Look To The Stars News: Crossroads Centre

Eric Clapton's Guitars Raise Millions For Charity

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Eric Clapton has raised more than US$2.15 million for the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre he founded by auctioning off his guitars in New York.

Collectors, fans and musicians alike gathered at Bonhams New York to celebrate the rock icon, whose personal collection of 75 guitars and 55 amps were auctioned off to benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua. With 100% of the lots sold, the final auction total more than tripled pre-sale expectations, with proceeds going to the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre founded by Clapton in 1998.

Ringo Starr And Eric Clapton To Headline Charity Gig

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton will headline a massive charity event in London in May, supported by some of their celebrity friends.

Hosted by Rory Bremner with Jonny Gould and Jeffrey Archer, Bunbury’s Big 25th Birthday Ball will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Bunbury Celebrity Cricket Team and will benefit the AF Foundation – established by English cricketer Andrew Flintoff to raise funds to build, develop and improve child rehabilitation and physiotherapy units throughout the UK – as well as Clapton’s Crossroads Centre for alcohol and drug dependency and the English School’s Cricket Association.

Guests will include some of the 60 Bunbury England U15 old boys who went on to become England stars of today plus the victorious Ashes Squad of 2010/11. Established by Sir David English, the Bunbury Celebrity Cricket club has raised over £12 million for charity in the last 25 years.

Eric Clapton Plays Rescheduled Charity Concerts

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:00:00 +0000

It was better late than never for Eric Clapton recently when he played two charity concerts in Britain after the pre-Christmas snow caused the original dates to be postponed.

The legendary guitarist headlined two nights at the Cranleigh Arts Centre earlier this month as part of a star-studded lineup that included soul-singer PP Arnold and former Manfred Mann frontman and show organizer Paul Jones.

Money from the shows went to Clapton’s Crossroads Centre – which he opened in 1998 on the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua to help those who suffer from chemical abuse – as well as the National Deaf Children’s Society, the Evelina Children’s Heart Organisation and the Cranleigh Arts Centre.

Eric Clapton To Auction Guitars For Charity

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Eric Clapton will sell a selection of his guitars and amplifiers for charity next year.

Over 70 instruments will go under the hammer, including the guitar he played at the Cream reunion concerts in 2005 and amps from his days with Derek and The Dominos. Guitars from Jeff Beck, JJ Cale and others will also be put up for auction.

“I am very happy that Bonhams have agreed to host my third guitar auction in aid of The Crossroads Centre, Antigua, the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre I founded in 1998,” said Clapton.

Eric Clapton And Friends Play For Charity

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Eric Clapton held his third Crossroads Guitar Festival just outside Chicago in the weekend, to raise money for the anti-addiction centre he opened in 1998.

The concert was a treat for lovers of the blues, with performers including BB King, Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck appearing, along with John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, ZZ Top, Vince Gill, Steve Winwood and many others. Bill Murray also made an appearance.

The festival benefited Clapton’s Crossroads Centre, a facility he launched on the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua following his own battles with addiction.

Eric Clapton To Hold Annual Charity Cricket Match

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Guitar legend Eric Clapton will lead a group of celebrities and professional sports people in a charity cricket game this weekend.

The annual cricket match will take place on Sunday, July 12, at a school in Surrey, England. The guitarist will be joined by former Rolling Stones member Bill Wyman and cricket stars Wasim Akram and Ryan Sidebottom. Proceeds from the game will go to the Crossroads Centre, a facility set up by Clapton on the island of Antigua to help people and their families whose lives are controlled by alcohol, drugs or other compulsive behaviors make the changes necessary to find new health, a new sense of well- being and a new life of recovery. Additional proceeds will go to the English Schools Cricket Association.

The event will also include net sessions with the players, autograph and photograph opportunities, and an auction that features a guitar signed by Clapton and the opportunity to play in the match.

Eric Clapton - Standing At The Crossroads Of Addiction

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:00:16 +0000

Although regarded by many as one of the best rock and blues guitarists to ever live, Eric Clapton is a man who has suffered for his art. But the succession of addictions and the tragic personal dramas have not stopped the legend from becoming one of the most successful performers in the world today, and have fueled his desire to help those who face the same problems in their daily struggle to survive.

Clapton was born in 1945, in Surrey, England. He was raised by his grandmother and grew up believing his mother was actually his older sister – she was only 16 when he was born. He eventually found out the truth when he was 9 years old, and he took it hard. He became shy and lonely, and took solace in the only thing he could find stability in – blues music.

A proficiency with the guitar led the young teenager to join a band called The Yardbirds in 1963, and the group started to attract a large cult following when they took over the Rolling Stones’ residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. Clapton played on The Yardbirds first hit record, “For Your Love”, before leaving the band in 1965 due to their pop-orientated musical direction.

Bono's Fishy T-Shirt Benefits African Farmers

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:41:00 +0000

Bono has designed a new T-shirt for charity, joining a host of other celebrities in an on-going and major charity campaign.

The 47-year-old singer from U2 is the 25th artist to design a shirt for Hard Rock Café’s Signature Series clothing line, an initiative started in 1990 as a way for musicians to raise money for charities of their choice. Sales from the shirts have raised over $6 million for a variety of causes.

Bono’s creation, available for $26 from the Hard Rock website, features his stylized drawing of a fish soaring past the moon, and is adorned with the words “Fish Can Fly”, as well as his signature. 15% of the proceeds will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Conservation Cotton initiative – a scheme designed to lift African farmers out of poverty by providing education on proper land management, organic cotton growing techniques, and wildlife conservation. The shirts will also support the trade for aid ethos of EDUN, the conscious consumerism fashion label founded by Bono and his wife in 2005, by being made from 100% African cotton and manufactured by African garment workers.

Clapton Hits the Right Notes for Treatment Center

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:06:15 +0000

Twenty of the world’s greatest guitarists and musicians are teaming up for the Crossroads Guitar Festival, a charity concert taking place in Chicago on July 28th.

The event has been organized by bluesman Eric Clapton to raise money for the Crossroads Centre, a treatment facility set up by Clapton for those who suffer from alcohol and drug abuse. Popular musicians such as Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, and Willie Nelson will join Clapton on stage for the day long concert, to be held at Toyota Park.

Clapton’s vision is to create an event where his friends and contemporaries can “have fun and jam together for the benefit of a good cause.” It is the second time he has organized a Crossroads Guitar Festival. The first was held in Dallas in 2004.