Jimi Hendrix Experience - BBC Sessions 1966-1969 [A Prof. Stoned Comp 2025] FLAC
====================================================================================================
01. 'and what an experience'
02. Hey Joe
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Thursday 29 December 1966
Broadcast live: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops'
Producer: Stanley Dorfman
Source: off-air recording
Note: full band live performance, at the insistence of Hendrix and co., which was unusual on this show. It led to unhappy BBC technicians covering their ears due to the sheer volume the band produced. Backing vocals provided by The Breakaways -as on the record- which on this night consisted of Gloria George, Barbara Moore & Margaret Stredder. The JHE spent all day at the studio rehearsing and waiting for their moment between 19:30 and 20:00. This fan recording from the 02-02-1967 re-broadcast with announcement by Pete Murray has not circulated before (generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub) and is a substantial upgrade to the existing source (a small patch of which was used to cover for a dropout). This wasn't the group's British TV debut; they had already appeared on Ready, Steady, Go! on the 13th of December.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. Hey Joe
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Wednesday 18 January 1967 at 19:00
Broadcast: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops', Thursday 19 January 1967 19:30 to 20:00
Producer: Stanley Dorfman
Source: off-air recording
Note: again, a full band live performance with the Breakaways, and also the last time the program allowed it. This fan recording from the initial airing has not circulated before and is a substantial upgrade to the existing source (generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub). Announcement by Alan Freeman.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'high time'
02. Hey Joe
03. 'cut loose again'
04. Rock Me Baby {incomplete}
Recorded: BBC Broadcasting House, Studio S2, London, UK; Monday 30 January 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Pop North'; 9 February 1967
Source: off-air recording
Note: The first radio session. The band also recorded Foxy Lady as the third song. Described by Noel Redding in his diary simply as "Terrible sound." Announcement by Ray Moore. This has been mastered from a different tape transfer, which has not circulated before (generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub). The old digital source was heavily clipped during recording. Thanks to other content on the tape from the same show, I was able to determine the correct speed here. Thanks to Roger Morse who discovered this tape at a yard sale and shared it with the world.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'choice of experience'
02. Love or Confusion
03. 'come a little closer'
04. Foxy Lady [Take 2]
05. 'Jimi Interview'
06. Hey Joe
07. Stone Free
08. Foxy Lady [Take 1] {breaks down}
Recorded: BBC Broadcasting House, Studio S2, London, UK; Monday 13 February 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club'; Saturday 18 February 1967
Host: Brian Matthew
Producer: Bill Bebb
Engineer: Peter Harwood
Sources: tape and transcription disc (interview and voice-over bits)
Note: this second BBC radio session has survived in near-complete shape, only a second take of HJ was discarded. Reportedly, the session took 8,5 hours, which was excessive, though there may have been some delays due to various in-house complaints regarding the volume. Three songs and the interview done before the session appear on Transcription disc #121 but all 5 tracks here originate from an in-house tape source with higher fidelity, no voiceovers and count-ins/studio noise. An uncirculated off-air source of the original February 1967 transmission (generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub) can be found in the completist folder and is mostly interesting for having the interview before it was edited for transcription disc. In fact, both have some unique audio.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'exciting new sounds'
02. Purple Haze
03. 'most exciting sounds'
04. Fire
05. 'groove and move'
06. Killing Floor
Recorded: BBC Broadcasting House, Studio S2, London, UK; Tuesday 28 March 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Saturday Club'; Saturday 1 April 1967
Host: Brian Matthew
Producer: Bill Bebb
Engineers: Peter Harwood/Tony Wilson
Source: transcription disc
Note: released on TOTP transcription discs #127 & #131. Mastered from high quality vinyl transfers. Thanks to anonymous for all his fantastic rips I have been using over the years.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. Purple Haze
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Thursday 30 March 1967
Broadcast live: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops'
Producer: Stanley Dorfman
Source: off-air recording
Note: This fan recording from the 20-4-1967 re-broadcast has not circulated before and is an amazing upgrade to the existing source (generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub). Again, the band spent all day at the studio rehearsing and waiting for their moment between 19:30 and 20:00. Two versions with backing track of the studio version and live vocals were performed on this day. The version here was aired live on 30 March and the other was recorded later that night for the purpose of being broadcast on next week's show (no recording of that is known to exist).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'what a sound'
02. Purple Haze
03. 'ladies 'n gentlemen'
04. Foxy Lady
Recorded: Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London UK; Monday 10 April 1967 between 13:00 and 14:00
Broadcast live: BBC Radio 'Monday Monday'
Producer: Keith Bateson
Presenter: Dave Cash
Source: off-air recording
Note: this has come into circulation only recently, courtesy of the Johnny Kidd Fanclub. Although the sound quality is lofi, it does offer another fascinating glimpse into the JHE's sky rocketing development. Appearing here for the first time in the near-correct speed (typically, Jimi and Noel tuned their guitars by ear, so all bets are off) and with the best sound so far.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'such happenings'
02. Manic Depression
Recorded: BBC Television Centre @ Studio B, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Monday 17 April 1967
Broadcast: BBC Two TV 'Late Night Line-Up', Wednesday 17 May 1967 23:15
Source: film with 16mm soundtrack
Note: full band live performance. Announcement by Tony Bilbow. Purple Haze was taped as well and broadcast on April 19 but does not circulate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. Purple Haze
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Thursday 04 May 1967
Broadcast live: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops'
Producer: Stanley Dorfman
Source: poor off-air recording
Note: backing track of the studio version with live vocals. The band spent most of day at the studio again, rehearsing from 14:00 to 15:00 and then waiting for their moment between 19:30 and 20:00. Sadly, no better audio recording is known to exist for this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. The Wind Cries Mary
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Wednesday 10 May 1967 between 20:15 to 21:30
Broadcast: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops', Thursday 18 May 1967
Producer: Stanley Dorfman
Source: poor off-air recording
Note: backing track of the studio version with live vocals. The only version in here of this crucial early Hendrix anthem, but again with the same poor sound quality as the track above. Announcer was JS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'midnight oil'
02. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp
Recorded: BBC TV Studio @ Studio A, Manchester UK; Tuesday 22 August 1967 between 18:25 and 19:03
Broadcast live: BBC One TV 'Dee Time'
Producer: Colin Charman
Presenter: Simon Dee
Source: off-air recording
Note: backing track of the studio version with live vocals. Rehearsals between 15:00 and 16:00.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'The House That Jill Built'
02. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp
Recorded: Lime Grove Studios, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Thursday 24 August 1967
Broadcast live: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops'
Producer: Johnnie Stewart
Presenter: Pete Murray
Source: off-air recording
Note: backing track of the studio version with live vocals. The House that Jack Built by Alan Price Set is being played by mistake, causing Hendrix to remark that he doesn't know the words. Another version of BOTL was recorded later in the evening between 20:15 and 21:30 for transmission two weeks later, but no recording of that is available.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'death to all barbers'
02. Little Miss Lover
03. 'electronic wizardry'
04. Driving South [Take 1] {Edit}
05. 'group interview'
06. Burning of the Midnight Lamp
07. 'out of the kennel'
08. Hound Dog
09. 'this is the blues'
10. Catfish Blues (a.k.a. Experiencing the Blues)
11. Driving South [Take 2]
12. Jam #1
13. Jam #2 (I Was Made to Love Her)
14. Jam #3 (Ain't Too Proud To Beg)
15. Driving South [Take 1] {Complete}
Recorded: BBC Playhouse Theatre, London, UK; Friday 6 October 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Top Gear'; Sunday 15 October 1967
Hosts: Pete Drummond/Tommy Vance
Producer: Bernie Andrews
Engineer: Pete Ritzema
Sources: 1-14; tape and transcription disc (interview & announcements) 15; off-air recording
Note: Tr. 12-14 features Jimi, Noel & Stevie Wonder on drums (and faint vocals). The first take of Driving South had 50 secs edited out for the transcription disc. The complete version only exists as a decent off-air recording, for which we thank Colin H. for archiving and sharing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'Dylan would dig'
02. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
03. 'a classic in that field'
04. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
05. 'ridiculous crew'
06. Driving South
Recorded: BBC Aeolian Hall, Studio 2, London, UK; Tuesday 17 October 1967
Broadcast: BBC World Service 'Rhythm And Blues'; Monday 13 November 1967
Host: Alexis Korner
Producer: Jeff Griffin
Engineer: Joe Young
Source: tape (probably 2nd generation)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'pops takes a trip'
02. Day Tripper
03. 'thank you astronaut'
04. Spanish Castle Magic
05. Hear My Train A Comin [Take 2]
06. 'general's uniform'
07. Wait Until Tomorrow
08. Radio One
09. 'I Want To Tell You riff'
10. Hear My Train A Comin [Take 1]
11. 'Jimi Interview with Tony Hall'
Recorded: BBC Playhouse Theatre, London, UK; Friday 15 December 1967
Broadcast: BBC Radio 'Top Gear'; 24 December 1967
Host: John Peel
Producer: Bernie Andrews
Engineer: Pete Ritzema
Sources: both tape and transcription disc (announcements)
Note: The BBC made copy tapes in the 70s from this session which were subjected to heavy processing including EQ, compression, stereo re-channeling and reverb (sadly, Tr. 05 circulates only like that). For reasons unknown, both official releases used only material from the processed 70s tapes even though the 'dry' mono tapes were still on file and used for the 90s Westwood broadcast CD's. Both versions of Hear My Train A Comin were attended by a few guests, whose hollering and singing was miked and turned up loudly in the mix. Using modern demix technology, the recordings presented here bring those noises to the background, uncovering two fantastic performances.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. Purple Haze
Recorded: BBC Television Centre, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Saturday 16 December 1967
Broadcast: BBC One TV 'Top of the Pops' Monday 25 December 1967
Producer: Johnnie Stewart
Source: off-air recording
Note: backing track of the studio version with live vocals. Last TOTP live appearance and also the one that survives with the best sound. Completely new to circulation and once again generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub. Announcement of the JHE by Alan Freeman.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. Wild Thing
02. 'Jimi interview'
Recorded: Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts USA, Friday March 15 1968
Broadcast: BBC1 TV 'Omnibus: All My Loving'; Sunday 03 November 1968 at 10:40PM
Source: tape
Note: a semi-professional mono soundboard, recorded by BBC crew. About 3 minutes of WT appear in the movie, heavily edited and with various unrelated sound effects added. This is the complete version from the 1999 Dagger Records album but with improved sound. The interview bit is taken straight from the movie soundtrack.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01. 'became like Elvis'
02. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
03. 'love to hear him sing'
04. Hey Joe
05. 'dedicate a song'
06. Sunshine Of Your Love
Recorded: BBC Television Centre @ Studio 4, Shepherd's Bush, London UK; Wednesday 4 January 1969 18:15
Broadcast live: BBC One TV 'Happening for Lulu',
Producer: Stanley Dorfman
Presenter: Marie Lawrie (a.k.a. Lulu)
Source: film with 16mm soundtrack
Note: Widely recognized as some of the best known Hendrix footage and coincidently the only episode of the show -out of 13 episodes- which was not wiped (reportedly because the master video tape was secretly confiscated by a BBC engineer when he heard it was going to be erased).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus: 'Completist Stuff'
Saturday Club (complete off-air source, transmission 18 February 1967)
JHE Hamburg 18-3-1967 (German Radio "Twenclub" aired live and re-broadcast for "Hamburg Swings" on BBC Light Radio 1 July 1967)
Chas Chandler Interview (from "Scene and Heard" BBC Radio, transmission 12 October 1969, previously uncirculated, generously provided by The Johnny Kidd Fanclub)
Jimi Hendrix Interview (by Keith Altham, Sept 11, 1970, Hendrix' last interview, just 21 seconds of it were aired posthumously on "Scene and Heard" on 20 sept 1970; this is the complete tape with best sound)
====================================================================================================
Total time: 4h02m11s
All tracks are Mono
Mastering: Prof Stoned
Audio research for this comp: PS, Johnny with help from JKF.
Source of information: Ken Garner - In Session Tonight (1993), Radio Times, various...
Note: Over the years, the official Hendrix administration has made two attempts to compile and release the BBC material: the now-out-of-print Radio One (1988) and BBC Sessions (1998/2010). Both of which have proven problematic for the advanced Hendrix fans and audiophiles due to primitive faux-pas stereo effects which were applied to the mono recordings and -as mentioned above- the inferior source material used for the December 1967 radio session. Although the 1998 2CD is by far preferable to the 1988 one, neither one does this priceless material justice. So, after my 2020 release which only covered the 1967 radio sessions, here is my attempt at compiling *all* the existing BBC from the best possible sources in one place, with what I hope will be the definitive audio mastering. As eloborated below, demix technology has been used on all non-lofi sources to improve mixing balances. Huge thanks must go to The Johnny Kidd Fanclub, who delivered me the best off-air sources available and also the correct details. Also huge thanks to Johnny, who was instrumental in getting the 2020 compilation together.
v1.0: 27:06-2025
====================================================================================================
Sources:
- Hendrix At "The Beeb" (2×CD, Comp, Transcription) Westwood One Radio Network – Show# 92-48 USA 1992 > all tracks from sessions 13/2/67, 6/10/67, 17/10/67 & 15/12/67 minus the following:
- BBC Classic Tracks (2×CD, Comp, Transcription) Westwood One, USA 1991 > Foxy Lady [Take 2] from 13/2/67 + Driving South [Take 1] from 6/10/67
- BBC Radio (2xCDR, Comp) For Trade Only FTO 008-009 2004 > 'Radio One' & 'Interview with Tony Hall' from 15/12/67
- BBC DAT Masters (2xCDR) no label - 2007 > 'ridiculous crew' & Driving South from 17/10/67 & Hear My Train A Comin [Take 2] from 15/12/67
- HQ vinyl rips from BBC TOTP Transcriptions > all tracks from session 28/3/67, interviews and announcements from 13/2/67, 6/10/67 & 15/12/67
Furthermore:
- various off-air radio/tv recordings, mostly from 1st generation reel to reel, provided by JKF
- 1966-1969 The Complete BBC Session (B'AS) > 1/4/69 (slightly lossy, but the cleanest out there)
- BBC Sessions (2CD) Experience Hendrix – 88843052412 2010 > 17/4/67, 24/8/67
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience (4CD) MCA Records – 112 316-2 Europe 2000 > 22/8/67
- Live At Clark University (1999) Dagger Records – DBRD-12033 US 1999 > 15/3/68 Tr.1
- All My Loving (DVD) Isolde Films 2007 > 15/3/68 Tr.2
- 'same old' bootleg sources: 4/5/67 & 10/5/67
====================================================================================================
A note about mastering with demix technology:
You may have heard some of my recent offerings where I have used demix pro for spectral extraction. I believe it is the most revolutionary audio processing tool since ages. It enables us to break a mono signal down into 4 dedicated elements: vocals, drums/percussion, bass guitar and whatever remains after. These extractions are of such precision they allow for a realistic reconstruction of a mix.
Why is this useful? Well... the original mix may have flaws that affect the quality of the sound. By nature, the process of mastering is designed to improve upon such flaws by applying equalization and/or processing of dynamic range. But what if one element within a recording needs more treble, while another element is already bright enough? At that point, EQ is not sufficient anymore because your choices will affect both. Of course, mastering does not begin and end with just EQ; there are always other ways of emphasizing or hiding elements in a recording. But spectral extraction allows you to improve upon the sound of one element without 'harming' the sound of all the others and also to re-balance those elements if necessary.
It goes without saying that all tracks that were originally in mono have stayed mono. The goal has not been to change the integrity of the original recordings but to make them sound as pleasing as possible. A perfect mix does not need fixing but nearly all recordings here were made under primitive circumstances and mixed directly to mono while the band performed. Heavy compression was used to keep things in place. If one element suddenly became louder than others, the compressor would slam the recording level back down. This was certainly necessary because the audio signal needed to be as loud as possible for when it was put on the air.
I have used demix on nearly all the recordings with decent fidelity. Being able to correct balancing mistakes; having the flexibility to mesh the bass guitar and kick drum together nicely and putting the vocals precisely in the mix where they need to be is a great luxury. Especially when it doesn't have to be achieved with buss EQ and/or compression. I believe these new masters have a more dynamic, open sound than the source material. The goal has been to stay true to the original feel but with added clarity and depth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have used the following digital studio gear and monitoring in the making of this:
- DeMix Pro 3.0.1 & Spectralayers Pro 10
- Cubase 13
- Universal Audio UAD-2 Satellite Quad-Core (incl. various extra plugins I purchased over the years)
- Neumann KH150 & iLoud Micro monitors
- Adobe Audition
- Izotope RX9
