Fact #118253
When:
Short story:
The Who headline a gig at The Saville Theatre, London, England, UK, Europe, supported by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Koobas and Thoughts.Full article:
Pete Townshend (The Who) : Kit Lambert, our manager, had just signed Jimi up to our label (Track) and put him on backing us up. I couldn't really believe it, you know? I thought, Jesus Christ, what's going to happen?
Chris Stamp (co-manager, The Who) : Kit and I had a lot to do with who went into the Saville on Sunday nights, because things were much smaller then. It wasn't like Kit and I had this great power. We knew Vicky Wickham from Ready, Steady, Go!, and she was working for Brian Epstein, booking the Saville. We booked The Who and brought the Experience in as support for them. This was Hendrix's most prestigious London gig to date.
Brian May (fan) : Seeing Hendrix was such a huge thing in my life. The first time I saw him was at The Saville, when he supported The Who. I'd heard the solo on Stone Free, the b-side of Hey Joe, and refused to believe that someone could actually play this. It had to be some kind of studio trickery, the way he talks to the guitar and the guitar talks back to him. I was already playing in a band called Smile, and I thought I was a reasonably good guitarist, so I knew it wasn't possible. So I went to the Saville, determined to be a disbeliever, but I was swept off my feet. I thought, this guy is the most astounding thing I've ever seen. And he did the Stone Free solo live, absolutely perfectly. It was back to the drawing board for me.
Chas Chandler (co-manager, Jimi Hendrix] : Before, if an amplifier broke down on stage, he wouldn't be in total control but the first night he played in The Saville Theatre in 1967 with The Who, his amplifier caved in and he started talking and chatting up the audience.
Pete Townshend : He went on and he did his thing. He knocked the amplifiers over, he practically smashed it up… and I went on afterwards and I just stood and strummed.
Mike Ledgerwood (reviewer, Disc And Music Echo) : The roof was nearly brought down by the power-packed excitement of Jimi Hendrix. – making his public debut outside of club gigs. Jimi is surely the musical phenomenon of recent times.
Glen Coulson (fan) : Townshend came out on the stage and said "Well, we're not gonna top that. You lot might as well all go home now."
Pete Townshend : I'm not ashamed to say he blew us away.
Norrie Drummond (reviewer, NME) : I can't help wondering just what The Who are all about. Their concert at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday was a mixed-up ragbag of their hit songs, new group compositions, flashing lights and winking toy robots wandering around the stage.
Pete Townshend : Slowly but surely Jimi became sure of himself. I’m talking about the first few weeks he was in London. You know, it was a new band, and they were just taking London by fucking storm! You can’t believe it. You’d look around and the audience was just full of record company people and music business people. I suppose I went away and got very confused for a bit. I kind of groped around. I had a lot of spiritual problems. I felt that I hadn’t the emotional equipment, really, the physical equipment, the natural psychic genius of somebody like Jimi. I realised that what I had was a bunch of gimmicks which he had come and taken away from me. He attached them not only to the black R’n’B from which they came, but also added a whole new dimension. I felt stripped, and I took refuge in my writing.
(Source :http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/classic-guitar-interview-pete-townshend-1990-530325)
Eric Clapton : Jimi played this gig that was just blinding. I don't think Jack had really taken him in before. I knew what the guy was capable of from the minute I met him. It was the complete embodiment of the different aspects of rock'n'roll guitar rolled up into one. I could sense it coming off the guy. And when Jack did see it that night, after the gig he went home and came up with the riff (Sunshine Of Your Love). It was strictly a dedication to Jimi. And then we wrote a song on top of it.
Jack Bruce (bassist, Cream ): I remember coming up with the riff in my flat at 4 in the morning. I thought it was OK, but I had no idea that it would follow me around for the rest of my life. (Source : Interview by John Milward, Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov 2, 1989)
Noel Redding : We were invited to some party afterwards. I had my motor, so I took Mitch and Hendrix, and we arrived at this place near the Irish Embassy. I knocked on the door and McCartney opened it, which freaked me out yet again. We went upstairs and they had a professional joint-roller there as well.
Tweet this Fact
Chris Stamp (co-manager, The Who) : Kit and I had a lot to do with who went into the Saville on Sunday nights, because things were much smaller then. It wasn't like Kit and I had this great power. We knew Vicky Wickham from Ready, Steady, Go!, and she was working for Brian Epstein, booking the Saville. We booked The Who and brought the Experience in as support for them. This was Hendrix's most prestigious London gig to date.
Brian May (fan) : Seeing Hendrix was such a huge thing in my life. The first time I saw him was at The Saville, when he supported The Who. I'd heard the solo on Stone Free, the b-side of Hey Joe, and refused to believe that someone could actually play this. It had to be some kind of studio trickery, the way he talks to the guitar and the guitar talks back to him. I was already playing in a band called Smile, and I thought I was a reasonably good guitarist, so I knew it wasn't possible. So I went to the Saville, determined to be a disbeliever, but I was swept off my feet. I thought, this guy is the most astounding thing I've ever seen. And he did the Stone Free solo live, absolutely perfectly. It was back to the drawing board for me.
Chas Chandler (co-manager, Jimi Hendrix] : Before, if an amplifier broke down on stage, he wouldn't be in total control but the first night he played in The Saville Theatre in 1967 with The Who, his amplifier caved in and he started talking and chatting up the audience.
Pete Townshend : He went on and he did his thing. He knocked the amplifiers over, he practically smashed it up… and I went on afterwards and I just stood and strummed.
Mike Ledgerwood (reviewer, Disc And Music Echo) : The roof was nearly brought down by the power-packed excitement of Jimi Hendrix. – making his public debut outside of club gigs. Jimi is surely the musical phenomenon of recent times.
Glen Coulson (fan) : Townshend came out on the stage and said "Well, we're not gonna top that. You lot might as well all go home now."
Pete Townshend : I'm not ashamed to say he blew us away.
Norrie Drummond (reviewer, NME) : I can't help wondering just what The Who are all about. Their concert at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday was a mixed-up ragbag of their hit songs, new group compositions, flashing lights and winking toy robots wandering around the stage.
Pete Townshend : Slowly but surely Jimi became sure of himself. I’m talking about the first few weeks he was in London. You know, it was a new band, and they were just taking London by fucking storm! You can’t believe it. You’d look around and the audience was just full of record company people and music business people. I suppose I went away and got very confused for a bit. I kind of groped around. I had a lot of spiritual problems. I felt that I hadn’t the emotional equipment, really, the physical equipment, the natural psychic genius of somebody like Jimi. I realised that what I had was a bunch of gimmicks which he had come and taken away from me. He attached them not only to the black R’n’B from which they came, but also added a whole new dimension. I felt stripped, and I took refuge in my writing.
(Source :http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/classic-guitar-interview-pete-townshend-1990-530325)
Eric Clapton : Jimi played this gig that was just blinding. I don't think Jack had really taken him in before. I knew what the guy was capable of from the minute I met him. It was the complete embodiment of the different aspects of rock'n'roll guitar rolled up into one. I could sense it coming off the guy. And when Jack did see it that night, after the gig he went home and came up with the riff (Sunshine Of Your Love). It was strictly a dedication to Jimi. And then we wrote a song on top of it.
Jack Bruce (bassist, Cream ): I remember coming up with the riff in my flat at 4 in the morning. I thought it was OK, but I had no idea that it would follow me around for the rest of my life. (Source : Interview by John Milward, Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov 2, 1989)
Noel Redding : We were invited to some party afterwards. I had my motor, so I took Mitch and Hendrix, and we arrived at this place near the Irish Embassy. I knocked on the door and McCartney opened it, which freaked me out yet again. We went upstairs and they had a professional joint-roller there as well.