When we think of “Wonderful Tonight,” the iconic Eric Clapton love song from his 1977 album Slowhand, a world leader summit isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind. But in June 2025, two Southeast Asia countries forged a connection between their diplomatic meeting and the easy listening ballad that is honestly really wholesome, albeit a little strange.
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It just goes to show that music really is the great unifier.
A Musical World Leader Summit in Southeast Asia
World leader summits can get a bad rap for being stuffy, boring events that focus less on having fun and more on, well, leading the world. The Philippines’ president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong proved that it is possible to have both. Wong visited the island nation in early June 2025 for an official dinner, discussions on collaborative efforts toward better healthcare, defense, and energy plans, and, most surprisingly, a little jam sesh between politicians.
Both avid music fans, Wong and Marcos joined (musical) forces to perform a rendition of the iconic Eric Clapton love song, “Wonderful Tonight,” from Slowhand. Wong played a sunburst Gibson Les Paul similar to the one Clapton played in the late ‘60s. Marcos, meanwhile, took the lead on vocals. This was no charity performance, either. Both Wong and Marcos are talented musicians, and their rendition of the Clapton tune was an impressive and welcoming sight to see at a time when so many political meetings are full of rigid ceremony and formality.
The online reception of the performance was overwhelmingly positive, with YouTube commenters praising the politicians for being able to take time out of their busy schedules to decompress and unite over the power of music.
The Surprising Evolution of This Eric Clapton Love Song
When Eric Clapton first wrote “Wonderful Tonight” in the mid-1970s, he would have had no way of knowing that it would one day be used as a show of unity and goodwill between two countries’ leaders. But such is the way with music. Once you release a song into the world, it’s no longer solely the artist’s. For President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, the song was a fun, approachable choice for showing off their musical skills at a major political event.
For the song’s original inspiration, Clapton’s then-wife Pattie Boyd, it was an at-times heart-wrenching reminder of the good (and bad) times of their relationship. Speaking of the song in her memoir, Wonderful Today, she wrote, “One night, unusually, Eric and I were going out, but I couldn’t decide what to wear. I was taking a very long time to do my makeup and hair, putting on one dress, then another, and another, throwing them all into a pile on the floor. Poor Eric had been ready for hours and was waiting patiently. He was so sweet—at least, in the early days.”
“While he waited for me, he was in the sitting room, fiddling with his guitar. He went through phases in listening to music, and at that time, he liked a country singer called Don Williams. We talked about how beautifully simple his lyrics were, each song telling a story about everyday happenings. As I was flinging dresses on and off, inspiration struck. When I finally got downstairs and asked the inevitable question, ‘Do I look all right?,’ he played me what he’d written.”
““Wonderful Tonight” was the most poignant reminder of all that was good in our relationship, and when things went wrong, it was torture to hear it.”
Photo by Ian Dickson/Shutterstock
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