take my wife-please?

[dw]

Didn't Eric Clapton and George Harrison remain fast friends thru the years-even the Eric coveted George's first wife? Any insight as to how such a friendship would have endured?

[andy hughes]

The love triangle of George Harrison, Patti Boyd and Eric Clapton is one of the most famous in rock music. George met Patti during the filming of 'Hard Day's Night' when she was cast as an extra. An intense affair led to marriage in 1966, and Patti was the inspiration behind Harrison's song 'Something'. George's close friend and fellow musician Eric Clapton also fell in love with Patti, and tried to pursuade her to leave George, she refused. Clapton's song 'Layla' chronicles the passion and despair over his unrequited love. Clapton also attributes his heroin addiction to his inability to live without her love. Eventually, Patti did leave Harrison for Clapton, although their relationship did not last, he wrote 'Wonderful Tonight' about her. Throughout the trauma, Harrison and Clapton did remain close friends, which is attributed in the main to George's religious conviction which preached forgiveness and love over everything - an edict which George appears to have put into practice. George accepted that Patti no longer loved him, and she did love Eric Clapton, and he saw no reason why those two facts should prevent his wife being happy with someone else, or for his close relationship with Clapton to suffer for it.