One of the greatest and most anticipated, unseen treasures in musical history will finally be revealed, The Jimi Hendrix Experience: The Royal Albert Hall, a feature-length film that documents the last European performance of the original line up of the Jimi Hendrix Experience will be screened to the public for the very first time since it was shot 50 years ago at the very location where it was primarily filmed: London’s historic Royal Albert Hall.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: The Royal Albert Hall has long been considered the holy grail of ‘lost’ films. It has never before been released on any format nor commercially screened anywhere in the world. It has remained unseen and been the subject of death, litigation and intrigue since its creation fifty years ago. The film presents an extraordinary performance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and also chronicles the hours leading up to the concert with the crew granted unprecedented access to Hendrix and his team throughout the day that preceded the performance, including backstage goings-on and a post-show reception.
To prepare the film for this unique anniversary event, producer Jerry Goldstein and Glenn Stone of The Last Experience together with Janie Hendrix and John McDermott from Experience Hendrix painstakingly restored all of the original 16mm color film elements and prepared this feature length presentation. The film’s soundtrack was mixed by Eddie Kramer, Jimi Hendrix’s longtime recording engineer.
The original concert is one the most legendary performances by Hendrix and the original iteration of the Experience. Chris Welch reviewed the show in Melody Maker one week later, writing, “When he broke into ‘Purple Haze’ feet pounded the hallowed floors, and whistles pierced the Victorian dome. When the band initially left the stage, “the crowd then went absolutely berserk and shouted for more for about 4-5 minutes. Some people started to leave as it didn’t look as though they were coming back, but they did and then they went absolutely… well, there is no word for it! People were dancing in the aisles. Jimi went mad with the atmosphere and they did Purple Haze and Wild Thing. Jimi played with his teeth and then on the floor, the stage was besieged by fans, police, bouncers, floor managers and practically the entire audience!’
Tickets for this once in a lifetime event can be bought via Royal Albert Hall’s website, and found here.
