These photographs are from the Action for Research for Multiple Sclerosis concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, south of San Francisco, in December of 1983. This was an exceptional all-star gathering of friends of Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces who gathered together for a concert in London and then extended the dates to America to raise money for the disease. It was the first time the three former lead guitarists of the Yardbirds performed together on the same stage: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Joining them were Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company, the late Joe Cocker, a rhythm section that included Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones, and a cast of supporting British musical heavyweights. My friend Dana Jang got us great seats as well as backstage passes, and I found myself chatting with Eric Clapton while we watched Joe Cocker and Bill Wyman playing a competitive game of ping-pong. I didn't recognize Clapton at first as he was clean shaven, looking nothing like the guy I had seen so many times in the past. He wasn't wearing the blue shark-skin suit seen in the photographs either.I can't remember if the music was stellar or not. Just seeing all these great musicians in the same place was good enough.
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