Graham Coxon

Won Best Solo Artist at the 2005 NME Awards, beating the likes of Eminem and Morrissey.

People moan that he's past it, and he's gone soft, just doing those Albert Hall shows in his fancy suits, but you have to look at the legacy of Clapton and the influence he's had on so many players. There are hundreds, probably thousands of musicians out there who wouldn't have picked up a guitar without Eric Clapton's influence, and you can't take that away from him. If you doubt it, just listen to the stuff he plays on Goodbye Cream when he and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker were just jamming away playing freeform blues jams, all of them soloing away like mad. It was like they were in competition to be heard, and it's just awesome to hear. He just goes somewhere else when he's playing, and that sort of gift is very rare indeed.