[Slowhand] Walkin' Blues: Clapton Loses License

[Peter Sherman]

Looks like Melia will have to chauffeur EC around the french
countryside. 



Walkin' Blues: Clapton Loses License

1 hour, 34 minutes ago 

By Josh Grossberg 

Turns out Slow Hand has a lead foot. 
  

Eric Clapton (news) has been banned from driving in France after police
busted the rocker for whizzing down a highway at 134 mph. 


Clapton, 59, was behind the wheel of his Porsche 911 Turbo, cruising 53
mph over the speed limit, when he was pulled over by cops near the town
of Merceuil, not far from the city of Dijon, the mustard-monikered city
about 190 miles east of Paris. 


Britain's most famous blues traveler was subsequently slapped with a
$922 fine and his U.K. license was suspended, preventing him from
getting behind the wheel in France. 


The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer didn't seem too put out about losing his
French driving priveleges. He paid the fine and posed for pictures with
officers. 


Clapton was then consigned to the passenger seat of his Porsche and
chauffeured away by his secretary. 


The "Crossroads" crooner won't need a ride back to the French
countryside for a court date--he's not required to appear at a traffic
hearing where authorities will decide how long he will be prohibited
from driving there. According to local police, Clapton will likely have
to go through diplomatic channels to get his license reinstated. 


He can still get behind the wheel back home in England. 


The 16-time Grammy winner has been pretty busy for a guy mulling
retirement. 


Aside from touring America over the summer in support of his latest
release, Me & Mr. Johnson, Clapton turned up in Los Angeles in August to
imprint his hands and signature on Sunset Boulevard's famed Rockwalk,
honoring music industry icons. And last year, he was awarded a Commander
of the Order of the British Empire title by Queen Elizabeth.