Paper:
Sunday Independent, The (Ireland)
Redding joined the Jimi Hendrix Experience at its inception in 1966, after Hendrix, an American who had moved to London that year, asked him to audition alongside John "Mitch" Mitchell on drums. Although the 20-year-old Redding was a guitarist, he willingly accepted the position of bass player, explaining later that "nobody else could play guitar with Jimi Hendrix".
In February 1967, following gigs in Paris (where
they supported the French pop star Johnny Halliday), Germany and London,
the band released Hey Joe, their first hit. In appearance, the three
members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience captured the psychedelic spirit of
the time; Hendrix looked oddly dandyish slashing at his guitar with
menacing languidness; Mitchell, with a heavy mop of hair, freaked out on
drums; and Redding, sporting a giant afro and granny spectacles,
kept the music just this side of insanity with his firm bass line.
In 1967 the band released its debut album, Are You Experienced, which
featured Hey Joe and Purple Haze, the song which, with its allusion to
mind-altering substances, was to become an anthem for the "love
generation". But following the release of their second album, Axis:
Bold As Love, at the end of that year, they embarked on an exhausting
American tour, during which they gave 54 concerts in 47 days.
Physically and mentally drained by travelling, lack of sleep and copious
quantities of drugs, Hendrix and Redding found themselves
increasingly at odds, particularly when Redding refused to play the
set bass patterns. In 1968 the band released the album Electric Ladyland
which included Hendrix's brilliant reworking of Bob Dylan's All Along The
Watchtower. But following a final concert in June 1969, Redding
left the band to play with Fat Mattress, a group he had formed while still
with the Experience. Hendrix died in 1970.
Redding found it difficult to shake off the Jimi Hendrix years, for
which he was always best known. He was also resentful of the lack of
recognition, both financial and professional, that he received for his
time with Hendrix, although he is credited with writing two of the Jimi
Hendrix Experience songs.
In February 2003 he announced that he was suing Hendrix's estate for £3.2m
of what he claimed were lost earnings. He was so hard up, he said, that he
had been forced to sell his bass guitar from the Hendrix days for £16,000.
"I should have been a plumber, "he joked recently. "Plumbers get paid."
Noel Redding was born on Christmas Day 1945 at Folkestone, Kent. He
learned violin and mandolin at school, switching to the guitar at the age
of 14. Having turned professional when he was 17 he toured with bands such
as the Lonely Ones and The Burnettes.
After leaving Experience, Redding made two albums with Fat Mattress
and recorded with the Noel Redding Band (also known as the
Clonakilty Cowboys). He also played with members of Thin Lizzy, Traffic
and many others. Redding moved to Cork in the early1970s. His
battle for royalties was still going on at the time of his death on May
11.
He is survived by his companion, Deborah McNaughton.
©Telegraph Ralph Riegel in Cork writes:
WEST Cork is mourning one of its best-loved celebrities with the tragic
death of the former Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist, Noel Redding. A
native of Kent in England, Redding was considered an honorary
Corkman, having lived at Ardfield outside Clonakilty since 1973. The
rock legend was deeply touched in the 1990s when offered Irish citizenship
in recognition of his contribution to both Irish music and the arts.
Redding's later years in West Cork were marked by personal tragedy.
His wife, Carol Appleby, died in the mid-1990s, while his mother passed
away in England just three weeks ago.
Even Redding's Irish idyll was not without problems and, in 1990, he
co-wrote a book with his wife, Are You Experienced?, on how he was
swindled out of a major part of the $350m Jimi Hendrix legacy. While
enjoying small royalties and payments from his Hendrix years, Redding
never lived lavishly and was effectively forced to work for a living,
gigging regularly in both Ireland and Europe.
Redding moved to Ardfield in 1973 in a bid to start again after suffering
horrific problems with drug and alcohol abuse. Fittingly, the
English rocker found his dream home when house hunting in Cork on his
birthday - Christmas Day - in 1972. His Dunowen House residence
dated back to 1680 and boasted four acres of gardens and parkland, all
within sight of the sea.
After his death tributes poured in from his many friends and neighbours in
Cork. Noel Redding was particularly loved because, as well as being
one of the first celebrities to locate in Cork, he loved playing an active
part in the local music scene. For almost 30 years, he played
virtually every Friday night in De Barra's pub in Clonakilty,a venue he
once described as "far too good for an ageing rocker". When abroad
on tours or on Jimi Hendrix lectures, he even insisted on apologising to
De Barra patrons for being away.
Over recent years, he was sharing Dunowen House with Canadian artist
Deborah McNaughton and they rented out a guest cottage located adjacent to
the main estate. Just last year, he announced plans to sell the 4,500
square foot house and relocate to a smaller house in the area.
Obituary
Guitarist who took up bass to play with Jimi
Hendrix but developed a volatile relationship with the star.
When Noel Redding auditioned to play guitar with the Animals in 1966, he
was desperate. Since he had become a professional musician four years
earlier, his career had been a catalogue of false starts and dashed
hopes and he was on the point of abandoning music to become a milkman.
Redding did not get the job with the Animals but the group's manager
Chas Chandler told him he had an unknown American guitarist who was
looking for a bass player. "I'll do anything," Redding replied. The
guitarist was Jimi Hendrix and, switching to the bass, Redding went on
to play with his band, the Experience, on some of the most influential
records in the history of rock music.
Born David Redding in Folkestone, Kent, his early career found him
playing with the Lonely Ones and the Loving Kind. The latter supported
the Hollies and Manfred Mann and played on the Hamburg club scene. But
none of the group's three singles charted and a disillusioned Redding
returned to Kent.
The audition for the Animals was his last throw of the dice and he had
to ask Chandler for the five-shilling fare back to Folkestone. But
Hendrix liked the fact that Redding sported a hairdo like his own
and within three weeks, with drummer Mitch Mitchell, they were on stage
at the Paris Olympia supporting Johnny Hallyday. By December, the Jimi
Hendrix Experience's first single, Hey Joe, was in the British charts
and a wild debut appearance on Top Of The Pops had shocked parents
across the land.
As paid sidemen, Mitchell and Redding, in particular, would grow
unhappy with their status as employees. But they found themselves in the
eye of a whirlwind as Hendrix established himself as rock's most
flamboyant star. With singles such as Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary
and The Burning Of The Midnight Lamp, the trio were hardly out of the
charts in 1967. Their debut album, Are You Experienced? was kept from
the top spot only by the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
They were introduced to America via a legendary performance at the
Monterey Pop Festival in California that summer. A second album, Axis:
Bold As Love, was released in December 1967, and peaked at number five
in the UK charts and number three in America.
Inevitably, the attention focused on Hendrix, both for his showmanship
and his virtuosity on the guitar. He also had strong views on how he
wanted the bass to sound, and Redding swiftly became irritated by
Hendrix's insistence on showing him what to play. Redding also
grew frustrated at Hendrix's reluctance to record his compositions,
although his She's So Fine was included on Axis: Bold As Love. The song
was an unremarkable slice of psychedelic pop and the weakest link on the
album, which suggests that Hendrix's motives were not mere selfishness.
By 1968, the tension within the group had boiled over and Hendrix spent
a night in jail on a tour of Sweden, after wrecking a hotel room in a
fight with Redding. During a three-month summer tour of America in
1968, the cracks widened further.
When they entered the Record Plant studio in New York in June to make
what would be the trio's third and final album, Hendrix invited the
Jefferson Airplane bassist, Jack Cassady, to replace Redding on Voodoo
Chile. Hendrix himself also played bass on several tracks, although
Redding was somewhat placated when his song Little Miss Strange was
included on the record. Released as a double album in October 1968,
Electric Ladyland reached number six in Britain, although it probably
would have charted higher had some stores not refused to stock the
record because of the naked female models on the cover.
When Redding formed his own band Fat Mattress, they were given the
support act on Hendrix's last tour of America with the Experience in
spring of 1969. Redding would play guitar with his new band and then,
with Hendrix, play bass.
After the Experience's final gig as a trio in Denver in June, Redding
flew to London to tell the press he had quit. In reality, there was no
band left to resign from. Hendrix had already decided to form a new
group, who backed him at the Woodstock Festival in August that year.
In Fat Mattress, Redding was able not only to play guitar but also to
record his own songs, many of them written with Neil Landon, a colleague
from his days in the Loving Kind. His Hendrix connection earned the band
a fat advance from Polydor, but after one album, Redding suffered the
indignity of being sacked from his own group, when his colleagues
replaced him with Steve Hammond.
In early 1970, Hendrix contacted him to suggest the Experience might
play together again and their reformation was announced in Rolling
Stone. In the end, it never happened. Hendrix decided he could not work
again with Redding -perhaps because his old bass player was
insistent that he wanted to play second guitar. Billy Cox took his place
but by September 1970 Hendrix was dead. Redding flew to Seattle to
attend the funeral.
In 1974, facing legal bills, he signed away his royalties covering his
recordings with Hendrix for a one-off payment of £100,000. Thus he never
received any money from the subsequent reissue of the albums on CD and,
in 1990, he calculated that he had been "defrauded" of £8 million in
royalties. In February 2003, he instigated fresh legal proceedings.
He continued to play music, and after Fat Mattress he formed Road and
then the Noel Redding Band. Neither enjoyed much success and in the
mid-1970s he moved to Ireland. He published his autobiography, Are You
Experienced? in 1996, and continued to perform each week in his local
pub in Clonakilty, Co Cork, although financial difficulties forced him
to sell the instrument he had once played while performing with Hendrix.
He is survived by his long-time partner, Deborah McNaughton.
Redding joined the Jimi Hendrix Experience at its inception in 1966, after Hendrix, an American who had moved to London that year, asked him to audition alongside John "Mitch" Mitchell on drums. Although the 20-year-old Redding was a guitarist, he willingly accepted the position of bass player, explaining later that "nobody else could play guitar with Jimi Hendrix".
In February 1967, following gigs in Paris
(where they supported the French pop star Johnny Halliday), Germany and
London, the band released Hey Joe, their first hit. Audiences went wild
for Hendrix, who played his guitar as if in the throes of sexual
ecstasy.
In appearance, the three members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience captured
the psychedelic spirit of the time; Hendrix looked oddly dandyish
slashing at his guitar with menacing languidness; Mitchell, with a heavy
mop of hair, freaked out on drums; and Redding, sporting a giant
afro and granny spectacles, kept the music just this side of insanity
with his firm bass line.
In 1967 the band released its debut album, Are You Experienced, which
featured Hey Joe, and Purple Haze, the song which, with its allusion to
mind-altering substances, was to become an anthem for the "love
generation". But following the release of their second album, Axis: Bold
As Love, at the end of that year, they embarked on an exhausting
American tour, during which they gave 54 concerts in 47 days. Physically
and mentally drained by travelling, lack of sleep and copious quantities
of drugs, Hendrix and Redding found themselves increasingly at odds,
particularly when Redding refused to play the set bass patterns.
In 1968 the band released the album Electric Ladyland which included
Hendrix's brilliant re-working of Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower.
But following a final concert in June 1969, Redding left the band
to play with Fat Mattress, a group he had formed while still with the
Experience. Hendrix went on to form the more experimental Band of
Gypsies, but died in 1970, after choking on vomit.
Redding found it difficult to shake off the Jimi Hendrix years, for
which he was always best known. He was also resentful of the lack of
recognition, both financial and professional, that he received for his
time with Hendrix, although he is credited with writing two of the Jimi
Hendrix Experience songs. In February of this year he announced that he
was suing Hendrix's estate for pounds 3.2 million of what he claimed
were lost earnings. He was so hard up, he said, that he had been forced
to sell his bass guitar from the Hendrix days for £16,000. "I should
have been a plumber," he joked recently. "Plumbers get paid."
Noel Redding was born on Christmas Day 1945 at Folkestone, Kent. He
learned violin and mandolin at school, switching to the guitar at the
age of 14. Having turned professional when he was 17 he toured with
bands such as the Lonely Ones and the Burnettes.
After leaving Experience, Redding made two albums with Fat
Mattress and recorded with the Noel Redding Band (also known as the
Clonakilty Cowboys). He also played or recorded with members of Thin
Lizzy, Traffic and many others.
In the early 1970s Redding moved to Ireland. His battle for royalties
was still going on at the time of his death on May 11.
He is survived by his companion, Deborah McNaughton.
Given the subsequent and incessant repackaging of the Hendrix catalogue on vinyl, CD and now DVD, the bassist should probably have received royalties well in excess of that amount on a yearly basis.
In 1996 Redding, a compulsive diarist,
documented his travails, trials and tribulations and his years with
Hendrix in an autobiography entitled Are You Experienced? Last year,
he belatedly launched a legal action against the Experience Hendrix
company to try and recover some of his royalties with the help of the
former Big Country and Stranglers manager Ian Grant. But Redding never
stopped playing and last year released a live album recorded in Prague
in the Nineties.
Born in Folkestone on Christmas Day 1945, David Noel Redding first
went to art school. As a teenager, he had played guitar in various
groups such as the Strangers, the Modern Jazz Group and the Lonely
Ones, eventually joining the Burnettes, with whom he worked in Germany
in 1965. When Tom Jones's manager Gordon Mills became their manager,
the Burnettes changed their name to the Loving Kind, and issued three
singles on the Piccadilly label. But Redding's musical career
was going nowhere and he was considering becoming a milkman until he
saw an advert in Melody Maker in 1966:
It was September 29th. I went for an audition with Eric Burdon's New
Animals but they already got a guitarist. Chas Chandler came up and
asked if I could play bass. I said: "No, but I'll give it a go." So I
played with a drummer, Aynsley Dunbar, a keyboard player, Mike O'Neill
and this American gentleman, quiet and very polite, who turned out to
be Jimi Hendrix.
Redding had very vivid memories of his first meeting with the
guitarist: We played three tunes with no vocals and Hendrix only
played rhythm. One was "Hey Joe", one was "Need Somebody To Love" and
I can't remember the third. After the audition, he asked me to go down
to the pub with him for a chat. I was into Sam Cooke and Ray Charles
as well as rock and we got on well. I think he liked my curly hair.
After a couple of pints of bitter, he asked me to join the group. I
was glad to get the job and being paid pounds 15 a week was wonderful
even if I wasn't too sure about switching from guitar to bass.
Their next rehearsal, a couple of days later, was with Mitch Mitchell
on drums, in a place called Birdland, off Jermyn Street in London. I
wasn't sure what it would come to but we had great chemistry when we
played together. Hendrix was the only guy who could play rhythm and
lead at the same time. He could do chords, riffs, then go into solos .
. . but he couldn't have done that without me and Mitch backing him
up.
Managed by Chandler, the Jimi Hendrix Experience made their live debut
in October 1966 opening for Johnny Hallyday on a short French tour.
The power trio played their cover of "Hey Joe", a song written by the
singer- songwriter Billy Roberts which had been a US hit for a Los
Angeles group called the Leaves. In December, they issued their
rendition of the song, more reminiscent of Tim Rose's version, on the
Polydor label and made the Top Ten in Britain.
Feted by The Who, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones after a
prestigious London showcase, the Jimi Hendrix Experience signed to
Track Records, the label launched by The Who's managers Chris Stamp
and Kit Lambert, and issued "Purple Haze", their follow-up single,
before joining Cat Stevens, the Walker Brothers and Engelbert
Humperdinck on a package tour of the British Isles.
A No 3 hit in May 1967, "Purple Haze" heralded the arrival of Are You
Experienced?, the band's critically acclaimed debut album which
reached No 2 and gave the Beatles' Sgt Pepper a run for its money in
the best- seller lists around Europe. By the time the beautiful "The
Wind Cries Mary" charted in June 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience had
also stolen the show at the Monterey Pop festival.
Jamming with Stevie Wonder at the BBC, making up radio jingles on the
spot, Hendrix, Mitchell and Redding were on a roll. They issued the
"Burning of the Midnight Lamp" single and the Axis: bold as love album
at the end of 1967. The album even included a Redding composition:
"She's So Fine" was about hippies, I had seen some bloke walking about
with an alarm clock around his neck, attached by a bit of string. He
must have figured that it looked very avant-garde. The session was
great. I showed Hendrix the riff and he thought of the G solo in the
middle. Hendrix and Mitchell did those funny vocals in the background.
I was overwhelmed that my song was being recorded.
Now a global phenomenon, the Jimi Hendrix Experience charted with a
cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" in September 1968 but,
according to Redding, the writing was already on the wall:
We worked our arses off for three years, we were on the road for too
long and the band got too big. We were spaced constantly, we stopped
playing music and started doing time. Hendrix got a bit of an
attitude, he was moody on stage, there were too many hangers-on, the
band just started to fall apart. I went down to the studio for two
days and no one even turned up. That's when I did "Little Miss
Strange" just to fill in the time.
Assembled with a variety of guest musicians such as Al Kooper and
Steve Winwood as well as Redding and Mitchell, Electric
Ladyland eventually came out in October 1968 and topped the American
charts on its release. The Experience soldiered on but the bassist
didn't help the mood in the camp by insisting that his new project,
Fat Mattress, open the concerts as well.
Chas Chandler, their manager, walked out during the recording of
Electric Ladyland in New York and he advised Redding to leave
the band, but he didn't until June 1969 - "when Jimi decided to expand
the group without asking us", said Redding:
My last gig was in Denver in front of 30,000 people who basically
tried to get on stage with us. The police used tear gas but the wind
was coming towards the stage and we had to stop. The next day, I got
on a plane and went home. I don't think Jimi believed I would do it.
Hendrix formed the Band of Gypsys with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox in
late 1969 but, by the following March, Mitchell was back in the fold,
though Redding remained persona non grata. "I found out through
somebody in the management office that I'd been asking too many
questions about money and that Hendrix had just been advised to get
somebody else," explained Redding, who remained adamant about his
contribution to the trio:
The thing is, myself and Hendrix used to compete and it worked. Being
an ex-guitar player, I was playing chords and stuff which impressed
Hendrix. Not many bass players play chords. I know Billy Cox is an
excellent bass player but I was probably a bit more flamboyant.
Indeed, Redding's Afro and dandyish dress-style matched that of the
Experience front-man for the three years they were together: I
think that the clothes and hairstyles of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
really helped in our success. We were there in London when the King's
Road/Carnaby Street fashion was in and we were part of it.
When Hendrix died in September 1970, Noel Redding admitted he was
shook up. It was the first time in my life that someone I had known
was dead. All these women came to my room and wanted to commit
suicide, to throw themselves out of the window. I'm not religious but
I went with all these women to church. Then we went to a cocktail bar
and we got rotten. Then one night I had a dream and Jimi came into the
room. I said, "But you're dead", and he said, "It's cool, I just
wanted to see you again."
Later that year, having abandoned Fat Mattress, Redding began work on
a solo album, Nervous Breakdown, in New York:
I went ahead with Lee Michaels and Roger Chapman (of Family fame) and
a 15-year-old drummer. I paid for it all myself. They didn't release
it. All it got us was a bad financial situation. I started drinking
and I got busted. Then I got sued for maintenance.
What nagged away at Redding was the ill-advised decision in 1974 to
accept a lump sum in lieu of past and future royalties for the Jimi
Hendrix Experience recordings. "I should have been a plumber. That's a
joke but the thing is, plumbers get paid," he joked, somewhat
bitterly, since, at one time, he had to sell the instrument he used to
record with the Experience to make ends meet. But he did eventually
manage to get publishing royalties for "Little Miss Strange" and
"She's So Fine", the two songs he wrote for the Experience.
The bassist formed the short-lived Road and then the Noel Redding Band
and carried on working into the Nineties, playing with the Spirit
guitarist and protégé Randy California and briefly joining the heavy
rock band Mountain. Redding was planning a retrospective CD of
his varied pre- and post-Hendrix career and still played the odd gig
at weekends. "I wouldn't go on tour ever again. I realised I prefer
staying at home, even though I can't afford it," he said.
David Noel Redding, bassist, guitarist, singer and songwriter: born
Folkestone, Kent 25 December 1945; married 1969 Susan Fowsby (marriage
dissolved); died Ardfield, Co Cork 11 May 2003.
Redding died at 57 on Monday in his home in Clonakilty, Co Cork, where he has lived for more than 10 years, and where he was a popular figure, often playing in local pubs.
The subsequent singles, Purple Haze and The
Wind Cries Mary, both made the British top 10 in early 1967. So did the
debut album Are You Experienced?, which remains a watershed of
psychedelic rock. In June 1967, the Experience were a sensation at the
Monterey Rock Festival in the US, and later that year came the album
Axis: Bold As Love - on which Redding sang his own song, She's So
Fine.
Redding was born in Folkestone, Kent, and learned violin and mandolin
before taking up guitar at the age of 14. His first serious band, the
Lonely Ones, played soul standards around Kent between 1961 and 1963.
When the band folded, Redding shifted to Scotland and then to Germany,
where he played guitar in bands working Hamburg's bars for two years.
Returning to London, he auditioned as guitarist for Eric Burdon's new
Animals (the original band having dissolved at the end of their 1966 US
tour). Redding was not offered the job, but former Animals bassist Chas
Chandler asked him if he could play bass. Redding said no, but Chandler
convinced him he should try out as bassist in a band Chandler was
shaping around a black American musician that he had brought from New
York, Hendrix.
Redding auditioned and accepted Hendrix's offer to join the Experience -
on condition that Hendrix advance him his train fare. Mitch Mitchell was
also soon hired. Redding's perm and granny glasses apparently played a
part in getting him the job. Chandler was dedicated to making sure that
Hendrix and the Experience looked outlandish.
By late 1967, Hendrix was an international star. Pushing the
possibilities of the electric guitar, he received huge adulation. But by
then Redding and Hendrix were barely on speaking terms - Redding does
not play bass on All Along The Watchtower or on Voodoo Chile on the
final Jimi Hendrix Experience album, Electric Ladyland (1968). Hendrix
did, however, record another Redding song, Little Miss Strange, and
allowed Redding's new band, Fat Mattress, to support the
Experience's 1969 tour of the US. Redding quit the Experience that
year - and was subsequently fired by the rest of Fat Mattress. Hendrix
died less than two years later.
In 1972 Redding formed the heavy rock band, Road, who issued one album.
He played bass on albums by Randy California and Screaming Lord Sutch.
In the mid-1970s the Noel Redding Band released two albums and toured
widely. Yet drug addiction largely kept Redding waylaid, and in 1974 he
signed away his future royalties from the Experience for dollars
100,000.
He grew increasingly bitter as Hendrix's back catalogue continued to do
huge business. 'I was forced to sign away my royalties in 1974. I even
had to sell the bass I used during that time, for $16,000,' Redding
would tell interviewers.
In 1992, Redding, Mitchell and Hendrix were inducted into Cleveland's
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Redding described this, and playing at the
Monterey Festival, as the highlights of his life.
Redding's autobiography, Are You Experienced? (1996), compiled from his
diaries and legal files, was a bitter treatise. He wrote that 'Jimi's
death was the most lucrative act of his sad career'. Yet recently he
appeared to have mellowed, recalling Hendrix as 'a gentleman and a
wonderful musician'.
In February this year, Redding threatened to sue the company that
manages the Hendrix catalogue for up to dollars 5 million in lost
earnings. The estate rejected the claim. He is survived by his partner,
Deborah McNaughton.
Noel Redding: born December 25th, 1945; died May 12th, 2003
The subsequent singles, Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary, both made the British top 10 in early 1967. So did the debut album Are You Experienced?, which remains a watershed of psychedelic rock. In June 1967, the Experience were a sensation at the Monterey Rock Festival in the United States, and later that year came the album Axis: Bold As Love - on which Redding sung his own song, She's So Fine.
Redding was born in Folkestone, Kent, and
learned violin and mandolin before taking up guitar at the age of 14.
His first serious band, the Lonely Ones, played soul standards around
Kent between 1961 and 1963. When the band folded, Redding shifted
to Scotland and then to Germany, where he played guitar in bands working
Hamburg's bars for two years.
Returning to London, he auditioned as guitarist for Eric Burdon's new
Animals (the original band having dissolved at the end of their 1966 US
tour). Redding was not offered the job, but former Animals bassist Chas
Chandler asked him if he could play bass. Redding said no, but Chandler
convinced him he should try out as bassist in a band Chandler was
shaping around a black American musician that he had brought from New
York, Hendrix.
Redding auditioned and accepted Hendrix's offer to join the Experience -
on condition that Hendrix advance him his train fare. Mitch Mitchell was
also soon hired. Redding's perm and granny glasses apparently
played a part in getting him the job. Chandler, wise to the mechanics of
pop stardom, was dedicated to making sure that Hendrix and the
Experience looked outlandish.
By late 1967, Hendrix was an international star. Pushing the
possibilities of the electric guitar, he received huge adulation. But by
then Redding and Hendrix were barely on speaking terms - Redding does
not play bass on All Along The Watchtower or on Voodoo Chile on the
final Jimi Hendrix Experience album, Electric Ladyland (1968). Hendrix
did, however, record another Redding song, Little Miss Strange, and
allowed Redding's new band Fat Mattress to support the Experience's 1969
tour of the US.
Redding quit the Experience that year - and was subsequently fired by
the rest of Fat Mattress. Hendrix died less than two years later.
In 1972 Redding formed the heavy rock band Road, who issued one
album. He played bass on albums by Randy California and Screaming Lord
Sutch. In the mid 1970s the Noel Redding Band released two
albums and toured widely. Yet drug addiction largely kept Redding
waylaid, and in 1974 he signed away his future royalties from the
Experience for the sum of $100,000.
He grew increasingly bitter as Hendrix's back catalogue continued to do
huge business. "I was forced to sign away my royalties in 1974. I even
had to sell the bass I used during that time, for $16,000," Redding
would tell interviewers.
In 1992 Redding, Mitchell and Hendrix were inducted into Cleveland's
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Redding described this, and playing at the
Monterey Festival, as the highlights of his life.
Redding's autobiography Are You Experienced? (1996), compiled from his
diaries and legal files, was a bitter treatise. He wrote that "Jimi's
death was the most lucrative act of his sad career". Yet recently he
appeared to have mellowed, recalling Hendrix as "a gentleman and a
wonderful musician".
In February this year, Redding threatened to sue the company that
manages the Hendrix catalogue for up to $5m in lost earnings. The estate
rejected the claim.
He is survived by his partner Deborah McNaughton.
Garth Cartwright
Noel Redding, musician, born December 25 1945; died May 12 2003
Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, both Britons, backed Hendrix on the group's classic 1967 debut album Are You Experienced.
With songs such as "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe"
and "The Wind Cries Mary" and a hybrid sound that mixed hard rock with
blues and soul, the album was one of the defining musical moments of
the Sixties.
Redding's death was announced on his manager's website. The bassist's
partner, Deborah McNaughton, said: "Noel was an extremely gentle and
gracious soul. He had a kind of chivalry and nobility about him and he
was kind to everyone bar none." The cause of death was not given.
The Experience recorded several more albums after Are You Experienced
until Hendrix dissolved the band shortly before his death in 1970.
Redding, who was born in Folkestone, Kent, later had difficulties in
obtaining royalties for his work.
Legendary bass player Noel Redding has died - just days after playing one of his best-ever gigs in memory of his beloved late mum.
Tributes poured in yesterday to the former
member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience who lived in Ireland. But
few of the epitaphs were as heartfelt as that by Bobby Blackwell,
owner of De Barra's bar in Clonakilty. Mr Blackwell was
yesterday in "deep shock" over the sudden death of his friend.
Noel, 57, who lived in Ardfield, west Cork, loved playing at the venue
and was on stage there most Friday nights for almost 20 years.
And last Friday he played in front of a packed house of around 100
people in tribute to his mother, Margaret, who died three weeks ago at
the age of 89. Noel died himself on Sunday at his home in
Ireland.
Mr Blackwell said: "After his mother passed away I asked Noel whether
he might want to stop for a while but he said no, she'd want him to
play. "He played last Friday in memory of Margaret and I can
safely say it was one of the best gigs he ever did.
Raving: "Everyone was raving about it - he played an
unbelievable gig. "I've known him for all the time that he's
been here. Noel's been a friend. "He went on different tours but
was here every Friday that he was in town."
Redding, born on Christmas Day in 1945, was a guitarist who switched
to bass when he played with the Jimi Hendrix Experience from their
1966 formation until he left in 1969. Legend has it that part of
the reason he was signed up for the band was because of his huge Afro
hair-do and granny glasses! But his bass playing on hit albums
Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland was
soon lauded by the critics. After he left the group - before
Hendrix's legendary Woodstock appearance - he went on to form Fat
Mattress, Road and the Noel Redding Group.
And Noel, who was born in Kent, England, moved across to west Cork
more than two decades ago. In a lifetime of highs and lows, he
signed away his royalty rights in 1974 for a one-off payment of
$100,000. That was two years after he was inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame along with Hendrix and Experience drummer Mitch
Mitchell.
Tragically, his first partner Carol Appleby suffered fatal brain
injuries when her car was in a crash with a van in June 1990.
Throughout the ordeal his beloved mum Margaret was a tower of strength
to him and Noel travelled to the UK for her funeral. Mr
Blackwell revealed: "He was very attached to his mother."
Redding's partner of the last five years, Canadian Deborah McNaughton,
is currently undergoing medical treatment in New Mexico.
Rocker: She is due back today but in a statement yesterday she
remembered the soft spoken rocker. Deborah said: "Noel
was an extremely gentle and gracious soul. "He had a kind of
chivalry and nobility about him and he was kind to everyone, bar none,
people and animals alike."
Leon Hendrix, brother of Jimi, said English-born Redding was "a
beautiful guy". He added: "We all loved him and we'll miss him."
Redding's current manager, Ian Grant of Track Records, said: "I can't
yet take it in. Once more, I am sitting at my desk bringing sad news -
Noel has passed away."
A memorial service for Redding will take place in the small church in
Ardfield, near Clonakilty, this Sunday afternoon. Mr Blackwell
said: "There is shock out there in the community. Noel had lots of
time for everyone out there in Ardfield. "When I think of the
people he brought to the bar, and the people that he played with over
the years - we had great times. "It's too early to say what we
will do to remember him here. "But I do know Noel would never
want us to stop the music."
The cause of Noel's death was not known last night.
His manager Ian Grant revealed the news on the musician's website. He wrote: "Noel passed away. Noel Redding born 25th December 1945, died 11th May 2003. Noel reunites with Jimi and his mother Margaret who died only a few weeks ago." He gave no details of how Redding, 58, died.
Redding, along with drummer Mitch Mitchell, backed Hendrix on the 1967 debut album Are You Experienced. With songs like Purple Haze and Hey Joe it was one of the most influential albums of the era.
Noel, who died last Sunday, was in the final stages of making a film about his life with his long-term partner Deborah McNaughton. Now friends of the star are hoping the documentary will be completed and shown to his legions of fans.
Noel's manager Ian Grant said: "At the time of Noel's death we were working on a number of projects including the release of an anthology of his music and possibly a live DVD. "He and Deborah were almost finished their work on the documentary. So as long as Noel's relatives are in agreement, the projects will still go ahead."
In one of his last ever interviews Noel spoke with enthusiasm about his ongoing works: "Deborah is an artist but she had the idea for the documentary. "We have been working on it for three years, interviewing different people I have worked with such as Eric Bell, Jimmy Levitan and Keith Altham. "I am doing an anthology of my music as well which is almost completed. "It will start in 1962 and continue up till the present day. We've got about 40 tracks which we're going to put on a double CD and hopefully a couple of people will be interested in it."
Noel moved to Clonakilty just over 30 year ago and thought of his beloved 'Clon' as his home. His time there was also laced with heartbreak. Noel explained: "In 1980 I started a duo with my girlfriend Carol Appleby. We performed in an acoustic duo for 10, wonderful years. "But then Carol was killed in a car crash coming back from a gig in 1990. Basically I coped by immersing myself into my work."
But it was in Clonakilty that Noel found love again, quite unexpectedly. He said: "I met Deborah five years ago in Ardfield where I live. "We met in a telephone box, I asked her out to dinner and we have been together ever since."
Although the Jimi Hendrix Experience sell at least five million albums a year, Noel had not received any artist royalties since 1966, even though he is credited as co-writing at least two tracks. In February he announced that he was suing Hendrix's estate for £3.2million which, he claimed, he was owed for lost earnings.
Noel died, aged 57, at his Clonakilty home last Sunday night. Unconfirmed reports said he died after hitting his head in a fall.
His friends and family paid their respects at a private ceremony on Friday at O'Sullivan's Funeral Home and the public was invited to pay respects afterwards. Friends, family and fans also gathered at De Barra's on Friday night for a wake and a jam to celebrate Noel's life and music.
His cortege will leave the funeral home today at 1pm and go to St James Church in Ardfield where the funeral service will begin at 3pm.
Anyone wishing to make a donation in tribute to Noel Redding should send it to Mount Carmel Hospital, Clonakilty, West Cork
Rock legend Jimi Hendrix's bassist Noel Redding
has died in an accident at his house. His body was found by a
friend who called at the star's mansion in West Cork where he had lived
for more than 20 years. A Garda source said yesterday they were
not treating the death as suspicious. It is believed Redding, 57,
may have fallen while climbing up a narrow staircase and banged his head
on Monday night. A post-mortem was due to be carried out last
night at Cork University Hospital.
Redding's partner, Canadian Deborah McNaughton, was flying home
last night from New Mexico where she is being treated for a serious
illness. Noel's death at Dunowen House, in Ardfield near
Clonakilty, has stunned the community where he was a well known and much
loved personality.
He played music in the local pubs and was always welcoming when people
visited his home, which he had recently put up for sale. In the
past two weeks Noel had travelled to England to attend the funeral of
his mother Margaret. He then headed to the US to visit his ill
partner.
The musician had found new happiness after meeting Deborah five years
ago. At the time he had been battling for 11 years to overcome the
loss of the love of his life Carol Appleby, who died in a car crash on
the outskirts of Cork city. He said: "They say time heals, but I
think of her all the time". Just two days before the accident
Carol had finished typing the script for my book Are You Experienced?
Noel said: "We had been together for 17 years and she was my
anchor.
Noel's mother, whom he described as his "special lady" helped him through his grief. She died in Ashford Hospital in Kent two weeks ago aged 89 after a series of strokes. Noel said: "God bless her. I would ask everyone to say a prayer for her. "Mum was my special lady and I'll never forget her. She had a good and long life, which she enjoyed. She knew Jimi Hendrix and used to love hanging out with all the musicians."
Paul McCartney sent words of sympathy yesterday for Jimi Hendrix's Irish-based bassist Noel Redding who died last week. Mourners at the memorial service for Noel heard a message from the former Beatle who plays Dublin later this month. McCartney was an enthusiastic champion of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the 60s. And he insisted they be added to the bill of the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 where Hendrix sensationally set fire to his guitar as a finale to the band's set.
"The world is a much darker place for losing the light of your life," said Macca in a telegram read out at the service in Noel's local church in his beloved Ardfield near Clonakilty, west Cork.
Others to pay respects included 60s folk singer, Donovan, who made the trip from his home in north Cork and Noel's former girlfriend Candice Carell. Also there were former Status Quo drummer John Coghlan, folk singer Roy Harper, broadcaster Jim O'Neill, and fellow musicians Jim Leverton, Dave Clarke and Joe Mac of the Dixies.
Noel was recruited for the band - along with drummer Mitch Mitchell - when Hendrix went to England in 1966. He played on all three of the Experience's landmark albums - Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland.
He moved to Dunowen House in Ardfield outside Clonakilty in the 70s. And he has been enshrined with Hendrix and Mitchell in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Kind: Mourners yesterday included Noel's long-time partner Deborah McNaughton, his brother Tony and nephews, Merlin and Oliver and niece Lace Margaret. Deborah said the former rock star was "an extremely gentle and gracious soul". "He had a kind of chivalry and nobility about him," she said. "And he was kind to everyone bar none." Around 100 mourners followed the cortege, stopping outside the Clonakilty pubs where he played before going to his home at Ardfield.
Noel's remains will be cremated and his ashes scattered at Dunowen House where the ashes of his former partner Carol Appleby - who was killed in a crash in 1990 - are scattered. Meanwhile the family of Jimi Hendrix also extended their sympathies to Noel's family. They paid tribute to the Folkestone-born bassist for his contributions to the band. "We mourn the loss of Noel Redding," they said. "His contribution to the Jimi Hendrix Experience will never be forgotten. "Our prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time."
Mourners later returned to De Barra's pub in Clonakilty - where Noel gigged every Friday night for the past 20 years - and remembered the much-loved bassist with a night of music. Said De Barra's owner, Bobby Blackwell: "I will miss him greatly - he will be a great loss to the town."
The musician lived in Dunowen House, a mansion outside Clonakilty in West Cork, for the past 30 years and regularly played in jam sessions in the town's bars. Redding, 57, died at home last weekend after collapsing while climbing the stairs and suffering a massive heart attack.
Yesterday, around 100 close friends including a number of well-known musicians gathered in Clonakilty to say a last goodbye to him. His pal Paul McCartney and wife Heather sent a telegram expressing their sadness over his death, which was read out during the service held in the Catholic Church in Ardfield.
Redding's coffin was carried shoulder high through Clonakilty and stopped outside Shanley's Pub where he enjoyed many a drink. Owner Phil Shanley came out with a half glass of beer, Redding's favourite drink. From there it was on to De Barra's, where the 60s star often played. There is a Noel Redding corner in the bar where some of his guitars, gold discs and photos are displayed. The crowds spilled out on to the streets from the pub to pay their respects.
Redding will be cremated in Dublin and his ashes brought back to Dunowen House. They will be scattered in the garden over the same spot where the ashes of his lover Carol Appleby were placed. Appleby was killed in a car accident in the mid-90s, two days after completing Redding's autobiography Are You Experienced?, named after the first album he made with Hendrix who died in 1970.
Among the well-known names attending the funeral service were Donovan, Status Quo drummer John Coughlin, Joe MacCarthy, formerly of the Dixies, and Hendrix's former girlfriend Kathy Echingham.
Redding was deeply touched several years ago at being offered Irish citizenship in recognition of his contribution to the arts.
Date: May 14, 2003
After three albums the Experience split but not before they had carved their place in the annals of rock history as the first of the supergroups.
Noel also formed and played guitar in Fat Mattress, who released two albums in the late 60s and early 70s, and led the Noel Redding Band. Albums such as Clonakilty Cowboys and West Cork Tuning reflected his love for his home in Ireland.
Opinion
Noel had lived in Clonakilty in west Cork for
more than two decades. Yours truly recalls staying in his house many
years ago and enjoying the hospitality of himself and his then partner
Carol Appleby. Tragically, Carol died in a car accident some years
later.
Noel was free of all the superstar bull****, always remembering your
name and having a friendly word.
A true gent.
Noel Redding's death will sadden the world of
rock and showbiz.
The former bass guitarist with Jimi Hendrix was a much-loved personality
in West Cork and will be greatly missed.
Let's hope he's with Jimi now belting out a heavenly version of Purple Haze.
A small gathering of fans and friends said a final
farewell to 60s rock star Noel Redding yesterday.
The former bass player with the Jimi Hendrix Experience died at his home
in Clonakilty in west Cork last week. And after days of
remembrances and tributes in his hometown, Noel was cremated at
Newland's Cross in Dublin yesterday.
Escort: Among those paying tribute to the legendary musician were
close friend Jim O'Neill, singer Paul Brady and former Thin Lizzy
drummer Brian Downey. Also there were broadcaster Shay Healy, pop
personality BP Fallon and sax player Keith Donald. Noel's
remains had a Garda motorcyle escort up from Clonakilty and arrived at
Newland's Cross just after 2pm.
Pals Jim O'Neill, Andy Moore, Chris Thomas and Bobby Blackwell - who
owns de Barras pub in Clonakilty where Noel used to play every
Friday night - carried his coffin into the crematorium. His partner
Deborah McNaughton was not able to make the trip. A friend said she was
still "shattered" by 57-year-old Noel's sudden death. At
the brief and simple service, Jim O'Neill said: "Noel is gone,
but we'll keep him in our hearts. "We're finally sending him off
after all the songs, the stories and the tears of the last few days."
BP Fallon then said: "I have very fond memories of Noel.
"The people of Clonakilty were lucky to know him as Noel the man,
not the superstar musician."
Then a fan, introduced simply as Rory, recalled seeing Noel play
with Jimi Hendrix in 1967. He said: "It was the best concert I
ever saw in my life. Nothing has measured up to it since. "I had
the pleasure of meeting Noel in Clonakilty some 30 years later
and having a pint with him." The congregation stood and applauded
as Noel's coffin was taken away.
Noel's ashes will be scattered under a tree in the garden of his
Dunowen House home.
In brief
Comment
Redding's lawyers are pursuing a posthumous case against the estate of Jimi Hendrix, and papers are expected to be lodged in an America court later this summer. Redding helped created one of the world's great rock bands but never got a dime in royalties, say his lawyers. "He has a clear claim for royalties, as well as merchandising and other rights," said Gabrielle Vitellio of Smith Dornan & Shea in New York.
His manager, Mr Ian Grant, said he died on Sunday, and was found at home by a friend. A post-mortem was carried out yesterday. Redding was one of three musicians in the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Hendrix, the unrivalled guitar genius, was an
inspired musician but extremely erratic - often too stoned to give very
much account of himself. Mitch Mitchell was a drummer with jazz
instincts, almost as interesting a player as Hendrix. Noel
Redding's role was crucial: the bass player who kept the music from
flying away.
With his big fright-frizz hairstyle, he looked the part. He was
pencil-thin, of course. "We rarely ate, " he wrote in his autobiography.
"Fashion-wise, if your cheek bones didn't jut out over your sunken
cheeks, if your thighs weren't as thin as your arms, you just could not
be trendy. When I felt really bad I'd have a multi-vitamin or a
B12 jab."
Redding joined Hendrix in September 1966. By mid-1969, he had been
replaced by Billy Cox and by September 1970 Hendrix was dead, aged 27.
To a tragic degree his life was the aftermath of his Hendrix experience:
tussling with burn-out, the memory of being part of one of the biggest
bands in the world and, most painfully, being royally ripped off.
Years were wasted fighting in vain to get some part of the millions he
thought he was owed. He had signed contracts that gave him practically
nothing, accepting the assurance that no more Jimi Hendrix Experience
records would be released and signing a deal giving him $100,000 in
final payment.
He spent the latter half of his life watching those records re-released
and selling by the million.
He was born in Kent on Christmas Day, 1945. Having played guitar with
groups since his mid-teens, by now five years a professional, he met
Hendrix by accident at an audition in London in September 1966. Eric
Burdon, who had been lead singer of The Animals, had advertised in the
Melody Maker for guitarists for a new band. By the time he turned up the
job seemed to have gone, but Chas Chandler, formerly the Animals' bass
player, now Hendrix's manager, asked if he could play bass for this
other guy.
He wore, Redding recalled, "a horrible tan raincoat and black
winkle-picker boots with zips". That was his first sight of Hendrix.
What ensued was rock-'n-'roll history - hit records, hero worship, the
legendary Monterey Pop Festival of 1967 and gig after gig.
After leaving Hendrix, Redding formed his own band Fat Mattress, then
the Noel Redding Band but, compared with the Experience,
it was an anti-climax. His name still had the Hendrix resonance but his
career never again reached the heights.
He had left England and moved to the quiet greenness of West Cork. He
was tired of living in Kent with the label of Folkestone boy made good,
especially now when it was not so good any more. When he did give
interviews, in his local bar in Clonakilty, they were memories of his
highest times mixed with sadness. In 1990 he produced his autobiography
helped by his long-term partner Carol Appleby who that year was killed
in a car crash.
He was no stranger to misfortune, much of it brought about by the
rapaciousness of managers who had left him with the burden of fame and
hardly a penny. His mother Margaret moved to West Cork seven years ago
but died recently.
He said: "Mum was my special lady and I shall never forget her." He was
in the process of organising a memorial service for her at the time of
his own death. Meanwhile, his companion of five years, Deborah
McNaughton, is seriously ill in New Mexico. The farmhouse he had lived
in for 30 years was up for sale but he loved West Cork and playing music
was his consolation.
The cause of his death is unknown. Yesterday morning's Irish Examiner
carried a simple poignant quote from him: "I've had a few heartbreaks in
my time."
Noel Redding, born Kent, December 25, 1945. Died Ireland, May 11, 2003,
age 57.
Paper: News of the World (London, England)
Title: Hendrix pal's son in E1m wrangle over Cork house
Author: Mary O'Carroll
Date: February 8, 2004
Section: Home news
Page: Eire 12
FURY AT 'DNA TEST DEMAND'
A battle is looming over the will of Jimi Hendrix's bassist Noel Redding.
His son Nicolas is poised to make a legal claim for a share of the Irish estate of his dad, who died last year. As things stand, it's set to be inherited by Noel's girlfriend, Deborah McNaughton. And Nicolas and his mother -Noel's Danish ex-wife Susanne are fuming because they say Derborah's lawyers insist that Nicolas take a DNA test.
"I don't think my father would appreciate the situation as it is right now," said 33-year-old Nicolas, a well-known DJ in Copenhagen's club-land. "Deborah McNaughton doesn't believe I'm Noel's son. I don't feel happy about it. It's distressing."
Rocker Noel, who played with the Jimi Hendrix Experience for three years from 1966, lived at rambling Dunowen House with its gate lodge at Airfield, Clonakilty, in Co Cork. At her home in Copenhagen, Susanne said: "I believe he tried to sell it a few years ago for 1 million but it was too high then." Susanne, 56, married Noel in England in 1969. She was 21, and the hard-living rocker 23. Son Noel Nicolas Redding was born the following year. "We split up many times but the final split came when Nicolas was about three years old," said Susanne. "Noel was an Irish citizen. We tried to divorce in England but we couldn't as we didn't live there. We got a divorce in Denmark 10 years ago. We don't know yet if the Danish divorce is valid in Ireland."
Valuable: In the coming weeks, Susanne will ask a Danish court to rule on her marital status. Nicolas also believes the house at Clonakilty may contain valuable Jimi Hendrix Experience memorabilia. "Before Dad died he told me that he had an old tape which contained eight unknown Jimi Hendrix Experience numbers," he said.
In the Sixties, Hendrix dated Kathy Etchingham, now married with two grown-up sons, of Surrey, England, "I stayed friends with Noel for 37 years," she said. "Noel was in possession of many audio tapes and 8mm films about the Jimi Hendrix Experience."
Bassist Noel was 57 when he died from a brain haemorrhage while his Canadian born girlfriend Deborah was in the United States. She released a statement because she feared she would miss the funeral but made it back to Cork to be there.
Agreed: Lawyers acting for Noel's estate deny that there is any dispute. They added it is not accurate that Noel left his son out of his will. And lawyers acting for Susanne and Nicolas say there is no reason to doubt he is Noel's son. They point out that he was born within a marriage and Noel's name is on the birth certificate. They said Nicolas has nothing to fear from a DNA test.
Noel bought Dunowen in the 1970s and became a well-respected figure in the West Cork area. Every Friday night for a number of years he played with his band in De Barra's bar in Clonakilty. He donated Hendrix memorabilia to the pub where owner and friend Bobby Blackwell created a mini-shrine.
At his funeral a telegram from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney was read out: "The world is a much darker place for losing the light of your life." Noel's wish was to be cremated and his ashes scattered at Dunowen House alongside those of his late partner Carol Appleby, killed in a crash in 1990.
With the clash about his estate heading for the Irish courts Noel's friends are upset by claims and counterclaims circulating. In 1974 Noel surrendered all future royalties from the Jimi Hendrix Experience material and received $100,000 (£79,000) and a promise that the music would not be re-released. It was later re-released on CD and DVD, prompting a decade-long battle between Noel and the $300million (£236m) estate of Jimi Hendrix. Deborah said she did not want to comment on the present situation.
Author: Mary O'Carroll
Section: Home news
Page: Eire 12
(c) News Group Newspapers Limited 2004