Mick Eve, sax player for Georgie Fame’s Blue Flames, was mooching around the musical instrument shops in London’s Denmark Street — as one did in 1966. His friend Chas Chandler, whom Mick had known as bassist for the Animals, BUT WHO HAD RECENTLY RETURNED FROM A TALENT-FISHING TRIP TO AMERICA, RAN OUt of a guitar store and said excitedly in broad Geordie: (his newcastle accent) “Mick, Mick! You got to come and hear this bloke play; I found him in New York!”
“I don’t need to go into the shop, Chas,” replied Mick in droll Cockney, “I can hear ’im from ’ere;" which he certainly could – a restlessly remarkable, eerily savage sound emanating from within. This was the afternoon of 22 September, Jimi Hendrix’s first full day in England.
On 22 September 1966, Jimi's first day in London and he was already making a big impression on the music scene: he was in Soho, the heart of London's entertainment district. Within days he would be meeting the likes of Eric Clapton ("You told me he was good. You didn't tell me he was this good") who let him sit in at a gig. Clapton wasn't used to being shown up.
London is where Hendrix really took off. Born in Seattle, he'd been playing gigs since his mid-teens, had toured around the USA quite extensively, had played with the likes of Little Richard, but had yet to establish himself as a solo artist when Chris Chandler found him at a club in New York's Greenwich Village. He was still only twenty-three years old when he landed in London, but he had a world of experience behind him; he was unique, too.
He recorded hit albums (Are You Experienced?) and appeared on television and on radio. London is also where he died; but that's another story.
Before the year was out he'd got a gig on BBC's "Top of the Pops" for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a band composed of Jimi and two English musicians, Noel Redding (bass) and Mitch Mitchell (drums). That was a pretty quick rise, from trying out guitars in a music store in late September to appearing on Top of the Pops — the top TV showcase for British pop stars of the Swinging Sixties — in three months. Basically he did it during the Fall of '66. Of course he was no novice in the music biz, but he was new to London where basically he hadn't known a soul there before he arrived. His playing was that impressive.
He took the band over to France in October where he opened for Johnny Halliday, the French rocker, for a couple of weeks. He got a glowing review in the 'Record Mirror' ("phenomenon') and showcased at the "Bag'o'Nails" London nitery with Lennon and McCartney, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, etc. attending. London had discovered Jimi, and they never let him go. He had three hit singles in his first London stay: "Hey Joe," The Wind Cries Mary," and "Purple Haze."
I was living in London at the time but not involved in the music scene: the occasional concert, some clubs, but my job at the BBC had nothing to do with music. Outside of work I had friends who were into the scene known as the London Underground (not the Tube) — artists, performance artists, writers and the sort of musicians who were into psychedelics: they had their own newspaper (IT: International Times) and protested the VietNam war.
In the middle of 1967, this diverse ensemble put together a festival-like event at AllyPally. That's the nickname for Alexandra Palace, a big rambling building in North London that has never quite figured out what it's there for. It was the original site, for instance, for BBC-TV, which broadcast from there before World War II. It is palatial, and I believe there was a Queen called Alexandra and apart from that, you could google it. It was a great location for an International Times event know as "The 14-Hour Technicolour Dream," non-stop music by bands like Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine, two of my favorites. They had the best light shows.
"The Dream" took place on April 29, 1967. Attendees (reportedly) included John Lennon and Yoko Ono separately, and Jimi Hendrix who came to listen and dance. I don't know about Jimi, but Lennon was there, caught on camera. It was a successful fundraiser for the IT, so they thought of having another, similar show; it would be known as "Christmas on Earth Continued," and this time, Hendrix would be one of the bands.
The location of the Christmas show. (Dec 21) was the Kensington Olympia, a double Exhibition hall, album "Bold As Love" Dec 1, '67. 2nd Album released in UK.
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