Cream Badge Live 2005 Reunion

Badge" was originally an untitled track. During the production transfer for the album Goodbye, the original music sheet was used to produce the liner notes and track listing. The only discernible word on the page was "bridge" (indicating the song's bridge section). Due to Harrison's handwriting, however, Clapton misread it as "badge" — and the song was titled soon thereafter.

Harrison remembered the story differently: "I helped Eric write 'Badge' you know. Each of them had to come up with a song for that Goodbye Cream album and Eric didn't have his written. We were working across from each other and I was writing the lyrics down and we came to the middle part so I wrote 'Bridge.' Eric read it upside down and cracked up laughing-- 'What's BADGE?' he said. After that, Ringo walked in drunk and gave us that line about the swans living in the park."

A common legend or misconception is that the name came about because its chord progression is B-A-D-G-E (it is not),[3] or simply because an anagram of a guitar's standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E) can be arranged to spell "Badge".

A live performance of the song from Clapton's album 24 Nights features him singing the refrain "where is my badge?", incorporating the title into the song.

The arpeggiated guitar part in the song's bridge is similar to some of Harrison's contemporary Beatles riffs, including "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Carry That Weight". The guitar part also strongly resembles that of Ringo's solo effort "It Don't Come Easy" (written in collaboration with Harrison). Harrison himself, however, has stated that he didn't play the aforementioned riff on "Badge".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Cream
• Badge
• Live
• 2005
• Reunion
• eric
• clapton

[OropherThranduil]

@caper121

Dude, this is a great performance of a great song, and it also shows how boston stole the more than a feeling riff.

[1hobknobs]

I lost a lot of respect for Jack Bruce after he made snide, derogatory and totally unnecessary comments about fellow musicians and his peers in an interview after Classic Rock's awards ceremony.I heard him on Radio 2 recently and he was arrogant; not a very nice person i feel and someone who speaks of his contempories in such a manner is not really worthy of respect as a person. A really horrid thing to do..

[jbs0317]

it seems like eric never hits a "wrong" note...ever. kind of bizarre actually.

[scottgeshen]

a rather sterile sounding performance IMO...

[rondolce]

@OropherThranduil Payback for Clapton playing on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The Beatles (White Album). Harrison also played on Jack Bruce's first solo album "Songs For A Tailor."

[OropherThranduil]

@iamthewalrus374

come on, you know what i mean, they SOUND exactly alike.

[iamthewalrus374]

@OropherThranduil It's not note for note. Some of the chords are the same, but they're clearly different rhythms

[OropherThranduil]

@iamthewalrus374

come on, taking a riff note for note is stealing, unlike nirvana, you don't recognize the boston riff in smells like not the second you hear it.

[iamthewalrus374]

@OropherThranduil I think inspired the more than a feeling riff is more appropriate. Cause let's face it: that's was these guys did. Inspire. Best band ever

[minoleone]

god bless the cream!!!