“Layla” Was An Alias For Pattie Boyd. She Was The Wife Of George Harrison, One Of Clapton’s Best Friends.

“Layla” was an alias for Pattie Boyd, the (then) wife of George Harrison. She was a British model of singular looks who had also captivated John Lennon and Mick Jagger. Clapton would eventually succeed in stealing her from Harrison. And it is very interesting to note that the friendship between the two men ran so deep that when Clapton and Boyd married in 1979, Harrison was among the attendees…

The whole “Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs” was actually built upon a distortion of reality. Clapton created a fantasy in which he was “Derek” and his backing band became “The Dominos”. Besides, Blind Faith had left a sour taste in his mouth and he wanted to keep a lower profile for a while.