JHE 2nd UK Tour November-December 1967

The Jimi Hendrix Experience/The Move/Pink Floyd/The Nice/Amen Corner/Eire Apparent Package Tour

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Below are New Musical Express pieces from various issues prior to the Tour - Thanks to Mick Coyne!

16 September 1967:

30 September 1967:

28 October 1967:

14 November 1967 London Royal Albert Hall

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14 November 1967 The Tour starts at the London Royal Albert Hall

During the afternoon the Jimi Hendrix Experience rehearse

The show that night includes the following songs:

Foxy Lady, Fire, The Wind Cries Mary, Hey Joe, The Burning of the Midnight Lamp, Spanish Castle Magic and Purple Haze

Here is a review of the show by Nick Logan which appeared in the 18 november issue of Musical Express:

'Hail Jimi Hendrix, the personality, the contortionist, the wise-cracker, the exhibitionist. Hail Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell, his traumatic Experience. How they were needed to close the package which opened up at London's Albert Hall... The bill seemed as if it would never get off the ground. Thank goodness for Hendrix the untamed and the unchained swinging down from the trees through Knightbridge and Kensington to set the masses on fire in an ectoplasma of sound.... Most of all it was Hendrix the showman, the king-size personality. And that was just what the rest of the group tour of first-timers lacked - personality.... A worthwile tour for Hendrix fans but lets hope the rest improve a little as it progresses.'

Chris Welch in the 25 november issue of Melody Maker:

'The Hendrix-Move tour thundered off on its trip round Britain with a deafening start...The Floyd gave one of their colourful and deafening displayes of musical pyrotechnics, and indeed all the groups were painfully loud...The Eire Apparent practically damaged my hearing system for life; the Nice, my favourite group, blew their cool; the Amen Corner raved like a show band, and the Move thundered along in a shower of 'Flowers in the rain'. Jimi was great, and deserved the ovation, but really Mitch and Noel shouldnt make announcements. Sorry lads, but Jimi sounds better with the chat'

from Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey book:

'At each gig, the headlining Hendrix was allotted exactly 40 minutes. The Move, who preceded him onstage, had just half an hour. And the Floyd was expected to sum up what they were all about in precisely 17 minutes!...As the tour wore on, Barrett appeared increasingly morose and depressed. Jimi Hendrix, unaware as almost everyone else of the underlying seriousness of Syd's condition, took to addressing him ironically as 'Laughing Syd Barrett'.

If you attended this show, or know anyone who did, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com , we would really appreciate hearing from you!

15 November 1967 Bournemouth Winter Gardens

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15 November 1967 Bournemouth Winter Gardens

Seemingly only advertised in the Bournemouth Echo of 3 November, the package tour makes it to Bournemouth on the 15th.

Sadly the Bournemouth Winter Gardens was demolished in 2007, to be replaced by a new Arts-Centre.
Here are some pictures of what the venue looked on the inside.

We havent been able to locate any local newspaper reviews let alone a photo from this show.

If you went to this show, or know anyone who was there back then, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!

17 November 1967 City (Oval) Hall, Sheffield

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17 November 1967 City (Oval) Hall, Sheffield

On 17 November the package show played the City Hall in Sheffield.

Noel Redding, Bass player in the Jimi Hendrix Experience wrote in his diary after the shows this night:

'Sheffield was terribly enthusiastic about us and we got torn apart coming out of the hall, losing clothing, glasses, hair. I always wondered what would happen if the detachables and semi-detachables (like hair) ran out'

An unknown reporter of the Sheffield Star noted:
'Like an electrified golliwog, Jimi Hendrix threw himself into a live-wire act that featured his intricate guitar interpretation. Quite an EXPERIENCE'

If you or anyone you know attended either of the shows on this date, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

18 November 1967 Empire Theatre Liverpool

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18 November 1967 Empire Theatre Liverpool

On the 18th the Tour played the Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Unfortunately, not a single eyewitness account of this nights' shows ever surfaced.
No newspaper reviews from this day's proceedings has been located.

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!

19 November 1967 Coventry Theatre, Coventry

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19 November 1967

Coventry Theatre, Coventry

On 19 November the Tour plays 2 shows at the Coventry Theatre.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience plays, among others, these songs:

Hey Joe
The Wind Cries Mary
Purple Haze
Wild Thing

Coventry Evening Telegraph (20 November): “Pop’s new wave splashed into Coventry, and on the crest of it was the Jimi Hendrix Experience, one of the most exciting happenings since the Beatles. More than 3,000 youngsters attended two houses at the Coventry Theatre - and a good proportion rushed the stage and shouted for more at the climax of the group’s act. Jimi mixed pop’s new sounds with the rawest of blues, uninhibited showmanship and a brilliant musical technique. He can play guitar with his teeth, lying on
the stage, or behind his back - and do it better than most in a more conventional position. The result was a stunning, completely individual performance which included hits like ‘Hey Joe,’ ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ and ‘Purple Haze,’ and the wildest version yet of ‘Wild Thing.’ But the teenagers who stood on their seats for Jimi Hendrix were unmoved - and I guess somewhat bewildered - by the Pink Floyd, a group for whom the new wave is more of a spring tide.”

Known as the New Hippodrome since replacing the Old Hippodrome in 1937, this venue was known as 'The showplace of the Midlands'. The venue was once again renamed to 'Coventry Theatre' in 1953.

In the 1980s and 1990s the venue was used as as bingo hall, until finally being demolished in 2002.

On this photo taken during the demolition you can still see the outline of the Stage 'arch'.

After the shows the bands stay at the Hotel Leofric in Coventry, here seen on a period postcard. Nowadays it is part of the Travelodge Hotel group.

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Coventry Theatre on 19 November 1967, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

22 November 1967 Portsmouth Guildhall

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22 November 1967 Portsmouth Guildhall

On 22 November the Tour plays the Guildhall in Portsmouth.

Songs 1st show:

Fire
Stone Free
Hey Joe
Purple Haze
Foxy Lady
The Wind Cries Mary
Wild Thing

Songs 2nd show: unknown

Portsmouth Evening News (23 November) by ‘Spinner’: “Pop music is a horrible noise - a cacophony of over-amplified guitars and tone-deaf singers. So might a critic picked at random say. Last night at Portsmouth Guildhall four of Britain’s leading groups went a long way to persuading 3,000 youngsters that such an anti-pop opinion could be right after all... Never has a pop show been so deafening and so lacking in variety and good presentations. The exception was the start of the show Jimmy Hendrix, as loud as any of the others but twice as talented and a superb showman. He crouched, he leapt, he did a somersault - but still he played that guitar with one hand, two hands, his teeth, his forearm and his hips! The remorseless roar of his guitar, coupled with bass player Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, formed a crude and earthy blues style which made the other groups seem dull.”

From someone who attended the 1st show: “I can’t exactly remember in what order Jimi played his set, but he started with ‘Fire’ and went through ‘Stone Free,’ ‘Hey Joe,’ ‘Purple Haze,’ ‘Foxy Lady,’ maybe ‘The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’ but definitely ending with ‘Wild Thing.’ Jimi also played ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ which Mitch Mitchell came forward [to introduce]. I remember Jimi saying in between one number, ‘We don’t want no clowning around out there - we’re the only ones allowed to clown around.’ His guitar was mainly a white Stratocaster with rosewood neck and a multicoloured [scratch plate]. A really smart looking guitar, the other guitar on stage was a battered red Strat which he only used for ‘Wild Thing.’ He completed his set by throwing the guitar over the top of the Marshall stacks, where it was duly caught by a roadie standing behind. Obviously, it was intended to do quite a few more concerts before finally becoming un-useable. And there you have it. It was a good performance and it will always remain a treasured memory of my teenage years.”

If you or anyone you know was at one of the shows on the 22th of November 1967 at the Portsmouth Guildhall please drop us a line at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!

23 November 1967 Sophia Gardens Pavillion, Cardiff

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23 November 1967

Sophia Gardens Pavillion, Cardiff.

On November the 23rd the Tour plays the Sophia Gardens Pavillion.

Songs 1st show: unknown

Songs, 2nd show:

Foxy Lady
Hey Joe
Purple Haze
Wild Thing

Sophia Gardens is a sporting venue on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, one mile north of Cardiff Arms Park and is named after Sophia Rawdon-Hastings. Daughter of the 1st Marquess of Hastings and wife to the 2nd Marquess of Bute, Sophia Rawdon-Hastings was concerned to provide open space for recreation in the rapidly expanding city in the late 1800s, in which her husband was heavily involved. The area is currently owned by Cardiff City Council.

The Sophia Gardens Pavillion was host to many concerts and package tours.

Here is a photo of Pink Floyd on stage at the Pavillion in 1974

Demolished in 2007 to be replaced by the so-called 'Really-Welsh Pavillion'.

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows on the 23rd of November 1967 at the Sophia Gardens Pavillion in Cardiff please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!

24 November 1967 Colston Hall, Bristol

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24 November 1967

Colston Hall, Bristol

On November 24th the Tour plays the Colston Hall in Bristol.

Bristol Evening Post (25 November): “In the hall, youths hurled abuse at performers, but the trouble died down as officials brought the shouting minority under control. But the incidents did not spoil a triumphant return of Hendrix to the first city to put him into the charts. He paid tribute to Bristol over the microphone and then launched into the wildest, noisiest pop music of all... He received a frenzy of applause.”

Many people today wish they had seen Jimi Hendrix in concert. Malcolm Coates was lucky enough to witness one of the 2 shows that he played at the Colson Hall on November 24th 1967. Malcolm, who was 14 years old when he saw Hendrix perform, recalls, ‘the performance made so much of an impression on me that I wrote a review a few months later for my English class’.

Taken from Malcolm’s review:

‘And then the lights went out and the Jimi Hendrix Experience were introduced. In many places he has been banned; in many places, his act has been accused of being obscene and sexy; but nowhere has he been accused of anything but being spectacular and that night was no exception.'

‘He played each one of his three guitars in every possible way, but with his hands, or so it seemed, he played them with his teeth, the stage, his body guards head, a microphone stand and the drum kit’

‘When the last number, Purple Haze, was announced I thought the end of the world was upon us’

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows on the 24th November 1967 at the Colston Hall in Bristol please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

25 November 1967 Opera House, Blackpool

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25 November 1967

Opera House, Blackpool

On 25 November the Tour plays 2 shows at the Opera House in Blackpool.

Songs 1st show: unknown

Songs 2nd show

Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Fire
Hey Joe
The Wind Cries Mary
Purple Haze
Wild Thing

Peter Neal filmed ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Wild Thing’ during the second show for the film ‘See My Music Talking’

Blackpool Evening Gazette (27 November): “Musical equipment belonging to five top pop groups was damaged by an intruder at the Opera House... After their two performances at the theatre on Saturday night, they left their guitars, amplifiers and electrical equipment on the stage before going to their hotel. When they returned yesterday morning to collect it, they found that leads had been ripped from amplifiers and guitars, amplifiers had been damaged and one guitar had been trampled on and had its strings cut. They estimated the damage as £350.”

Austin Mitchell in Univibes #15: ): “The first time I ever saw a photo of Hendrix it flipped me out. It was on the cover of Melody Maker, early in ‘67. It was two years before I even touched hallucinogens, but I had this hallucination; I was seeing his face through a hole burned in the paper, and seeing a live, laughing face behind the page. All I could get from this was a premonition that Hendrix would become a significant figure in my life. With 20/20 hindsight, I can testify that this was accurate…”

“…I was trying to avoid a growing conviction that Jimi wouldn’t be around too long. This feeling was connected to the premonition which had hit me when I first saw his picture on the cover of Melody Maker.
   What the piece [I wrote in the Observer] lacked in conveying him, was the vivid, searing impact of his live performance. All the text and pictures that could be created on a page could never even hint at this.
   Over the following week I started ringing up my few contacts in film and TV – ‘Somebody should preserve this man’s work on film.’ Mostly I met with a ho-hum. This was still an era when rock music on TV was strictly confined to the top twenty shows like ‘Top Of The Pops’. Rock had no status as an art form; there was no Rolling Stone; no sort of intelligent context to work in. A colleague of mine on The Observer, Brian Haynes, told me that David Frost’s company was thinking of producing some independent music films for TV – ‘Why don’t you make a film yourself?’
     I had a friend called Peter Neal, who worked for an independent documentary company struggling along making low- budget, gritty 16mm movies with a strong left bias. Peter had directed a fine black-and-white film about ‘The Watersons’, a traditional a cappella singing group from Yorkshire, poles apart from the hyper-amplified, strobe lit circus of ‘acid rock’. But Peter, who played fine bluegrass guitar was as smitten as I was when I took him see Hendrix warming up at the Royal Albert Hall for the opening concert of his first headlining UK tour 14 November]. Peter cobbled together a budget and we managed to get a couple of hundred pounds from the Frost organization to make a start.
   At 1967 prices, this was sufficient to buy some film stock, hire three cameramen and a sound man, plus equipment and a van for the nine-hour drive north to Blackpool, to catch Jimi on one of his tour dates, at Blackpool’s Opera House. The cameramen took a look at the early evening show and voted to turn around and go home, since they felt that there was insufficient light to film, and the tour’s stage manager wouldn’t give us any more light. Peter told the cameramen to boost the exposure to the max and pray.
The Opera House manager had generously given us camera positions in the royal box, in the orchestra pit and allowed us access to the stage. Meanwhile, the sound man had his problems. No one bed ever tried to make a ‘live’ recording of anything like the volume at which Jimi Hendrix played, which was like trying to tape an artillery bombardment.
   Hendrix gave me a fraternal greeting and told me to watch out for Keith Emerson, playing with one of the support acts [‘Nice’]: “He’s doing everything on keyboards that I do on guitar.”
   We filmed “Purple Haze” and “Wild Thing,” the latter badly out of tune up to the second chorus. Back in London prayers were answered; when the film came back from the labs we had good takes on all three cameras, and the sound was pretty good. Peter had put together an all-pro crew. Better still, he quickly edited together a rough cut of “Wild Thing” which got shown on BBC TV the week that my piece finally appeared in The Observer [on 6 December on BBC2’s first colour broadcast during ‘Late Night Line Up’]. This was a great encouragement to the backers.'

Noel Redding, Bass guitar player in the Jimi Hendrix Experience later wrote in his diary:

“Audience was terrible both shows, but the sound was exceptionally good.”

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Opera House in Blackpool on 25 November 1967 please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!

26 November 1967 Palace Theatre, Manchester

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26 November 1967

Palace Theatre, Manchester

On 26 November the Tour plays 2 shows at the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

After the show Noel Redding writes in his diary: 'In Manchester we got stoned in the afternoon and nearly got thrown out of the hotel.”

“In Manchester, a thin three-fan welcoming committee presented me the gift of ‘Please’ written 5,000 times. These days the bands weren’t the only ones sniffing pure methedrine crystal and living off a rainbow of diet pills.”

Not a single eyewitness account of the night's proceedings at the Palace Theatre seems to have surfaced.
Newspaper reviews havent been located. It is unknown whether some local papers published about this night at all.

After the show the Jimi Hendrix Experience spends the night at Excelsior Hotel, Wythenshaw, Manchester

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on 26 November please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

27 November 1967 Whitla Hall, Festival '67, Queen's College, Belfast

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27 November 1967

Whitla Hall, Festival '67, Queen's College, Belfast.

On 27 november 1967 the Tour plays 2 shows at the Whitla Hall as part of their 'Festival '67' program.

Before the shows, Jimi is given a Birthday cake by the Festival organisation. It was Jimi's 25th birthday, and this was the only night the Jimi Hendrix Experience played in Ireland.

Songs - 1st show:

Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Fire
Purple Haze
Hey Joe
Foxy Lady
The Wind Cries Mary
Wild Thing

Songs - 2nd show:

Foxy Lady
Fire
Catfish Blues
The Wind Cries Mary
Purple Haze
Wild Thing

Belfast Telegraph (28 November) ‘Cool Reception At The Whitla’ by George Hamilton: “The noise being blasted out at the Whitla Hall last night during the Jimi Hendrix concert was the loudest I have ever heard. It was so bad you could feel your insides - and even your chair - resonating...in tune, naturally…[the group were] fine on record, and just as good at reproducing a similar sound ‘live’ but the enormous amplification swamped everything. Their performance received a polite but cool reception.”

The Belfast Newsletter (28 November) ‘Hendrix was worth bringing’ by unknown: “Jimi received an enthusiastic response from the two 1,000 strong audiences... were grasped entirely by this way-out brand of music, obviously exceptionally skilful, if you appreciate that sort of thing… With Noel Redding and drummer ‘Mitch’ Mitchell, Hendrix captured his audience.”

Gown (7 December) by Liam and Roisin McAuley: “It is now an acknowledged fact that a Pop Concert should be ear-splitting and kaleidoscopic. Last week’s Jimi Hendrix concert fulfilled both criteria. On stage, amplifiers dwarfed and deafened the performers; in the gallery frenzied amateurs feverishly juggled with six squares of coloured cellophane and two spotlights. Fifteen hundred people sat in the ’Whitla’ and waited for their minds to he blown...
It was Hendrix’ s birthday. The audience sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in a feeble and slightly embarrassed fashion. The compére hurriedly initiated a cry of ‘We want Jimi.’ The lights dimmed and weaved; Hendrix exploded on to the stage; ‘Plug your ears, it’s gonna be LOUD.’ the ensuing welter of noise, confusion and flashing lights could not obscure the fact that Jimi Hendrix is a guitarist of considerable talent and though it is at times difficult to separate sheer gimmickness from genuine musical JHEression. He played the guitar in fifty different positions from the Kama Sutra, made an indecent assault upon the amplifier, and in a final frenetic gesture smashed a Fender Stratacaster [sic] against the wall (having first displayed method in his madness by unplugging it). It was as though he had finally succeeded in identifying the instrument with his own arrogant virility and subsequently frustrated with the latter had involved it in the final act of destruction. It is now as important to smash a guitar as it is to play it. Hendrix did both with admirable expertise.”
Offstage, Hendrix is incongruously mild, affable, and unassuming. He sat in the dressing room, temporarily detached from the bevy of road-managers, and munched birthday cake. He constantly strummed a guitar covered in psychedelic patterns.”

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Whitla Hall on 27 November 1967 please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

1 December 1967 Central Hall, Chatham

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1 December 1967

Central Hall, Chatham

On December 1st 1967 the Tour plays 2 shows at the Central Hall in Chatham.

The ‘Hendrix/Move/Floyd’ tour had landed on High Street in Chatham. The first show of the evening, scheduled for 18.15 hours, started late. While some of the groups were at the “Town Hall” (since that was the venue listed in the tour itinerary by the PR company) looking for the audience, a few hundred yards away the audience at the capacity-packed “Central Hall” wondered where the groups were! After a few changes in the programme order, the Nice kicked off the evening, playing just two songs. Next onstage: the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Songs played during one of the 2 shows:

Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Hey Joe
Purple Haze
Wild Thing

The Chatham Standard (5th December): “We had to wait for Hendrix himself for another performance as exciting as this one...He opened his act with the Beatles’ number ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ and the three-piece group made as much of an impression as a studio full of musicians. Once upon a time this sort of noise could not be reproduced outside a studio. He did several of his own numbers, including unfaultable versions of ‘Hey Joe’ and ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘The Troggs’ ‘Wild Thing.’ ‘The Pink Floyd’ was, for me, the biggest disappointment.”

Backstage shot of the JHE plus 13-year old Barbara Humphries

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Chatham Central Hall on December 1st 1967, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We really appreciate hearing from you!

2 December 1967 The Dome, Brighton

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2 December 1967

Brighton Dome, Brighton

On 2 December 1967 the Tour plays two show at the Dome in Brighton.

Thanks to Mick Coyne who not only attended the 2nd show but also supplied all the newspaper-cuttings and his own memories of the night. Thanks Mick!

The show was advertised at least 3 times in the Brighton Argus.

Songs played at one of the shows that night are:

Foxy Lady
Purple Haze
Hey Joe
Wild Thing

The Dome entrance in 1967

Rory Campbell (just sixteen years old and attending his very first “pop concert”) saw the first show of the evening:
“The package-show at The Dome was very good... Amen Corner who in their movements performed a sort of Irish show band or black ‘soul’ show synchronised routine; Ulster’s Eire Apparent with Henry McCulloch, announced as “Ireland’s most popular act,” though completely unknown in Ireland at that time! and Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett on the verge of insanity, but the band holding together excitingly, and topping the bill, the Hendrix Experience. Jimi emerged onto the stage from the darkness of the circular hall, wearing glimmering pale-blue crushed-velvet flared trousers, and his performance that evening completely surpassed the other acts, both in impact and musically. I quote from a letter I wrote the next day: ‘Lastly was Jimi Hendrix. It was by far the best and most exciting [act] that night. He played really well, forcing the most extraordinary sounds from his guitar... Throughout the programme he sweated profusely, scratched his head, and muttered things to the audience, completely cool and unconcerned at their reaction. While tuning, someone yelled something unintelligible but racist-sounding at him, and he replied, ‘I didn’t catch what you said, mister, but I sure wish the same to you (cheers and applause!). During his numbers be hopped up and down, and his tongue flickered in and out. Among the songs were Foxy Lady, Purple Haze, Hey Joe, and Wild Thing. The drummer, Mitch Mitchell, did a very good solo; bass-guitarist Noel Redding wore a top-hat”

The Dome entrance in 1967

By Mick Coyne:

THE BRIGHTON DOME

SATURDAY 2^ND DECEMBER 1967

(As Recalled In February 1995)

Please Remember This Was Nearly 30 Years Ago And I Was Just 17

This Is How I Remember Events – I would welcome additions or

Corrections from anyone who attended these concerts.

There was a limited amount of local publicity before the shows, in the Brighton Evening Argus, and even less about the show after.

I had learned about the tour through the Jimi Hendrix Experience fan club. So in advance I had purchased a 12/6d (62 & a half pence) ticket, which was quite near and centre to the stage.

So to the day and having been dropped off earlier in Brighton by my parents I arrived at The Dome stage door about 4:45 in the evening.

After looking round for a while it was turning dark and as I was standing alone a short distance from the stage door at just after 5 o’clock a car drew up, facing me, across the pavement from the stage door.

The car was a Ford Zodiac Mk 4, metallic silver and an ‘E’ registration (1967).

The passenger door was opposite the stage door and as it opened just one person got out of the car, and I could see it was Jimi Hendrix.

As he shut the car door and walked round the front of the car towards the stage door I walked towards him and called “Jim”. I don’t know why, perhaps because of the excitement of the situation, but I didn’t say Jimi.

Jimi stopped as he got on the pavement and the car pulled away. As I walked towards him he looked stunning and immediately he reminded me of all the old red indian photos I had seen.

Jimi was wearing a headband with lots of beads and necklaces round his neck. He wore a brown fringe jacket; similar to the one Noel is wearing in the photo on page 77 of the book ‘The Hendrix Experience’ by Mitch Mitchell. The boots Jimi had on were also fringed and similar to the ones Mitch is wearing in the photo mentioned above. Lastly I seem to remember green trousers.

I asked Jimi for his autograph and handed him my open Jimi Hendrix Experience fan club membership card and fan club red platignum pen. We were all alone and it was magical, although little was said.

As Jimi went to sign he looked at the card a little oddly but signed it. He then passed the card and pen back but as he did the pen fell to the ground. “Sorry man” he said, I couldn’t believe how polite he was as we both went to pick up the pen. Jimi reached it first and apologised again as he handed it back with those oh so long fingered hands.

Jimi then went in through the stage door and I just stood there for a few moments, stunned, still with no one else around. Eventually when I did come back to earth I cursed to myself several times, and still do today…

Why didn’t I say more? – Why didn’t I ask to go in with Jimi for a while? – Why didn’t I have a camera?

After a while I decided to go and have a look at the car that had dropped Jimi off and was now parked at the back of The Dome.

Looking inside there wasn’t much but on the back shelf there was a poster about 24” x 12” and it appeared to be of stiff cardboard and not paper. The design was quite clear under the street light and it looked great, a brightly coloured drawing of Jimi and the boys in an (Asian) Indian type scene. Of course at that time I didn’t realize it was a copy of the cover of Axis: Bold As Love.

I hung around the car for sometime and went back to it several times that night. I was tempted more than once to break a window and take the poster(!). I also remember writing with my finger in the condensation on the car ‘Hail King Jimi’.

By about 5:45 there were quite a few fans around the stage door and back of The Dome. Did not see any other ‘stars’ arrive but around 6 o’clock a couple of the ground floor windows were open and these turned out to be the dressing rooms and could see Mitch & Noel amongst others.

I couldn’t get very close because of the other fans but the boys were chatting for sometime. I never saw Jimi in the room though.

As I only had a ticket for the second show I stood outside one of the fire exits so I could hear what was going on. The other groups were of no great interest to me but when Jimi took the stage at about 7:40 I stood by the doors for the entire set.

The numbers they played that night seemed to be much the same at both shows. There was, in no particular order, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Foxy Lady, slow one – possibly Wind Cries Mary, I Don’t Live Today and I think I remember The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp at least at one of the shows. Possibly there could have been other but it was a relatively short set.

Directly the Experience had finished I made my way to the entrance as the first show fans poured out.

Once we were allowed in I brought a programme but I cannot remember how much it cost

I believe the second show kicked off around 8:40. I was only there to see one group and I would guess The Jimi Hendrix Experience too the stage about 10:00-10:15?

By the time Jimi took the stage he looked completely different to when I saw him earlier.

Jimi was wearing a black jacket, dark trousers and the hat, very similar to the picture on page 77 of the book ‘Jimi Hendrix – A Visual Documentary’ by Tony Brown. I cannot remember the shirt or what Mitch and Noel were wearing, although I think Noel was wearing a hat as well.

Jimi played a white right-handed Stratocaster with a rosewood fret board and I don’t remember him changing guitars during the set.

As I have said the songs were about the same at both shows. I remember Jimi took off his hat at one point for a very short time and hung it on the microphone stand, possibly to play the guitar behind his head. But the theatrics were not as physical as when I saw him at Worthing 10 months earlier, the music was just louder.

The show finished about 11:00 and as we left The Dome I reflected on the meeting with Jimi and the chances I had missed.

But I will never forget that meeting – the spectacular vision, the feeling I experienced, the quietness and shyness of Jimi.

I never saw Jimi live in concert again but his music still carried on moving me – perhaps even more now than it did then.

Thank you Jimi – we miss you.

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Brighton Dome on 2 December 1967 please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!

3 December 1967 Theatre Royal Nottingham

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3 December 1967

Theatre Royal, Nottingham

On December 3 1967 the Tour plays 2 shows at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham.

Nottingham Evening News And Post (4 December) by Richard Williams: “The audience, older than most, gave a reception which was scarcely more than polite to most of the groups, and it was not until the arrival of Hendrix that they really went wild. Starting off with a deafening ‘Sgt. Pepper’, he built a climax right through his act until, in his hit song ‘Purple Haze’, the theatres sedate foundations threatened to crumble under the weight of his assault. Although he was not quite at the top of his game, an out-of-form Hendrix can still carve any other blues group into ribbons.”

Phil J. Ellis wrote in with his memories of the night, and he supplied a scan of his ticket and the newspaper advert for this night.

Thanks Phil!

I'd been a Jimi fan right back to when I saw him for the first time on TV 
performing Hey Joe but didn't start going to gigs until later in 1967.  When 
the amazing line-up for the winter package tour headlined by Jimi was 
announced, I quickly snapped up a ticket for the early show at Nottingham's 
Theatre Royal - couldn't do the late show as the last bus home left at 9pm and 
having only recently left school, I was a few years off owning a car!

I have a number of very strong memories from the night - Keith Emerson of The 
Nice throwing his old Hammond around, The Move's Trev Burton walking out and 
kicking over an amp, Syd Barrett failing to show and The Nice's Davey O'List 
standing in for him with Pink Floyd, Andy
 Fairweather-Low in white suit going 
down on his knees to sing Gin House with the totally-out-of-place teenybop band Amen Corner.

But it was The Jimi Hendrix Experience I was there to see.  As I faced the 
stage, Jimi stood to the left, Noel to the right with Mitch in the middle. 
Jimi was wearing a wonderful jacket with horizontal waves of orange, beige and 
black which I have never seen in a photo.  I think he was also wearing a white 
ruffled shirt and orange trousers but it's the jacket that sticks in the mind.

Being an early show, Jimi didn't really pull out the stops.  I recall an 
entertaining but workmanlike trot through the hits and a couple of album tracks 
including some trademark playing with teeth and behind the head.  Again, I
 
Can't be 100% sure but I'd say the set list included Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Wind 
Cries Mary, Burning of the Midnight Lamp, Foxey Lady and Spanish Castle Magic.
 
There was certainly no Killing Floor, Like a Rolling Stone or Wild Thing which 
at that time I had read about but never heard.

So that was the first time I saw Jimi live.  I spent the next couple of years 
waiting in vain for the next UK tour.  Sadly, it was never to be.

After the shows the bands drive over 300Km by coach to their accomodation: ‘Royal Station Hotel’, Neville Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham on 3 December 1967, please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

4 December 1967 City Hall Newcastle

2010-02-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

4 December 1967

City Hall, Newcastle

On 4 December the Tour plays 2 shows at the City Hall in Newcastle.

Chas: “He had this guitar shaped like an arrow [Gibson ‘Flying V’]. It was in Newcastle City Hall and it was one of them nights when everything had gone wrong. No matter what happened, an amp was breaking down, there was crackling coming over, and at one point, half-way through the act, he was getting so uptight because like the world was falling down around him out on the stage, and he took this guitar he was playing, shaped like an arrow, and he threw it at the amp. And this is where the good luck comes into it, the guitar went into the amp like that and stuck, it was just like an enormous arrow sticking out of this amplifier. The audience thought it was part of the act, just went ‘rmmm’, rose as a man and from that minute on nothing went wrong. It was just one of them little magic seconds. It just altered the whole balance of the act and he went on to just tear the place apart.” [‘Voxpop: Profiles Of The Pop Process’ 1972 by Michael Wale].

Andy Fairweather Lowe (vocalist of Amen Corner): “Someone was filming [Hendrix] in the dressing room, on video [?] tape.”

Noel Redding: “In Newcastle we met pleasantly intelligent but coldly determined people like bouncer Dave, who beat up eight guys after they had axed his head in and before he walked to hospital. During the show one guy jumped twenty feet from the balcony to the stage only to be lobbed off by a roadie wielding a mic’ stand.“
[‘Are You Experienced’ 1990 by Noel Redding and Carol Appleby]

Here is a picture taken during the 1st show:

For more information about this show including more photos from the 1st and 2nd show visit http://www.hendrixnortheast.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/hendrix/cityhalldec.htm

If you or anyone you know attended one of the shows at the City Hall in Newcastle on 4 December 1967 please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com
We would really appreciate hearing from you!

5 December 1967 Green's Playhouse Glasgow

2010-02-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

5 December 1967

Green's Playhouse, Glasgow.

On 5 December 1967 the Hendrix/Move/Pink Floyd Tour ends at Green's Playhouse in Glasgow.

Noel Redding: “Glasgow was a shithouse, but the audience wasn’t dampened by it - they were great.”
“The audience in Glasgow was wonderful, but the vibes were heavy. This huge bouncer was staggering about nearly legless shouting for the bands autographs. ‘Where are ye?’ We hid. Afterwards, while trying to get the crowds out, he got his finger cut off in the door. He never missed it, only wouldn’t you know it was one of the musicians who eventually said, ‘What’s this? Aauuugh!’”

Gary Brooker: "The gig was an absolute shambles, with Jimi having the curtains closed on him halfway through his set, because he was supposedly doing rude things with his guitar. Then green-clothed, short haircut, cap-and-gloved staff tried to pull him off the stage".

Jimi Hendrix       05.12.1967
Setlist
1      Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
2 Hey Joe
3              Burning of the Midnight Lamp
4              Foxy Lady
5              Purple Haze
6              Wild Thing

Amen Corner       05.12.1967
Setlist
1   Gin House Blues
2   Bend Me
3   Shape Me

Pink Floyd       05.12.1967
Setlist
1   Take up thy stethoscope and walk
2   Interstellar Overdrive

The Move       05.12.1967
Setlist
1   Fire Brigade
2   Something Else
3   Flowers In The Rain
4   Night Of Fear

The Nice       05.12.1967
Setlist
1   The thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
2   Rondo

The Outer Limits       05.12.1967
Setlist
1   Give me one more chance

Green's Playhouse was renamed the Apollo in 1973, and was demolished in 1989.

If you or anyone you know attended either of the 2 shows on 5 December 1967 at Green's playhouse please drop us a note at novdec1967@yahoo.com

We would really appreciate hearing from you!