The classic rock band Jimi Hendrix believed were “mad scientists”
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(Credits: Bent Rej)
Jimi Hendrix single-handedly redefined how the electric guitar is viewed as an instrument. Hendrix could play the six-string in a magical way that had never been seen before, and in the wake of his tragic passing, nobody has yet to improve upon his level of genius.
Due to his unique approach to playing the electric guitar, it’s challenging to imagine Hendrix sitting around and admiring the work of others. However, music was his life’s passion, and the one attribute he sought out in other artists was experimentation.
A moment demonstrating Hendrix’s skill and love for the British music scene came at the Saville Theatre in London on June 4th, 1967. Two days earlier, The Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and upon spotting Paul McCartney in the audience, Hendrix treated the crowd to an impromptu cover of the title track.
Upon arriving in London in 1966 after being discovered by Chas Chandler in a New York club, Hendrix immersed himself in the capital’s bustling music scene, which, at that time, was the envy of the world. Within weeks of his arrival, Hendrix’s performances became a talking point among musicians, who were curious to find out whether he was the real deal. After they witnessed him use the stage as his canvas, the common consensus was that Hendrix operated on a level above everybody else.
When Hendrix arrived in London, he didn’t know a soul apart from Chandler, but initiating himself within the scene didn’t take long. Whispers spread like wildfire about his talent, and his earliest gigs were attended by everyone from Eric Clapton to Pete Townshend.
Another figure that took an interest in Hendrix from an early stage was Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. All these years later, he vividly recalls the first time he witnessed Hendrix perform, which happened to be among his earliest shows on these shores. It took place at the London Polytechnic when the American made a spontaneous appearance on-stage with Cream and made Clapton look like an amateur in comparison.
“In the middle of the show, they said, ‘We would like to introduce a friend of ours’,” Waters later remembered. “And this guy came on stage and started playing the guitar with his teeth and, at a certain time, also playing with the guitar behind his head”.
Waters added: “I found myself thinking about it some time ago. And I remember that I had misunderstood his name. I thought he was called Junior Hendrix, but then I discovered that he was not ‘Junior’, it was Jimi Hendrix, and that was the first time that he performed in England, at a Cream show.”
Pink Floyd had only recently formed, and the wide-eyed Waters was awe-struck by the mesmeric talent he had seen play at the Polytechnic. After Hendrix graduated onto bigger things, Waters’ band’s shows at The UFO Club began to recreate a similar buzz before they captured a record deal. Hendrix was among their great admirers, giving them a glowing endorsement shortly before his death.
In an interview with Melody Maker in 1970, Hendrix discussed the contemporary landscape and predicted how it would change in the future. “The term blowing someone’s mind is valid,” Hendrix said. People like you to blow their minds, but then we are going to give them something that will blow their mind, and while it’s blown, there will be something there to fill the gap.”
Hendrix continued: “It’s going to be a complete form of music. It will be really druggy music. Yes, I agree it could be something on similar lines to what Pink Floyd are tackling. They don’t know it, you know, but people like Pink Floyd are the mad scientists of this day and age.”
Hendrix’s comments about Pink Floyd were beyond complimentary, and he appreciated that they were doing something new rather than rehashing the work of others. Both were relentless innovators who were open to experimentation, and despite their musical differences, they had similar approaches.
Furthermore, his prediction that Pink Floyd would define an era of music was also wholly accurate, which shows that Hendrix firmly had his finger on the pulse.
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