Noel Redding

About

From Wikipedia:

David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress.

Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 and the dissolution of Fat Mattress in 1970, Redding formed the short-lived group Road in the United States, which released the self-titled album Road before he re-located to Clonakilty, Ireland, in 1972. There he formed the Noel Redding Band with former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell, with whom he released two albums. Although by the 1980s Redding had largely removed himself from the music business, he would later perform around his new hometown with wife Carol Appleby.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. […]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Upon his arrival in England in September 1966, Jimi Hendrix and his producer/manager Chas Chandler set about finding backing musicians. Although Redding had played guitar up to that point, he switched to bass guitar and became the second member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, followed shortly by drummer Mitch Mitchell, to form a power trio. With the group, he recorded three landmark albums: Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland. Redding also wrote and sang lead on two songs, “Little Miss Strange” and “She’s So Fine”. His playing style was distinguished by the use of a pick, a mid-range “trebly” sound, and in later years the use of fuzz and distortion effects through overdriven Sunn amps. For the bass line in “Red House”, Redding played the bass strings on a normal six-string guitar.

By 1969, Hendrix was performing and recording with a number of different musicians. Without consulting Redding, Hendrix announced that he intended to expand the group. Redding responded by quitting the Experience during the American tour on 29 June 1969, and returned to England. However, when Hendrix’s attempts to form a new group were unsuccessful, his manager, Michael Jeffery, tried to reunite the Experience in early 1970. The three were interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine to announce the reformation, but ultimately Redding was passed over in favour of bassist Billy Cox, who had performed with Hendrix at Woodstock and on the Band of Gypsys album with Buddy Miles. […]

---

Noel Redding – along with Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell, of the Jimi Hendrix Experience – met Paul McCartney on several occasions, in late 1966 and 1967.

I did make a good friend of a lady named Linda Eastman. She interviewed me, did several photo sessions with the group, and was responsible for the Life magazine centerfold of Jimi and me. She’s never stopped taking great photos, but now works under the name of McCartney.

---

Last updated on March 12, 2023