Upon his arrival in England, the guitarist’s manager, former Animals bassist Chas Chandler, introduced Hendrix to drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, the duo that would become the Experience. After a week of rehearsals, Chandler put the band on the road supporting the French singer Johnny Hallyday.
The opening date was at the Novelty in Evreux, France on Oct. 13, 1966, and the trek wound up five days later at the Olympia Theater in Paris. Also on the bill were Long Chris, the Blackbirds and, for the final date, the Brian Auger Trinity. Less than a week later, the Experience would make their debut in the U.K.
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| Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Hallyday |
My friend, Roland, was a photographer for one of the Paris newspapers, and he invited me to go with him on his interview with this crazy new artists who played the guitar with his teeth and set it on fire. Of course, I was thrilled.
We went to the Olympia and went backstage. Roland and I went to a dressing room where a black man was sitting on a stool playing a guitar. He looked up and said hello very quietly, then shook Roland's hand and shook mine. I told him I spoke English if needed it, but Roland spoke pretty good English. When he asked Jimi questions, I could barely hear his answers, and the whole time he was just strumming his guitar. After a couple of minutes, someone told him he needed to get on stage, so Roland said they could finish after the show.
The curtain went up and there was a drummer and a bass player on stage, but no one at the mike. Then the speaker announced "Ladies & gentleman" and there was a terrific guitar noise, "from Seattle Washington" and there was another roar from the guitar that lasted a while, "the Jimi Hendrix Experience!" then Jimi came out, with his left hand in the air, playing the chords with his right hand. It was incredible.
We watched Jimi perform from the side of the stage. The audience was spellbound and I was in shock. The guitar alone was like nothing I had ever heard! He played it with his teeth, yes, and he set it on fire.
His set only lasted 15 minutes (though it seemed much longer) and he sang three songs ("Killing Floor", "Hey Joe", and "Wild Thing"). When he was through, there was dead silence for a moment then the entire audience went berserk! Needless to say, we weren't able to go backstage again. I wish I remembered more about the concert, but it was sensory overload.
He wasn't very successful in the US and like many artists, found better luck in Europe. But it wasn't long before he was a sensation there, especially after Woodstock.
Unfortunately, not so many years later, David and I had flown to Paris for a weekend and were at the hotel talking to some of the Rolling Stones. Mick said he was heartbroken after Jimi's death, but that he hadn't been able to go to the funeral because there was an arrest warrant for him if he entered the US.
I really want to go visit his grave one day. It's in Renton.
