June 1st Wildey Theatre Edwardsville Presents: The Music Of Cream

“During rehearsals, Eric turned to me and said, ‘I’m pleased that you guys will continue to fly the flag.’ Naturally, I was thrilled.”

Baker adds that the show with Eric was really “the best send-off my dad could have wished for. It was great to be involved. Eric is such a good guy. After playing with him, it makes so much sense to be heading out to continue not only Dad’s legacy, but to celebrate Eric’s music too.

I managed to spend time with my dad a few days before he passed away back in October 2019, just ahead of our first U.K. Tour. He was also really pleased to hear we were out celebrating the music he loved so much”, adds Kofi.

Disraeli Gears defined the era in which it was written. The album, featuring the singles Sunshine of Your Love and Strange Brew reached #5 on the UK Albums Chart and ultimately became a platinum-seller in the U.S. where it reached #4 on the Billboard Chart.

The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and Rolling Stone magazine included Disraeli Gears in their list of the Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

In addition to critical acclaim over the decades, the original band members themselves praised their work on Disraeli Gears.

“You can’t escape the fact we were having such fun playing with each other” said Ginger Baker. Jack Bruce added that, “This was a whole new beginning for the band, and I loved that time very much.” Eric Clapton concluded that, “We had found ourselves...it was a pivotal point in the history of popular music.”

“To follow our 50th Anniversary Tour, it was a no-brainer to go out and play Disraeli Gears” says Baker. “There are songs on that album that are quite different; they wanted to challenge everything back then! From a personal point of view, it gives me the opportunity to perform another song I like that my dad wrote, called ‘Blue Condition.’ I always loved the artwork for the album; my sister and I used to laugh because you could see up my dad’s nose!”

Why Disraeli Gears? “That’s easy”, says Johns. “It was the birth of the wah-wah pedal, and you gotta love the wah-wah! Like my uncle, I am a blues man through and through and on this record, there are some fantastic interpretations of this genre, the likes of Lawdy Mama and Outside Woman Blues, so for me, it doesn’t get better than that!”

During its heartbreakingly short lifespan, Cream was an explosive musical cocktail that provided the super-group blueprint for others to follow. Their third album, Wheels of Fire (1968), was the world’s first platinum-selling double album, and collectively Cream sold more than 15 million copies of their albums worldwide.

Not surprisingly, Rolling Stone ranked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group (inducted in 1993) as 67th in their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.

The upcoming Music of Cream shows continue a unique celebration of the legendary music and legacy their family members created and have continued to create, for over half a century. With photographs and footage never seen before, personal stories and anecdotes to be shared, this is an evening that any fan of Cream and Eric Clapton should not miss!