egendary rock trio Cream, which reunited last year for a handful of concerts in London and New York after a bitter breakup in 1968, has scheduled more shows, according to vocalist/bassist Jack Bruce.
But don’t expect a world tour. Rather, Bruce says he, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker will set up camp in select cities for multiple dates, just as they did last year.
“What we feel is that it’s so special, and also so emotionally draining that it’s not something we could do every day,” he says. “We will play more, but where and when I’m not at liberty to say.” He declined to say when an official announcement might be made, joking that he would “get chopped” if he said anything.
Bruce is in Los Angeles to accept a lifetime achievement award for Cream at tonight’s (Feb. 8) Grammy Awards. He will be the group’s sole representative, saying Clapton had other commitments, while it was impractical for Baker to leave his farm in South Africa.
Prior to last year, Cream hadn’t played live since its 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the spring, the group grossed $3.6 million from four sell-outs at London’s Royal Albert Hall. An Oct. 24-26 run at New York’s Madison Square Garden grossed more than $10.6 million and drew 56,151 people, according to venue officials.
Bruce says he is less explosive in his old age, and the band know better how to handle problems, but there remains an underlying, brotherly tension with Baker. On the other hand, he describes Clapton as “the most beautiful, kindest, most understanding guy that I’ve come across.”
Source billboard.com.
