ジミ・ヘンドリックス没後５０年　住居に垣間見るロンドンでの生活

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】伝説的ギタリスト、ジミ・ヘンドリックスは50年前のきょう、27歳の若さでこの世を去った。（写真はジミ・ヘンドリックス住んでいた英ロンドンの部屋。現在はミュージアムとして一般公開されている）
　ヘンドリックスは米シアトル生まれだが、本格的に音楽活動を始めたのは英国で、その過激なギタープレーは１９６０年代の音楽シーンを席巻した。
　ヘンドリックスはかつて、英ロンドン市内メイフェア地区にある２３ブルック・ストリートの部屋に住んでいた。この部屋は現在ミュージアムとなっていて、ヘンドリックスの音楽的遺産に加え、英国での暮らしぶりを垣間見ることのできる貴重な場所となっている。
　ここでの滞在期間は１９６８年から１９６９年で、当時恋人だったキャシー・エッチンガムさんと一緒に暮らしていた。その後、エッチンガムさんと別れ、米国に活動の場を移す際に、自身の所有物を売るか捨てるかするようマネジャーに指示していたという。
　そして１年後の１９７０年９月１８日、ヘンドリックスはアルコールと薬物を摂取した後、ロンドン西部のホテルで遺体で発見された。
　ヘンドリックスの代表曲には、「ヘイ・ジョー」や「紫のけむり」などがある他、ボブ・ディラン作曲の「ウォッチタワー」の演奏も有名だ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/09/18-17:04）

Jimi Hendrix made his name in London, exploding onto the 1960s music scene with his mesmeric guitar playing, before his untimely death 50 years ago at the age of 27.
His flat at 23 Brook Street, in the Mayfair area of central London, is now a museum -- and besides his musical legacy is one of the few tangible reminders of his life in the city.
The legendary guitarist, famous for tracks including Hey Joe, Purple Haze and his cover of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower, lived at the address between 1968 and 1969.
He considered it his first real home, explained Hendrix specialist Christian Lloyd, from Canada's Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
Even now, it's considered the Seattle-born singer-songwriter's only recognised residence.
More than two centuries earlier, another musical genius lived at number 25: Handel.
But at the time, a plaque commemorating the German Baroque-era composer was located between the two buildings, prompting Hendrix to believe he was living at the same house.
At one point, Hendrix even thought he saw Handel's ghost in a mirror, said Lloyd.
- Persian rugs -
Hendrix lived at the flat with his then-girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, who described the difficulties in finding a place for the star.
I'd been to an estate agent or two and tried to get a flat in other blocks in Mayfair but as soon as they heard it was for Jimi Hendrix, it was a NO, she told Channel 4 in 2016.
They didn't want somebody like him in their blocks of flats.
Etchingham transformed the small flat, ripping out the grey carpeting, and furnishing it from the John Lewis department store on nearby Oxford Street.
She was called in again when it became a museum four years ago to recreate it as it was at the time, complete with rolled up Persian rugs that the musician collected.
One room bathed in red, orange and pink has a full ashtray and empty teacups, as well as a Monopoly set.
There are also two telephones his management had installed due to Hendrix's habit of giving out his number to anyone who asked for it.
A penny coin is taped to a record player to stop records jumping at high volume.
- Personal refuge -
Brook Street became a haven for Hendrix and a perfect place to hone his craft -- loudly, at all hours and undisturbed by neighbours -- as it was surrounded only by shops and offices.
This place was a real refuge for Hendrix. You can imagine by 1968 he was incredibly famous, said Sean Doherty, who manages the museum.
He was kind of the poster boy of swinging London and psychedelic music at the time. It was a place away from the craziness of the music scene in London.
He could be at home, relax and write music.
Like the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, Hendrix is synonymous with 1960s London and now considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
He moved to the British capital in September 1966 at the age of 23 as a complete unknown and after an unhappy childhood and a spell in the army.
On the plane from the United States, he vowed to make a name for himself and changed his name from Jimmy James to Jimi Hendrix.
It's a sign that he's going to recreate himself in London because, of course, no-one knows who he is in London. He can be who he wants to be, said Lloyd.
- Spirit of Hendrix -
Advances in studio technology of the kind only available in London at the time helped him to achieve his aim of playing futuristic guitar, combining blues, rock and jazz.
Doherty describes the flat that Hendrix lived in as Bohemian chic.
When the musician broke up with Etchingham and went to record in the United States, he instructed his manager to sell or get rid of his possessions, he added.
A year later, on September 18, 1970, Hendrix was found dead at a west London hotel, after taking a cocktail of drink and drugs.
Half a century later, his music lives on, and Brook Street retains the aura of one of the key figures of the time.
A lot of people walk in and say they can feel the spirit of Jimi Hendrix in the space, which is great really, said Doherty.
People can have a personal moment with someone they obviously treat as like and icon.