Jimi Hendrix at Ilkley
If somebody told you that Jimi Hendrix once queued up at Harry Ramsden’s Fish Shop for his supper, you might possibly think that they were pulling your leg. You might also think that a fisherman’s tale was being spun if you were told that Hendrix blasted out a version of Purple Haze at a hotel in Ilkley, that’s now a nursing home. And that a Police Sergeant on a bicycle dressed in regulation gaberdine raincoat threatened to arrest him.
All these things happened, right here in Yorkshire back in 1967. Some lads who ran a blues club called “The Giro” in the ballroom of what was then the Troutbeck Hotel at Ilkley booked a relatively unknown blues singer just over from America. By the time the gig took place “Hey Joe” was riding high in the pop charts, but to his credit Hendrix honoured the gig at this little Yorkshire blues club. Instead of a handful of blues fans and a wet dog turning up on a quiet, rainy Sunday night, the place was thronged by hundreds of boisterous teenagers.
Enter Sergeant Tommy Chapman. He had been doing his rounds and heard a commotion. Realising the place was well overcrowded, he forced his way through the mass to the stage, and tapping Hendrix on the shoulder, told him “Turn down that racket!” and pulled the plug.
Hundreds of disillusioned hippies from all over the West Riding queued up to get their money back; some of them queued twice!
Later on that evening, a woman called Sheila Lilley was waiting to be served at Harry Ramsden’s famous fish shop. behind her in the line appeared none other than Jimi Hendrix dressed in psychadelic gear. He said to Sheila that he was sorry that the gig had to be cancelled after just one number. He signed her a photo. She still has it. Framed on the living room wall.
To read Ian’s latest article, “What a Wonderful World,” visit www.northernmusiconline.co.uk