On Monday night, Eric Clapton appeared at the first of his three-night run at London’s Royal Albert Hall with some surprising additions to his set list. Along with a cover of the late Doris Day’s, “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” and a rare, electric version of his own signature song, “Layla”, Clapton chose to close the set  with a cover of Prince’s classic 1984 hit single, “Purple Rain”. 

There are few out there qualified to tackle the virtuoso guitar skills of the late musician, but with three Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions under his belt, Eric Clapton is certainly qualified. Watch below as he leads the packed hall on a sentimental seven-minutes, including a smoking solo that elicits a fitting standing ovation from the crowd.

As Rolling Stone reports, It wasn't only the first time Eric Clapton had performed “Purple Rain”, it was the first time he had performed a Prince song of any sort. Clapton didn’t say why he had decided to close the show with the iconic number but was perhaps marking the anniversary of the artist’s passing with his own tribute. Shortly after Prince died in April 2016, Clapton wrote a moving memorial to him on Facebook: “I’m so sad about the death of Prince,” he wrote. “He was a true genius, and a huge inspiration for me, in a very real way... In the eighties, I was out on the road in a massive downward spiral with drink and drugs, I saw Purple Rain in a cinema in Canada, I had no idea who he was, it was like a bolt of lightning! In the middle of my depression, and the dreadful state of the music culture at that time it gave me hope, he was like a light in the darkness.”

For a whole lot more smooth blues from one of the all-time masters, check out the This Is Eric Clapton playlist on Spotify:

LIsten to the Eric Clapton Essentials on Apple Music: