Eric Clapton ended his concert in Madrid on May 7 after a fan hurled an object at him while he was performing on stage, and he did not come back for the encore. The 81-year-old was struck in the chest by a large object toward the end of the show at Movistar Arena, but he did not suffer any injury.

Clapton had just finished playing his 1997 hit "Cocaine" and was taking in the applause when the object was thrown in his direction. He was supposed to return for a cover of Bo Diddley’s "Before You Accuse Me," but the show ended there instead. An anonymous fan allegedly threw a vinyl record toward the stage.

The reaction was immediate on Clapton’s official fan website, which said, "Eric is fine." The site also warned fans not to throw anything at the stage, saying, "We are fans ourselves and we understand everyone is excited to be at the show, but please do not throw anything at the stage. You can seriously injure someone in the band, the crew, venue staff, or even another concertgoer."

The Madrid incident mattered because it cut short a major live performance by one of rock’s most recognizable guitarists and briefly raised the question of whether the rest of his tour would be affected. It was not. Three nights later, Clapton’s tour continued in Barcelona without incident.

Pablo Rodríguez, reacting on social media, called the episode "Very sad indeed. What kind of idiot does that? /0bNZ3wYFU7" The moment was ugly, but the facts that followed were straightforward: Clapton was not hurt, he did not return for the encore, and the next stop on the tour went ahead normally.