Fact #148423
When:
Short story:
Jimi Hendrix is arrested on drugs charges, for carrying heroin, as he comes through US/Canadian customs at Toronto, then plays a gig at Maple Leaf Gardens.Full article:
Noel Redding (bassist, JHE) : I was standing beside him, actually, and they opened up his airline case…
Tony Ruffino (promoter) : The customs guy said to me, 'If that's not yours, keep your hands off it.' I said, 'Well, I work for him.' He insisted, 'Keep your hands off the bag.' Looking at Jimi the officer asked, 'Is that your bag?' Hendrix said 'Yes.' He opened it up and inside were these small packets of heroin. He said to Jimi,'What's that?' Hendrix said, 'I don't know.' That's when I knew we were in trouble.
Mitch Mitchell (drummer, JHE) : I made a point of wearing a suede suit with no pockets and no underwear. There was no way they could plant anything on me. So, as far as I was concerned, it was a plant. By whom, and on whose authority, I don't know.
Louis Goldblatt (chauffeur) : He was genuinely dumbfounded by the whole affair.
Noel Redding : When Jimi got busted for smack in Toronto, I had to call up Mike Jeffery, and he was in Hawaii, USA. What's that all about? He should have been there to help.
Douglas Pringle (Arts Canada) : Jimi Hendrix swung out on stage, took up that incredible curved stance, knees bent, pelvis up; he made an unfelt effort at his usual rap on chicks and The Experience, but stopped at the bitter taste of it.
Ritchie Yorke (Rolling Stone magazine) : He walked on stage and said, 'I want you to forget what happened yesterday and tomorrow and today. Tonight we're going to create a whole new world.' This may be part of his usual rap, but the arrest gave it special impact. Unfortunately - understandably - however, it was not one of Hendrix's best evenings.
He played well, but it never quite got off the ground. The effect was rather like watching a bullfighter who's so good that no bull really challenges him, and therefore there is no danger, and no suspense. Hendrix was just too cool.
Douglas Pringle : He called three songs, none appeared, then laid into the fourth, mostly guitar, words from the past that caught in his throat… so hard to smile…. His hair is so much shorter now, and tied back with a scarf, and the next record is dedicated to the Panthers.
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Tony Ruffino (promoter) : The customs guy said to me, 'If that's not yours, keep your hands off it.' I said, 'Well, I work for him.' He insisted, 'Keep your hands off the bag.' Looking at Jimi the officer asked, 'Is that your bag?' Hendrix said 'Yes.' He opened it up and inside were these small packets of heroin. He said to Jimi,'What's that?' Hendrix said, 'I don't know.' That's when I knew we were in trouble.
Mitch Mitchell (drummer, JHE) : I made a point of wearing a suede suit with no pockets and no underwear. There was no way they could plant anything on me. So, as far as I was concerned, it was a plant. By whom, and on whose authority, I don't know.
Louis Goldblatt (chauffeur) : He was genuinely dumbfounded by the whole affair.
Noel Redding : When Jimi got busted for smack in Toronto, I had to call up Mike Jeffery, and he was in Hawaii, USA. What's that all about? He should have been there to help.
Douglas Pringle (Arts Canada) : Jimi Hendrix swung out on stage, took up that incredible curved stance, knees bent, pelvis up; he made an unfelt effort at his usual rap on chicks and The Experience, but stopped at the bitter taste of it.
Ritchie Yorke (Rolling Stone magazine) : He walked on stage and said, 'I want you to forget what happened yesterday and tomorrow and today. Tonight we're going to create a whole new world.' This may be part of his usual rap, but the arrest gave it special impact. Unfortunately - understandably - however, it was not one of Hendrix's best evenings.
He played well, but it never quite got off the ground. The effect was rather like watching a bullfighter who's so good that no bull really challenges him, and therefore there is no danger, and no suspense. Hendrix was just too cool.
Douglas Pringle : He called three songs, none appeared, then laid into the fourth, mostly guitar, words from the past that caught in his throat… so hard to smile…. His hair is so much shorter now, and tied back with a scarf, and the next record is dedicated to the Panthers.