Noel Redding
Noel Redding | |
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David Noel Redding (25 December 1945 – 11 May 2003) was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the
Following his departure from the Experience in 1969 and the dissolution of Fat Mattress in 1970, Redding formed the short-lived group Road in the United States, which released the self-titled album Road before he re-located to Clonakilty, Ireland, in 1972. There he formed the Noel Redding Band with former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell, with whom he released two albums. Although by the 1980s Redding had largely removed himself from the music business, he would later perform around his new hometown with wife Carol Appleby.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.[1]
Biography
Background
Redding was born at the
At 17 Redding became a professional musician and toured clubs in Scotland and Germany with Neil Landon and the Burnettes (formed in late 1962) and the Loving Kind (formed in November 1965). In addition, the Lonely Ones reunited in September 1964, and Redding remained with them a year before taking his leave.[8]
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Upon his arrival in England in September 1966,
By 1969, Hendrix was performing and recording with a number of different musicians. Without consulting Redding, Hendrix announced that he intended to expand the group. Redding responded by quitting the Experience during the American tour on 29 June 1969, and returned to England.[10] However, when Hendrix's attempts to form a new group were unsuccessful, his manager, Michael Jeffery, tried to reunite the Experience in early 1970. The three were interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine to announce the reformation, but ultimately Redding was passed over in favour of bassist Billy Cox, who had performed with Hendrix at Woodstock and on the Band of Gypsys album with Buddy Miles.[10]
Fat Mattress
In 1968, Redding formed the group Fat Mattress with another Kent musician, Neil Landon. The band also included Jim Leverton on bass and keyboards and Eric Dillon on drums. Redding played guitar and vocals, and a key part of the Fat Mattress sound was the vocal harmonies between him, Landon and Leverton. The band initially toured in support of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, requiring Redding to play two full sets each night. He left Fat Mattress after only one album with them, though some of his compositions would appear on their second album.[11]
Later years
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
Redding soon went on to other projects. While living in Los Angeles, he formed Road,[12] a three-piece in the same psychedelic hard rock vein as the Experience, with Rod Richards (ex-Rare Earth) on guitar and Les Sampson on drums, and Redding switching back to bass. They released one album, Road (1972), with the three members taking turns on lead vocals.
Redding moved to Ireland in 1972. He formed the Noel Redding Band with Eric Bell (from Thin Lizzy), Dave Clarke, Les Sampson, and Robbie Walsh. Despite the band's name, Redding shared songwriting and lead vocal duties equally with Clarke. They released two albums for RCA, three tours of the Netherlands, two tours of England, one tour of Ireland, and a 10-week tour in the US. The band dissolved after a dispute with their management company. Tracks recorded for a third unreleased album were later released as The Missing Album on Mouse Records.
In his book Are You Experienced?, co-authored with his wife Carol Appleby, he spoke openly about his disappointment in his being cut off from the profits of the continued sale of the Hendrix recordings. He had signed away his royalties in 1974, and in 1980 sold the bass guitar he used with the Experience to a collector. Redding had received $100,000 as a one-off payment after he had been told that there would be no more releases of Jimi Hendrix Experience material. This was before the advent of CDs and DVDs.[13]
In 1990, Redding and Appleby were involved in a car crash returning home from a concert in Glounthaune. Appleby was left brain dead by the accident, with Redding later stating that "she was in intensive care on life support and after four days I had to make the terrible decision of shutting down the machine". They had been together for seventeen years and, just two days prior to the accident, Appleby had finished helping Redding co-write his autobiography.[14]
In 1997, Fender produced the Noel Redding Signature Jazz bass in a signed limited edition of 1000. Premiered at the NAMM Show in January 1997, the bass was based on the 1965 Jazz bass which Redding used throughout his time with the Experience. Redding tracked down the person to whom he had sold the bass some years prior, who agreed to allow Fender to inspect it. Redding stating that "Fender got the original bass from him, copied it, and sent me a prototype, and it was exactly the same as my original bass; they did a brilliant job".[15]
After meeting San Francisco musician and songwriter Keith Dion in London during the awarding of an English Heritage Blue Plaque Award in 1997, Redding performed several tours across the United States with Dion's band "3:05 AM". Recordings from these tours were released on the UK and European releases "West Cork Tuning" and "Stone Free". Video footage from these tours was shown in May 2014 during the now annual Noel Redding Tribute Festival held in Clonakilty each year. Positive feedback was also received from the Irish Cultural Minister and the head of the Irish Film Board.[16]
In 2002, a live album Live From Bunkr · Prague was released.
Redding's last performance was in Clonakilty at De Barras pub, where he had held the Friday night residency for nearly 20 years, performing with some of the local musicians who appeared on his last album Thank You, Goodnight and Good Luck including Steve Pawsey, Jeff Ward, Jim O'Neil, Eric Bell and Les Sampson.[citation needed]
Death
Redding was found dead in his home in Clonakilty on 11 May 2003, three weeks after the death of his mother.[19] A postmortem was carried out on 13 May at Cork University Hospital in Wilton, Cork. The report concluded that Redding died from "shock haemorrhage due to oesophageal varices in reaction to cirrhosis of the liver".[20] He was 57 years old and survived by a brother, a sister and a son, Nicolas Noel Redding, by his former wife, Danish-born Susanne.[13]
Legacy
In the village of Ardfield, local people erected a plaque to Redding's memory.[21] His then partner, the US-born Deborah McNaughton, had returned to America where she died from breast cancer nine months after Redding's death.[22]
Three months prior to his death, Redding had threatened to sue Experience Hendrix, LLC, the company that manages the Hendrix catalogue, for £3.26 million in lost earnings. The estate rejected his claim
A town square in Redding's hometown of Folkestone was renamed "Noel's Yard" as a memorial, described as being "a public 'Theatre in a Square' which promotes commerce, the arts, entertainment, as well as the best of British seaside living within a vibrant and safe creative community".[25]
In 2013, an art exhibition was organised to mark the 10th anniversary of Redding's death. It was opened by his brother Anthony.[6]
Discography
The Loving Kind
- "Accidental Love" / "Nothing Can Change This Love" (Piccadilly 7N 35299) 1966
- "Love the Things You Do" / "Treat Me Nice" (Piccadilly 7N 35318) 1966
- "Ain't That Peculiar" / "With Rhyme and Reason" (Piccadilly 7N 35342) 1966
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
For a more complete listing of Redding's recordings with Hendrix, see Jimi Hendrix discography and Jimi Hendrix posthumous discography.
- Are You Experienced(1967)
- Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
- Electric Ladyland (1968)
Fat Mattress
- Fat Mattress (1969)
- Fat Mattress II (1970)
- "Naturally" / "Iridescent Butterfly" (1969)
- "Magic Lanterns" / "Bright New Way" (1969)
- "Highway" / "Black Sheep of the Family" (1970, co-wrote the A-side only, no performance)
Road
- Road (1972)
Randy California
- Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds (1972, appears pseudonymously on three songs)
Noel Redding Band (also known as the Clonakilty Cowboys)
- Clonakilty Cowboys (1975)
- Blowin' (1976)
- The Missing Album (1995)
- "Roller Coaster Kids" / "Snowstorm"
- "Take It Easy" / "Back on the Road Again"
Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends
- Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends (1970)
British Invasion All-Stars
- British Invasion All-Stars (2001)
305 AM and Keith Dion
- West Cork Tuning (2001)
- West Coast Experience (2002)
- Stone Free (2003)
- On Tour with 305 AM (2003)
- West Cork Tuning Deluxe Edition (2003)
Noel Redding and Friends
Yardbirds Experience
- Family Tree: Birds of a Feather (2006)
References
- ^ "Jimi Hendrix Experience | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame".
- ^ Noel Redding Bassist with Jimi Hendrix Archived 28 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine www.independent.co.uk
- ^ "Results for England & Wales Marriages 1837-2008". Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- ^ "Results for England & Wales Marriages 1837-2008". Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- ISBN 9780198614111. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b "Hendrix bassist". Kentonline.co.uk. 3 May 2013.
- ISBN 9780306806810.
- ISBN 0-9691272-2-7.
- ISBN 978-0306806810.
- ^ a b c Shapiro H, Glebbeek C (1991). Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy, William Heinemann Ltd
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Fat Mattress – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ "Road — Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Hendrix bassist dies". News.bbc.co.uk. 13 May 2003.
- ^ "I found new love, but I still think of my tragic Carol all the time; NOEL REDDING ON HIS HEARTACHE AFTER PARTNER'S CRASH DEATH. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ "Noel Redding". Vintageguitar.com. 23 May 2003.
- ^ "Clonakilty pub to unveil never before released Redding & Hendrix photos". Irishexaminer.com. 5 May 2014.
- ^ allmusic.com
- ^ a b "Redding Honors Hendrix On New Live Set". Billboard.com. 17 June 2002.
- ^ "Hendrix bassist dies". BBC News. 13 May 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ UniVibes, Issue 46, December 2003
- ^ "Noel Redding 25th Dec. 1945 - 11th May 2003 musician lived in Ardfield 1973 - 2003". Openplaques.org. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ Healy, Shay (1 June 2008). "I get a sudden strange ripple across my lower back and it feels like half my leg has shagged off, unannounced". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ "Obituary: Noel Redding". The Guardian. 15 May 2003.
- ISBN 9781617135668.
- ^ "Noel's Yard: Home". Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.