to protect people from illness. It certainly is not comparable to slavery. That’s the most ridiculous thing ever said about the coronavirus, and there have been plenty of ridiculous things said.
With Van Morrison, there’s also the prospect of his shows being entirely devoted to his current album, which has about 18 songs in which he whines about one thing or another. He also has a song called “They Own the Media,” which has been interpreted by many as anti-Semitic.
So you decide. Clapton and Morrison are classic rock artists whom we all love, or loved, before they lost their minds during the pandemic. I think it’s pretty ironic that they want thousands of people to crowd venues after insisting no one get the vaccines or observe lockdown regulations. Me? I’m happy to listen to “Moondance” or “Layla” at home until all the variants have been cured or stopped.
PS Unlike Rolling Stone, I will not again show you the video for “Stand and Deliver.” It’s a public health hazard and very irresponsible. Get vaxxed if you haven’t!
