Candid Photographs of Eric Clapton and Then-Girlfriend Charlotte Martin in the Late 1960s

Eric Clapton and Charlotte Martin were in a relationship from 1965 to 1968. They were together for a period of time before she began a relationship with George Harrison, who was then married to Pattie Boyd, who would eventually marry Clapton.

Martin was working in London as a model when she first met Clapton at the Speakeasy club. It was during evening discussions for the formation of the band eventually known as Cream. Clapton later recalled in Clapton: The Autobiography:

“At the Speakeasy Club, I had first met one of the great loves of my life, a very beautiful French model, Charlotte Martin. I was smitten with her from the very first moment I set eyes on her. She was very beautiful in an austere way, classically French, with long legs and an incredible figure, but it was her eyes that got on me. They were slightly Asian with a downward slant, and a little bit sad. We started dating right away and soon moved in together into a flat in Regents Park. Charlotte was an incredible girl, more interested in films, art and literature than in modeling, and we had a great time together.”

On November 8, 1966, Clapton recited passages of “La Marseillaise” as a tribute to Martin, during a performance of Cream’s “I’m So Glad” on BBC Radio 1’s Saturday Club. In April 1967, while Martin was with members of Cream at a table in the Speakeasy, Clapton was introduced to Australian visual designer Martin Sharp by Martin, after a chance encounter there. Sharp began writing lyrics on a paper serviette and gave them to Clapton with his studio address at Chelsea, known as the Pheasantry. The lyrics became the song “The Tales of Brave Ulysses,” and subsequently Sharp was hired to design the cover of Cream’s second album Disraeli Gears. Clapton moved into the creative space of the Pheasantry with Martin, in June 1967, and later “Anyone for Tennis?” co-written with Sharp, was reputedly dedicated to Martin. On June 25, 1967, Martin participated in the satellite broadcast Our World, in the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” segment.

After her split with Clapton, Martin stayed briefly with friends Pattie Boyd and George Harrison at their Kinfauns bungalow in January 1969, before returning to Paris to continue modeling work. She became the long-term partner of Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. They had a daughter, Scarlet Page, in 1971.