Ensnared in a love triangle with Eric Clapton and The Beatles’ George Harrison, Pattie Boyd was the inspiration behind of some of rock’s greatest love songs.
She was also a photographer. A model. A 60s icon.
The ultimate muse. It was in 1964 that Pattie first met George. Fatefully, George first met Eric that year too. Pattie and George were introduced on the set of the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night and though he was at first rejected – Boyd was dating the photographer Eric Swayne – a week later, Pattie was single, and the two went for dinner, marking the start of an epic, fraught, and complex 10-year relationship. That same year, the Yardbirds, with Eric Clapton on lead guitar, supported the Beatles at a Christmas show in London, and Clapton and Harrison became good friends. Naturally, they spent more and more time together. Which meant Pattie spent more time with Eric, too.
ALL THINGS MUST PASS
George and Pattie married in 1966. Three years later, the Beatles released the Harrison-penned masterpiece, ‘Something’, a smooth, swooning, poignant ballad described by Elton John as “one of the best love songs ever, ever, ever written”. ‘Something’ has since been covered by over 150 artists, including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley… and even Eric Clapton! However, despite such public declarations of heartfelt love, the marriage became strained, with Pattie lamenting that her husband “wanted to spread his wings and take advantage of being the handsome, famous, rich guy he was, and see how the girls felt about him”. The year after ‘Something’ was released, Pattie received a mysterious letter explaining how much the sender adored her and asking if she still loved George. It was signed simply, ‘E’. Pattie wrote it off as fan mail – until a late-night phone call from Eric Clapton asking if she’d received his note. “George was recording a lot and not really paying me much attention,” Pattie later recalled, “and so Eric came sneaking in.”
The letters, which continued throughout their 14-year relationship, were auctioned off by Boyd through Christie’s in London in 2024. Among the most touching is a hand-drawn heart on the titular page of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men – Boyd’s favourite book – and signed by Clapton with the note: “My love is yours.”
GOT ME ON MY KNEES
1970 was also the year Eric played Pattie ‘Layla’ for the first time. The soaring, seven-minute epic is famed for its howling vocals, impressive riff, and not-so-subtle lyrics: “Like a fool, I fell in love with you. You turned my whole world upside down… Layla, I’m begging, darling please.” Due to the song’s title – and lyrics – most listeners likely don’t realise that Pattie Boyd was the inspiration behind this iconic song as well.
The story behind that is that while in the South of France with Derek and the Dominos, Eric Clapton was given a 1950 painting by Émile Théodore Frandsen called ‘La Fille au Bouquet’. He adored the depiction of the beautiful blonde woman with an intriguing, red-lipped smile, and christened her Layla after the 7th-century Arabian tale Layla and Majnun – a story of forbidden love. And so, he gifted the painting to Pattie.
“He said he wanted to play something for me, and it was ‘Layla’,” remembers Pattie. “It was so beautiful and magical, there was such a passion and energy in the song.” The same day that ‘Layla’ made its private debut, the pair attended a party hosted by Robert Stigwood (manager of the Bee Gees and Cream), and George Harrison was there. Clapton turned to George and said, “I have to tell you – I’m in love with your wife.” To which George simply asked Pattie, “Are you going home with me, or him?” She picked George, and wouldn’t lay eyes on Clapton for another four years.
She went on to take incredible, evocative images of the Beatles, of herself, and of life in the 60s.
TURN OUT THE LIGHT
In 1974, Pattie left George following his affair with Ringo Starr’s wife, Maureen Starkey Tigrett, which she called “the final straw”. Eric and Pattie rekindled their romance leading to the penning of another classic ballad, ‘Wonderful Tonight’. The lyrics, which famously detail private domestic moments perfectly encapsulate Clapton’s yearning – he’d waited a decade for her to escape her unhappy marriage and finally, they were together. The song opens with Clapton quietly watching Pattie get ready for a night out, leading her to ask, “Do I look alright?” And I say, ‘Yes, you look wonderful tonight.” Respect, appreciation, and love shine.
Four years after their reunion, Eric invited Pattie to join him on tour for his album Slowhand. It turned out to be a difficult time, riddled with alcoholism. Taking a break, Pattie moved in with Four years after their reunion, Eric invited Pattie to join him on tour for his album Slowhand. It turned out to be a difficult time, riddled with alcoholism. Taking a break, Pattie moved in with friends and family in America, only to receive a call from Eric… asking her to marry him.
They married in 1979, and George attended, alongside Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney – the three even played together onstage creating an almost-complete Beatles reunion (the rumour was that John Lennon was accidentally left off the guest list, though it was widely thought he wouldn’t have attended anyway). George approved of Pattie and Eric’s relationship to the point of even calling himself “the husband-in-law”!
It would be Pattie’s second 10-year relationship with a famous musician, and it would unfortunately end much the same way as the first. Eric Clapton went on to cheat with Italian actress Lory Del Santo, compelling Pattie to walk away in 1987. She had been in the limelight, on a man’s arm, for more than 20 years, and was, in her own words, sick of being “Mrs Famous”.
MORE THAN A MUSE
Pattie Boyd is primarily known for her marriages and the fabled music that she inspired. As we rush to define her in relation to the men who were in her life nearly 40 years ago, it is too often glossed over that she was an artist in her own right? A model initially, she became increasingly interested in what went on behind the scenes and so bought herself camera and would ask the photographers for tips in between shoots. She went on to take incredible, evocative images of the Beatles, of herself, and of life in the 60s.
The idea of the muse is an ancient and romantic one – but is it ethical? To take and take, to create in this way, inspired by the essence of someone else? Does the muse get to have a say? Pattie certainly doesn’t get why she’s labelled a muse – as she asks: “What have I done to inspire George Harrison?”
Words — Lucy Kennedy
@lucykennedyreviews
