Noel Redding Biography Quotes 19 Report mistakes

Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Noel David Redding was born on December 25, 1945, in Folkestone, Kent, England. He gravitated toward the guitar as a teenager, playing in local groups across Kent and the south of England and gaining a reputation as a versatile young musician comfortable with rhythm and lead parts. By the mid-1960s he had enough experience on the London scene to answer auditions, hoping to move from provincial gigs into professional touring and recording.

Finding His Place with Jimi Hendrix
In 1966 Redding attended an audition in London where the former Animals bassist and fledgling manager Chas Chandler was assembling a new project for an American guitarist just arrived in town, Jimi Hendrix. Although Redding had auditioned as a guitarist, Chandler and co-manager Michael Jeffery asked whether he would consider switching to bass. Redding agreed, and within weeks The Jimi Hendrix Experience took shape as a trio with Hendrix on guitar and vocals, Mitch Mitchell on drums, and Redding on bass.

The group immediately drew attention in the United Kingdom, releasing Hey Joe late in 1966 and following with the album Are You Experienced in 1967. Appearances at key venues and festivals, including the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, made the trio an international phenomenon. In performance, Redding provided a taut, riff-centered counterweight to Hendrix's expansive lead guitar, anchoring arrangements while Mitchell's jazz-influenced drumming added color and momentum. Chandler oversaw the band's early studio work, and engineer Eddie Kramer became a trusted technical collaborator as their recordings grew more ambitious.

Sound, Role, and Songwriting
A guitarist by training, Redding approached the bass with a melodic, guitar-like sensibility. He favored tight ostinatos and sturdy chord-root patterns that reinforced Hendrix's grooves and gave the songs structure onstage. Redding sometimes sang backing vocals and, importantly, contributed original songs to the band's catalog. He wrote and sang She's So Fine on Axis: Bold as Love (1967) and Little Miss Strange on Electric Ladyland (1968), reminders that he remained a songwriter and band member rather than a strictly supporting player. While Hendrix occasionally overdubbed his own bass parts in the studio, Redding's sound and stage presence remained a defining feature of the Experience's celebrated tours across 1967 and 1968.

Tensions and the Decision to Leave
As the group's profile expanded in the United States, recording sessions grew longer and more exacting. Redding became frustrated with late-night studio routines and the managerial pressures surrounding the band. By 1968 he had started a side project, Fat Mattress, which allowed him to return to guitar and vocals and to pursue his own writing. Balancing the two commitments increased strains within the Experience. After extensive touring and the challenging Electric Ladyland sessions, Redding decided to depart. The trio's final concert with him on bass took place at the Denver Pop Festival in June 1969. Hendrix later forged ahead with other lineups, most notably working with bassist Billy Cox, while Redding refocused on his own groups.

Fat Mattress and Early 1970s Projects
Fat Mattress released two albums and toured, at times sharing bills with the Experience. The project showcased Redding's interest in harmony vocals and folk-rock textures, distinct from Hendrix's psychedelic blues. In 1972 he formed the power trio Road with guitarist Rod Richards and drummer Les Sampson, issuing a single self-titled album. These ventures solidified his identity beyond the shadow of the Experience, even if they did not reach comparable commercial heights.

The Noel Redding Band and Life in Ireland
Redding settled in County Cork, Ireland, in the early 1970s, making the town of Clonakilty his long-term home. He remained a visible, active musician there, playing sessions, organizing local gigs, and building a community of collaborators. The Noel Redding Band, which featured Dave Clarke, Eric Bell, and Les Sampson at various points, released two albums on RCA: Clonakilty Cowboys (1975) and Blowin' (1976). The records and tours reflected his easygoing, song-oriented sensibility, combining rootsy rock with crisp guitar work. In Ireland he became a respected elder statesman to younger players while maintaining ties with former bandmates and colleagues abroad.

Relationship to the Hendrix Legacy
Redding's years with Hendrix remained the centerpiece of his public profile. He participated in interviews, documentaries, and tribute events that sought to make sense of the Experience's short, incandescent run. He frequently addressed the creative chemistry among Hendrix, Mitchell, and himself, and he spoke candidly about the stresses they faced under the stewardship of Chas Chandler and Michael Jeffery. Redding voiced dissatisfaction over royalty and contract matters from the late 1960s and later pursued legal avenues seeking compensation related to the band's recordings. His concerns echoed those of many artists from that era, and they complicated his relationship to the Hendrix estate and catalog management even as he maintained pride in the music they created together.

Style, Gear, and Musicianship
Onstage in the Experience, Redding projected a charismatic, kinetic presence, often seen with a Fender Jazz Bass and, at times, experimenting with an eight-string bass for added texture. His playing locked tightly with Mitch Mitchell's drumming, creating a rhythmic foundation that allowed Hendrix's improvisations to soar without losing coherence. As a songwriter and guitarist in his own groups, Redding favored concise arrangements, strong choruses, and a bright, percussive rhythm style, highlighting the breadth of his musicianship beyond bass duties.

Writing and Reflections
In later years Redding co-wrote a memoir with music journalist Dave Thompson, offering his perspective on the rapid ascent, creative work, and internal dynamics of the Experience, as well as his subsequent bands. The book provided context for his decisions, his aspirations as a composer and guitarist, and his continuing attachment to the community he built in Ireland.

Final Years and Legacy
Redding continued to perform and record intermittently through the 1990s and early 2000s, often hosting or joining sessions in Clonakilty and appearing at festivals dedicated to classic rock. He died on May 11, 2003, at his home in County Cork, after health problems that had increasingly limited his activities. Tributes from peers and listeners emphasized the singular chemistry he forged with Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell, his contributions as a writer and multi-instrumentalist, and the generosity he showed to musicians who sought him out in Ireland. Though best known for his essential role in the Jimi Hendrix Experience's three landmark albums, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland, Noel Redding left a broader legacy as a songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader who continued to make music on his own terms long after the 1960s had passed.

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