Here's my interview with the late Noel Redding. Famous for his role as bass player with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Last aired in 2000 and recorded for my radio program Retrospectives on Casey Radio in Melbourne Australia.
I'm an Aussie from Adelaide, and musician, and I lived in West Cork in 1998. I had an amazing experience with Noel. A friend I was living with had organised for me to go to Noel's house, which we did, and I chatted with him for over an hour, all the Experience gold records around the walls of his music room, and about 20 guitars and basses, all given from Fender. A week later he came over to our house for my birthday dinner. After dinner we sat around with him for hours, he lit up a joint and we all smoked some with him. All of this i've got on film, including Noel talking about exactly how Jimi died. He then asked me if I'd like to do a few gigs with him,..! Which I obviously jumped at the chance. So we did 2 gigs in DeBarras Club in Clonakilty, a lifelong memory for me. The 2nd gig, John Coglan, drummer from Status Quo, dropped in and played with us. I couldn't believe I was gigging with these 2 guys! Will never forget it.
I read Noel’s book some years back, Very sad from what I remember. Three young men, who (like most others) had no real understanding of the legal and financial side of the music industry. Jimi, Noel and Mitch should have been wealthy men from their time with the Experience. They were worked too hard and ripped off. Their beautiful music will never grow old. God bless you Noel.
@@brucejm1957 Yeah, he and Mitch Both Died from complications due to Alcoholism. But they both paid their Dues and are STILL an Inspiration for The "What Can You Do"! Warriors struggling for Recognition.
I once met Noel in Manhattan NY on 38th street when he was at We Buy music which sadly is gone but I got to talk to him & thank him for the profound influence that he along with Jimi & Mitch have had upon way back & I got to shake hands with him, he truly was one of the most nicest endearing person that I got to meet & although I never got to meet neither Jimi or Mitch, this truly was and no pun intended was try an experience as was it an honor, I treasure that memory always. Thank you Noel for the honor.
Noel became ill at a Queen gig at Wembley [who wouldn't] and I treated him in the local hospital. We kept an eye on him overnight and had lots of time to chat about music and Hendrix, Winwood etc. A lovely unassuming man.
Noel was a good dude ~ He sat with my buddy and I at our table in a club in the 90’s Of course we were in awe He talked to us about Janis Joplin and we just listened Great Memory!
What a fabulous interview, great to hear Noel's voice on this and what a bass player, his time with the band must have been awesome and now passed into legend. RIP Noel.
i would've liked to meet the guy, but doggone it, it never occurred to me to even wanna! regrettable, really! and now they say he's gone, do they? well he's still all over some of jimi's arguably best work, which occasionally is a good thing so i shan't complain too much, mate!
This guy had never played bass before, and picked one up, and had to keep up with Jimi Hendrix of all ppl? All things considered he did a great job of it…
@@cravinbob There iz a vocabulary, n Bass playing. Noel, had no nterest n learning it & he takez lotzo flak 4 dat. On da otha side of da coin, ur rite 2 a certain dgree. However, not everybody would b up 2 da task of playing Bass wit Hendrix, or even attempt 2 do so. Noel had ballz & talent!
12-23-2020 @Sky Soldier - Generally, Redding is not mentioned as being a top rock bassist. That said, for the reason you mentioned, while the other 2 were getting "far out" with their playing, Noel "held the fort down", which really is the primary job of the bassist. Keeping up with & supporting Jimi's sometimes weird and off in space playing, surely was NOT an easy task.
There wuz a version of I DON'T LIVE 2DAY, where Jimi mentionz ELECTRIC CHURCH & he sayz, WE'RE GONNA PLAY SUM ELECTRIC CHURCH MUZAK. Un4tunately, RU-vid SINsored it away. SMH Man..... Hendrix goez off! U can hardly hear Mitch, bcause itz a badly recorded bootleg, BUTT u know he wuz goin off, 2. Then therez Noel Redding. Frustrated guitarist? NoperZZZzzzzzzzzzz!!!! Noel, has taken lessonz from Jesus. There iz no regret 4 DUH past, nor fear of da future. Noel iz n da here & now, & n dat preSINt, he wuz holding down a bassline, which made all da crazy stuff, Hendrix wuz doing, SO MEANINGFUL! There would, no doubt, b those who think Noel shoulda been playing Billy Sheehan typo riffz, n 1969, BUTT I'm floored, by whut Noel did, while n da company of Jimi Hendrix. He rose 2 da task, BEAUTIFULLY, n my opinion.
hey, i'm gettin' a frickin' stratocaster! jimi still owns that strato-sound, of course so do so many in their own unique ways... i've always enjoyed trying to match the sound of so many great players who used one of those things, what the hey! the onliest one i ever had was called n 's-quier', and i never could keep the damn thing in tune, it was not a true strat, tho it made the right sounds pickup-wise... but i want a real one, and any old one is gonna cost weigh-too-much, i reckon... ah, well! i might be too dangerous wit' a real one, see, and so that's why it's just been so discouraged for me to be allowed one , it's a handicap i wear-with-the-utmost-humility, ha ha
Me and Unca Dano (rip) went to the now defunct House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. (Los Angeles) to see Noel play. They did "Rain" by The Beatles. Incredible!
THIS BAND, THAT FIRST ALBUM, SIMPLY REMARKABLE MUSIC and astounding that they did this not having known each other for very long. In my view, ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? in the discussion for greatest debut album ever.
Outstanding interview! Don’t even mind the dead space there when Noel is trying to recount names from way back in his memory bank. And very courteous of you not to interrupt his train of thought. I need to go acquire some of Noel’s back catalog now. Thanks for posting!
Great interview! Would of liked to have heard his reflections on meeting/playing with Jimi post-Experience & hear what his recollections of that were. Noel was one of lifes good guys, sadly missed. R.I.P Noel.
i wish the US was like that, i live in Central New York and other thank parts of the south Texas and NYC Minnesota and Boston....we all kind of sound a like...
Bass and drums are the rhythm section in a band. You will notice that the bass player usually stays near the drummer and they often communicate through eye contact.
older british, uk musicians have history and hearing them, noel, is a pleasure. he got one song on axis and ladyland. can’t recall experience. axis is my favorite also but all 3 are classics.
I not only saw Jimi Hendrix Experience & opening act, "Fat Mattress" (Noel's band in which he was a Guitarist) but I was PAID to watch. On April 18, 1969 (a week after my 15th birthday) both groups played at the North Hall, Ellis Auditorium, Amphitheater in my hometown of Memphis, TN. I had just got out of 9th grade that spring & luckily landed a job as an usher at both the Amphitheater & the Mid-South Coliseum. They played 2 back to back shows that day. Ushers were only only required to seat patrons until the lights went down at showtime.. then we were free to sit anywhere we liked as long as the holder of the ticket didn't show. I managed to sit on row 10 during the first show & sat dead center, 3rd row during the second show. I still own 2 Fat Mattress LPs to this day! R.I.P. Noel
Saw them on the same tour a month later at Baltimore Civic Center. By then Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys had joined the tour. I was 13 at the time. Still in awe of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Because Noel was with Jimi I bought a fat Mattress album. I think it was a cutout-discount, but nevertheless....I really tried to like it. O.K.? I think he was a frustrated guitarist and he hooked up with old friends who used him. But after playing thru Hendrix mania....he felt he could do no wrong. It really, really is an awful album. I'm sure Noel got his footing years later and did his tours about England. But that Fat? Ugh.
Well he wasn´t even a traditional bass player, he started playing bass just to get into the jimi hendrix experience. He was originally a guitarist. This is an impressive switch and he was good considering this, but he is not that special as a bass player.
great interview.only time i saw noel live he was backing an amazing hendrix tribute guy. i think supporting the beautifull people....hendrix remixes,good double cd if you can still get it.
Not only was he a brilliant bass player, he was a genius poet, on par with Shelley and Lord Byron. For example : " We united just beside a leaf, the ground was hard underneath." Wow!
@@randallkennedy2066 no one asked about his singing ability, only one fucker needs to sing in a band. and the guy held his own on bass, and besides, if the experience had the best bass player in the world, it probably would have taken away from jimi. i think his skill matched what was required
@@jackbennett6928 There r so many peephole, wit a horrible opinion of Noel Redding. Itz shameful 2 me. I think Noel wuz a good guy, n da Jimi Hendrix story. He wuzn't perfect, BUTT u know whut? Tho peephole think of him azz God, neither wuz Hendrix! SMH
I saw him standing at the bar in the " Auld Dubliner" pub shortly after he got his money he was owed from the Hendrix deal looking dapper in all new threads knocking back the pints smiling like the Cheshire cat 🐱 who got the "Cream" ' scuse da unintended pun 😎
@@brucey39 You met one of the greatest, no it was when he came to Dunedin, our bassist owned a fender jazz bass, like the sunburst Noel used with the Experience. I got Noel's basic address in Ireland- Ardfield, Clonakility. I knew my letter would reach him as its a small town and I guess practically the whole town knew of him. The Experience were and are Number 1 for me
@@diesekaltewelt807 Thanks for letting me know . It was great to meet Noel as I am a big fan of the J H Experience .I remember he got the Gluepot rocking to stone free and Fire ...Managed to get an autograph as well .
@@diesekaltewelt807 We just talked about the show that night . Everyone else wanted his attention so I didn't get to ask him much . What's interesting is Noel may have never got the job with Hendrix . When Jimi fist went to England he invited Billy Cox to go with him .Billy was pretty broke at the time and didn't have any money for a plane ticket .
Solid bass player who came up with good bass lines. Good rhythm. Part of the legendary Hendrix sound formula. I prefer his playing to Billy Cox. You can say he pioneered the distorted bass tone in the later years, together with Jack Bruce and later Entwistle. Was it good tone? that's all subjective. Hey, were you in a power trio with a legendary guitarist? No, but Mitch was. You know who was a crappy bass player? Syd Viscious. Also you gotta remember that this was 1966, when people were still writing how-to manuals on how to play rock music. There were no online classes that taught you to play guitar/bass.
@@himmeluberdeutschland401 yeah he was a frustrated guitarist, who was thrown into being the 2nd fiddle to the legendary guitarist. He wanted to be a guitarist, but was stuck playing bass. In the beginning he was creative and a team player, then he got fed up with everything and stopped showing up to recording sessions -- that's where Jimi was recording bass instead of him. But still, a solid bass player. Again, 55 years ago, people were only beginning to discover how to play rock music, before online classes, before schools of rock and so on.
I respect your opinion, but there is no way on earth Noel Redding & Jack Bruce where anything close to John Entwistle in terms of ability, originality and last influence. John was in the top one of greatest rock bassists of all time.
@@LaughingStock_ No offense but they were very different players, from their backgrounds to the bands they were in to how they applied their playing. Hence comparing them makes little sense.
No one asked either NOEL nor MITCH did they think JIMI was murdered .I think they knew what really happened - and were told to keep quiet or else.JIMI had some very bad people associated with him.
@@OM10PYE ASK the medical examiner at his autopsy .He was waterboarded - red wine was FORCED down his throat and he drowned in it through vomiting.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ij9B--ZjBJA.html
@@tanmaxwell4599 Looking at the video you posted. You also have to consider that they said no bodily trauma was found. Had Jimi been waterboarded he would surely have some kind of marks on his wrists or bruises from trying to fight the ordeal. Jimi was way overworked. Is touring schedule was mad just listen to his interview on the Dick Cavett show and he talks about nervous exhaustion and breakdowns. A lot of artists resort to drugs in order to make it through touring. Jimi was a frail guy, drugged, and abused his nervous system through work to the point of being very susceptible to the kind of accident he apparently died from. I'm not saying he was not murdered, I wasn't there. But there is even more evidence directing towards just being young, totally exhausted and accidently go overboard.
So many theories about Hendrix being murdered and how, have materialised as the years have gone by. There's big profit in it. I believe the truth is closer to the pills he was taking at the time. The same pills (of German origin) that took out a whole host of other famous artists and musicians. While sleeping they swell out the throat and block the airways considerably. Throw alcohol and being physically run down into the mix then that person is extremely vulnerable and quite susceptible to vomiting in a deep sleep. And he was unfortunate to be with a rather dark, dumb, incapable woman on that fateful night too.
@@keithfr7095Was no wonder it sounded like a Strat, but didn't sound like a Strat. Jimmy Page used a Fender XII for almost all rhythm parts on Stairway.
@@joejones9520 Noelz curly top. Tis y Jimi picked him, 2. So it wuz a friendly jibe. Datz y Noel chuckled @ it. Probably, sum old fuddy duddy, said it 1st. Da bandmemberz, were alwayz being called ladymen, or gaybobz, cause of da long hair.
He lived 3 doors away from my x girlfriend in Folkestone with his Mother. She met Jimi. Let me stand next to your fire was written there she told me. Ace.
They had a bit of a rehearsal at the local WMC in Folkestone too,before they formed the experience. She was there too. She thought they sounded crap. 😆
@@dixiefallas7799 The Experience played a gig in Folkestone at the Hillside Social Club. There's a plaque on the street commemorating it. They stayed at Noel's Mother's house that night. 'Move over Rover and let Jimi take over.' Rover was the family dog who was hogging the fire....and he wrote the song about it.
@@jakeenan Bloody hell! I didn’t know that. Diane knew Noel and his Mum so she would have known Rover too. She met Jimi a few times but it was very early days! She told me about the Fire song. She wasn’t into their music though. My jealousy doesn’t come into it Aargh! She met me when I was playing in the 80,s. Still was till the bloody lockdown started.
@@salimokwaye3831 Nope...Noel walked out of a few of those sessions, but would come back. Hendrix did punch in the bass, on a few of those tunes, especially his more complex ones...But Noel is on Voodoo Child, Slight Return, among others. Noel did not actually leave until June of 1969, when he heard that Hendrix would be searching for more musicians...I do not blame him.
Great album!!!..They only had 1 album under that name because there was already another band named Road,for those who aren't aware,,if you look up,you may get the other Road,,Lol!!!
@@johnwattdotca it certainly ditn't hurt! but i think it was noel's vocal prowess that really won jimi's respect! what other possible explanation could be given?
@@tinfoilhatter: When you describe a monotonous bass line so the guitarist can jam away I think of Band of Gypsies, most of those songs are just one chord. The album sounds better than it should because it wasn't just a live performance, it was two nights of concert dubbed together with new bass and drum tracks recorded and dubbed on after. If you like that I recommend Miles Davis' "Doo-Bop", a couple of hip-hip producers laying down a beat with Miles grooving on top of it. "Mystery" is my favorite track.
@@johnwattdotca i meant the drums, the drums were tight, i thought.. yes and the bass worked great, what an album, what a capture, of some onstage-moments, right? well, some doctoring after-the-fact, doesn't surprise me, but if they can completely replace drums and bass, i'm sure it was for good reasons, and i'll have to listen again for clues: i had not suspected it could be changed-'round so drastic'ly like that...
he was way too young back then when he joined imo to form a definite opinion of the man so early.. caught up with the whole fiasco during and after JH demise.. a blessing with an even bigger curse/aftermath... hope he found his peace/happiness finally when he passed on..
Does anyone know which song Noel refers to near the end - he cites the band Pulp and a tune about "down in the country" - but I can't find it anywhere. You don't suppose he meant "Blur" instead, do you?
Noel is like 55 in this interview. I never heard anything too special in his playing on record, but the synergy they worked up as a live band was real, but culturally they were mismatched. You hear about all those English guys who loved and studied the blues. Noel was not one of them, if he had he probably would've understood Jimi.
we all have jimi to thank for bein' such a gracious and understanding kat, man~ dang! and now-i'm-fifty-five! no-wonder-i-always-hated-that-song-by-sammy 'hey, gar!' hagar!
all's i know is, i was big into the first album, y'know, 'are you experienc'd?' by the time i was thirteen, and now i had a guitah, mate, and the year was now 1978... at the end of the summer, as an incoming high-school-freshman i bought me first record, with my own money: it was *axis: bold-as-love*~ well, this helped make the ensuing four years more and less difficult, ha ha... but life without it, would have some profoundly different spots, for sure...unthinkable, really!
One of my best experiences of working with any musician was that of working with Noel. One hell of a nice individual and talented to boot... R I P Noel and Caroline.
I just have to say one name, Michael Jefferies, having a drink with Eric Burden after his show in a small club on the East end of Long Island N.Y. Stephen's Talkhouse about 25 years ago he talked about Mr. Jefferies and how he stole the Animals money and Jimi's money and tried to warn him about Jefferies and you know the rest of story.
Met Noel in '97 at LA NAMM...Had a nice blonde with him , and she let us talk ...I was nice enough...his demeanor change ..a little when I mentioned that I did see Hendrix..in San Diego , on July 24th..but it was Billy on Bass ...still , he was pretty cool ..
I read Noels autobiography. He comes across as a bit of a prick to be honest. He was seemingly never satisfied. His career with Jim was essentially handed to him on a plate. He was simply picked by Chas Chandler to play with Jimi. He didn't have to audition or anything. Then he embarked on what would be perhaps an ultimate fantasy life for many teenage kids, he got to play with Jimi Hendrix almost every night, he got to see a lot of the world in an age where overseas travel was too expensive for most of the population, he got plenty of drugs and alcohol, and he got more sex than he could handle simply from the fact that he was in a famous band. But he got bored with that. The he heard a rumor- a rumor at most- that Hendrix was going to replace him so he immediately left for England in a huff. Then later he got what would be for some another ideal lifestyle, living in peace and obscurity in a cottage in rural Ireland. And he wasn't happy with that either. He basically seemed to live as a recluse, sulking almost his whole life after the Experience. The reason for his seemingly perpetual angst isn't really explained as such in the book. It seems Hendrix was rude to him a a few times, but who doesn't have some moments of friction with a coworker? The band wasn't built on friendship. Above all though I think the main thing that ate into him was that his manager ripped him off. So what, managers have been ripping off their acts for years. But for some reason the fact that he was cheated out of money set him onto a lifetime of self pity. And it's not as if he was destitute the moment he left the Experience, he could afford a Rolls Royce in the early 70s, and later on he bought a Jaguar. I really have little sympathy for Noel Redding. He wasn't an integral part of the Jimi Hendrix story, he was just a bass player, and moreover a bass player that Jimi wasn't completely satisfied with.
I read in an interview with Jimi that he chose him because he looked the part (presumably including his coloured shoes) and because Jimi liked his attitude to music.
at 10:06 Jimi looks rath`uh "GREENISH"! look`in! Now I know the MUNSTERS! were on tv in late `66 early `67 when this EXPERIENCE group shot was taken. but, damn man...
@@davidmatela9868 of course they were David but Noel could have been Steve, John, Bruce, Darren, Paul or anyone else who was half decent on the bass, it made no difference to Hendrix
I get it. But the fact that Noel did his job to help Jimi shine deserves a lot of respect. I played in bands for many years & the best musicians don’t always make the best mates. I also spent a little time with Noel & he was a SUPER COOL CAT
@Aiden Logan bitterness doesn’t come into it, there’s nothing bitter about pointing out that Noel was extremely lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, he wasn’t a professional musician let alone bassist, he’s bass playing was nothing that anyone reasonably accomplished couldn’t do, in fact on the albums a lot of tracks were made with Jimi playing bass himself, so Noel yes was part of the Experience but Jimi ‘was’ the Experience not Noel. Noel was replaceable Jimi wasn’t, fact nothing bitter about that and what’s done is done.
I was there on the New York scene at the time. I hung out at Joey Dee's Peppermint Lounge and Cafe Wha? It was Linda Keith who found and discovered Hendrix (they were intimate at the time even though she was Keith Richards' girlfriend) and introduced Eric Burdon to him while in the Peppermint Lounge. I get tired of hearing the lie about Burdon discovering Hendrix. Give Linda the credit, it really does belong to her.😐
I met Noel in 1998 ,nice guy .but he was very negative about the experience after axis .That's because times were changing and Jimi was using studio time to experiment which was unknown to Noel . Jimi was into producing and was very competent in the ways of the studio . Noel would not put up with hanging around the studio and Jimi would play bass which pissed him off. Jimi was miles ahead of Noel in every respect . He was in the right place at the right time ,had the right image but was stuck in a early sixties mode which was why jimi had enough in June 69 and said goodbye. Nice Guy.
Apparently Noel isn't on the studio version of All Along the Watchtower. He was in a Soho pub opposite the studio where it was being recorded. Jimi played bass on it. In an interview Noel said (not surprisingly) that he preferred the Dylan version lol.
depressing, mate! you were lucky, jimi was such a nice guy, i'd say! respecto, mate! love the band! mitch was a heck of a drummer tho, wow, i bet that could get annoying, yeah? [oops, when i wrote this, i hadn't known the bloke had left-the-building, so to speak! i was bein' funny, and i hope noel would smile at this message: respecto, mate! and queue the 'retracto theme' if necess'ry, yeah?]
