Hendrix visits Noel Redding at Olympic Studios during a recording session for Fat Mattress. Later that evening, Jimi Hendrix travels to Ronnie Scott’s to enjoy an evening of performances by Roland Kirk & His Quartet.
The Scene, New York Jam Session According to Noel Redding, Hendrix and Mitchell joined him for an evening of jamming at the Scene nightclub, a favorite spot of the group.
Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee [Two Shows] With Fat Mattress Set List: [Second Show] Fire I Don’t Live Today Hear My Train A Comin’ Sunshine Of Your Love Stone Free Foxey Lady Star Spangled Banner Purple Haze Voodoo Child (Slight Return) Burdened with an exhaustive schedule of personal appearances, the tense relationship between Hendrix and bassist Noel Redding further deteriorated.
Denver Pop Festival, Denver, Co. Set List: Tax Free Hear My Train A Comin’ Fire Spanish Castle Magic Red House Foxey Lady Star Spangled Banner Purple Haze The Experience topped the bill at the 1969 Denver Pop Festival. The festival, staged at Mile High Stadium, boasted a stellar lineup which also included Johnny Winter, Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Poco, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, Iron Butterfly, Tim Buckley, and Big Mama Thornton.
February 2, 1968 Noel Redding completes an interview for the In Sound radio program. The program is hosted by Harry Harrison. The band remains in San Francisco but moves from the Fillmore East to perform two shows at the Winterland Ballroom.
Just months after leaving the Experience to front Fat Mattress, Noel Redding’s group was coming undone. Rolling Stone magazine was among the first to reveal the group’s undoing. “Despite reports to the contrary, Noel Redding’s Fat Mattress was not breaking up.
Despite initial reports that Fat Mattress had not disbanded, new information surfaced about the group’s messy split. Guitarist Noel Redding left for home after suffering what was being called a “nervous breakdown.” A spokesman for the Robert Stigwood Organization said, “the American tour could have been worth a million dollars.”
Under the watchful eye of manager, Michael Jeffery Rolling Stone’s John Burks was invited to Jeffery’s office on West 37th Street in New York to interview Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding (who was recently brought in from England). Jeffery clearly wanted to present the original Jimi Hendrix Experience as a united group and that the disastrous Madison Square Garden performance by Hendrix with the Band Of Gypsys was a single, isolated episode.
Noel Redding returns to New York expecting to begin rehearsing with Hendrix and Mitchell for the next Jimi Hendrix Experience tour unaware that Billy Cox has replaced him in the band. “Noel wasn’t told until he came back, expecting to rehearse for the tour,” explains Mitch Mitchell.
