Lady From Verona

Album: Further On Up The Crossroads 1964-1990 (1993)
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Songfacts®:

  • The lady from Verona is Lori del Santo, an actress Clapton met in 1985 when he was touring Italy. She's from Verona, in the northern part of the country.

    Clapton fell for her right away, and they had an affair. He was still married to Pattie Boyd, but they were on the outs. When the tour ended, Clapton tried to reconcile with Pattie but abandoned her for del Santo, showing up in Italy and moving in with her. A few weeks later, he had a change of heart and decided to go back to his wife. When he broke the news to del Santo, she told him she was pregnant.

    He left anyway, but Pattie wouldn't take him back. According to Clapton: The Autobiography, he tried suicide by taking a full bottle of Valium, but all it did was give him a good sleep.

    He started drinking again but still managed to make a really good album: August, released late in 1986. Del Santo gave birth to Clapton's son, Conor, on August 21, 1986 - the album title comes from the month he was born. "Lady From Verona" he recorded for the album but decided not to release in a rare moment of compassion for Pattie. It didn't appear until 1993 when it was included on a bootleg called Further On Up The Crossroads 1964-1990.

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