We’re releasing this episode (our Season 1 finale) on a Sunday rather than the regular Tuesday, for a very good reason indeed: 1st December 2024 is the 57th anniversary of the amazing Jimi Hendrix performing in the Central Theatre, Chatham, another milestone in the long, rich history of Medway’s music scene.

The Hendrix Experience were headlining a package tour of seven bands - the kind of tour that was very popular in the US in the 1950s, but quite unusual in the UK by the late 60s. Second on the bill were Pink Floyd, who’d only just released their first album. So we went to talk to Nick Mason, the Floyd drummer, about his memories of being on the tour with Jimi. In his wry, understated way, he gives us a real insight to what it meant to him musically and personally.

We also talk to John Campbell, the lead guitarist and singer in Europe’s best Hendrix tribute band, Are You Experienced?, about channelling Hendrix for audiences in the 2020s. And illustrator and typographer Will Hill tells us about going - aged 12 - to his first-ever gig: Jimi Hendrix in Washington DC in August 1967, only a few months before he came to Chatham…

Finally, Phil chats to Rob about the times he got to play piano with both the then surviving members of the Hendrix Experience - bassist Noel Redding in County Cork, and drummer Mitch Mitchell in the Hard Rock Café on Piccadilly.

And we’ve added a Christmas bonus: a teaser for Series 2 with Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.

Thanks for listening - and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

With thanks to John Campbell from Are You Experienced?

Instagram: @‌JimiJon4

Facebook: Are You Experienced?

To purchase a copy of Victorian Christmas by Lucinda Dickens Hawksley visit the Charles Dickens Museum shop or Store 104, Rochester

We Did It Medway is supported by the Medway Council Shared Prosperity Fund from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and The City of Rochester Society. Find out more about their work at city-of-rochester.org.uk

We Did it Medway is presented by Philip Dodd and Rob Flood. It is produced and edited by Suze Cooper at Big Tent Media, with assistance from Emily Crosby Media.

The We Did It Medway music is written and performed by Chris Weller (Staggered Ray), Rob Shepherd (Singing Loins) and Vicky Price (Ashen Keys) with lyrics by Philip Dodd. Additional sound design elements for this episode were sourced from Freesound.org: Sleigh bells courtesy of GowlerMusic and soundstack.

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