Jimmy Hendrix’s Drummer Mitch Mitchell came to the house where our Managing Director Leah Gallin’s father lived in London. Her father also owned one of the Gibson 1967 Reissue painted Flying V guitars pictured.

Leah’s father Con lived with Davey Lutton T-Rex’s drummer. ‘Davey knew Henry McCullock who was the first guitarist in Paul McCartney’s Wings. In fact Davey knew everyone. He showed me pictures at a recording session with Jimi Hendrix, he recorded a solo album with Linda McCartney. He knew most of the big bands in England.

One day I woke up at 1pm as I normally did and went down stairs. There was a guy in the lounge room that looked familiar. I asked him if he drank at our pub, not often he said. He said he dropped his daughter off so Davey and Gail could look after her while he did a recording session. So you’re a muso I said, have you been in any bands. Yes Jimi Hendrix he replied. It was Mitch Mitchell, Hendrix’s drummer and Jimi Hendrix Experience was my favourite band so I knew who he was but when Mitch was in our lounge room he was like another person and I didn’t make the connection’

Mitchell was an English drummer best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009.

He played on the three best-selling Experience studio albums, Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold As Love (1968), and Electric Ladyland (1968). Mitchell remained with Hendrix after the Experience broke up when Noel Redding quit in June 1969.

He performed with Hendrix’s expanded line-up at Woodstock (August 1969). In 2016, Mitchell was named the eighth-greatest drummer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.