Noel Redding

Noel Redding
Noel Redding was born December 25th , 1945 in the English Channel port city of Folkstone. An acommplished guitarist/bass player he was recruited along with Mitch Mitchell on drums by Chas Chandler , formerly of “The Animals” to back Jimi Hendrix in 1966 when Jimi hit England. Hendrix was impressed with his ability to play chords on the bass guitar. Together as “The Jimi Hendrix Experience” they took England by storm. The Experiences’ debut at the Monteray Pop Festival in 1967 is one of the most historic performances in rock, climaxed by Hendrix setting his guitar on fire. Sporting granny glasses and a bigger ‘fro then Jimi they recorded three groundbreaking classic albums together: “Are You Experienced”, “Axis: Bold as Love” and “Electric Ladyland”. Tensions within the band began to mount and after playing a concert in Denver in mid 1969 Noel quit the band, citing a limited role within the group and dissapointment over Hendrix’s antics. Jimi recruited army-buddy Billy Cox to fill the void but Jimi seemed to flounder and his music afterwards lacked the bite of his first three efforts. Noel formed “Fat Mattress” and recorded two lackluster albums. He then retreated to Ireland and settled in “Clonakilty”. He remained active in the local music scene but would never taste success again. On May 12th, 2003 , he was found dead in his home at the age of 57.