When Jimi arrived in London the other guitarists were immediately very impressed. Jimi played “Killing Floor” at a Cream gig and Eric was stunned.
This is an extract from my book.
‘Eric nearly fainted,’ Chas told us later. ‘He said, ‘Give us a cigarette, man! Is he really this good, or can he just do the one piece?’ When I told him Jimi was for real he just said, ‘Oh my God!’ That night we all went home feeling pretty smug.
Not long afterwards we met Eric in a club and he invited us back to his flat in Park Road, near Regent’s Park – quite close to Ivor Court, where he was living with his girlfriend, Brandy. The four of us sat around making polite conversation. Eric and Jimi hardly knew each other and were making an effort but it was very stilted. They both wanted to be friendly but Eric was well known for not having the gift of the gab and Jimi could be a reticent character.
‘God,’ Jimi muttered as we came out, ‘that was hard work.’
This photo is a posed one from the Bag O’ Nails outing when we had got to know each other better.
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