Unreleased Jimi Hendrix recordings up for auction
On the occasion of an auction dedicated to Jimi Hendrix memorabilia and relics, unreleased recordings of the legendary Seattle guitarist, who died at the age of 27 in 1970, will be auctioned off.
According to the Guardian, the unreleased demos date back to 1968, two years before Hendrix’s death, and are said to be “very different in sound and length” from their published versions. The tracks are approximately seven minutes long, and the demo includes songs such as “Up From the Skies”, “Ain’t No Telling”, “Little Miss Lover” and “Stone Free”. The estimated value of the master tapes alone is 200 thousand sterile.
The auction, via live streaming, is scheduled to take place in London on November 15th and is organized by Propstore, specialists in film, TV and music memorabilia. As reported, the privilege of listening to the unreleased recordings will be reserved for the winner of the auction, who will be able to listen to them “only in the privacy of their own home”.
The first three tracks are taken from the band’s second album “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”, “Axis: Bold as Love”, while “Stone Free” was the B-side of “Hey Joe”, which marked the first single release by Hendrix in the UK in 1966.
Speaking about the rediscovered tapes, Mark Hochman, music consultant for the Propstore auction, said that anyone who purchases them will have “the privilege of being the only one to hear” these Jimi Hendrix recordings.
“These versions have never been heard before, released or broadcast and are very different in sound and length compared to the more common recordings,” added Hochman: “You hear more guitar, which is obviously what Hendrix was famous for. Experts who have viewed and listened to the recordings all agree that these are far superior to all other versions of these tracks.”
The collection of items is for sale by Patricia “Trixie” Sullivan who worked as a personal assistant to the manager of “All Along the Watchtower” singer Mike Jeffery, between 1966 and 1973. After Jeffery’s death in 1973, Sullivan collected materials such as demos and master tapes, among other archival materials that bailiffs deemed invaluable. This is the first time anything has been put up for auction.
The auction will also include Hendrix’s recurring bills from a Harley Street doctor that were made out to both him and his band members. Speaking about the bills, Hochman said, “You can only imagine what they were for in the late ’60s… I think they were for their drugs.”
There will also be more than 50 rare tapes up for grabs, including master recordings by Hendrix and bands such as Animals and Soft Machine. Some of the original boxes have titles written in Hendrix’s neat handwriting.
Other items include a dry cleaning invoice, an eviction note from Hendrix’s company informing him that he will be evicted from Ringo Starr’s London flat, pay slips and the band’s first ever contract.