POP/ROCK - May 2, 1988

Eric Clapton and his wife, Patti Boyd, filed papers in London Friday seeking to end their nine-year marriage. Their names appeared in a list of undefended Special Procedure petitions to be heard next month in the London Divorce Court. According to Press Assn., the British domestic news agency, Boyd is seeking a divorce on grounds of her husband’s adultery with Italian television personality Lory Del Santo, who has a baby boy by Clapton. Boyd and Clapton married in Tucson, Ariz., in March, 1979, and lived in a palatial home in the English countryside. She was previously married to George Harrison, and Clapton’s love for her while she was still married to the ex-Beatle was said to have inspired the hit “Layla” that he recorded during his stint leading Derek and the Dominos.