The Jimi Hendrix Experience Animals bassist, Chas Chandler, formed a backing band with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. Mitchell was a seasoned London drummer formerly with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. Hendrix chose Redding because of his attitude towards music and his hairstyle. Redding had been a guitar player until that time, but played bass in the band. The name "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" was coined by their business manager Michael Jeffery. The first official appearance of "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" (invited by French singer Johnny Hallyday) was at the "Novelty" in Évreux, France, on October 13, 1966. Six days later
Death of Jimi Hendrix 2 p.m., BBC Radio 1 reported: "Jimi Hendrix, regarded by millions as one of the most talented and original performers in modern rock music, is dead." That evening, "The New York Times" described him as "a genius black musician, a guitarist, singer and composer of brilliantly dramatic power. He spoke in gestures and big as he could imagine and create." On September 19, Dannemann spoke with a journalist for the German tabloid "Bild". During the interview, published on September 24, Dannemann stated: "I loved him, and Jimi loved me ... We were already engaged ... I would then have designed