Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page at the ARMS benefit at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, December 1983

In December 1983, I went to an Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis benefit concert at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The shows on the tour organized by Ronnie Lane, who had MS, featured Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker (with Clapton and his band), Jeff Beck (with Jan Hammer), and Jimmy Page (with Paul Rodgers). It was the first time Clapton, Beck, and Page, three former Yardbirds lead guitarists, performed together. At the end of the break after Cocker's set with Clapton, the auditorium went dark, a synthesizer groove started, and the lights burst on as Beck, who died on Tuesday at 78, began his fusion set with "Star Cycle". (Andrew Shields, #111words, 12 January 2023)