Feature: Revisiting Jimi Hendrix’s Iconic Albert Hall Film Screening

The long-awaited and highly debated fully restored film of Jimi Hendrix at the Albert Hall was finally premiered at the venue on October 21, 2019.

The fully restored, much-anticipated, and widely debated film of Jimi HENDRIX Live at the Albert Hall in 1969 was finally screened for the first time at the original location on October 21, 2019.

According to Yazid Manou, a French music publicist who located me years later and recognized me as the child who ran onto the stage and whispered something into the guitar legend’s ear.

One of the reasons for the public screening was to prevent the copyright from expiring, as the owners needed to exhibit the property commercially within fifty years of the original claim. The opportunity to watch this high-resolution film—which appears impressive with a slightly blue tint, likely due to the original green hue—is incredible and a major celebration for Hendrix enthusiasts, music lovers, and fans of this legendary film, often dubbed the Holy Grail of lost music documentaries.

Albert Hall – Tentative schedule: 5:30 pm restaurants and bars open. 6:30 pm Boxes open. 6:45 pm Auditorium doors open. 7:30 pm The Jimi Hendrix Experience: The Royal Albert Hall. Event concludes at 9:35 pm.

My father, Tommy, was acquainted with Jimi socially and filmed a multi-camera concert documentary titled ‘Watch Out For Your Ears’ about a year before the Albert Hall concert. It featured Jimi, The Animals, and Traffic (who replaced The Who when they withdrew from the gig). Watching Jimi’s electrifying performance in that film sparked my obsession with Hendrix. All the musicians in that circle were interconnected, and half of Traffic performed onstage at the Albert Hall, including Chris Wood, Dave Mason, and Rocky, the percussionist. I assume this led to our visit to Traffic’s home in Buckinghamshire, where I was completely star-struck by the sight of a young Windwood playing frisbee on the lawn among all the eccentric characters.

I didn’t meet Hendrix until the Albert Hall in ’69, when my father Tommy introduced my brother and me to him backstage before the show. Jimi lifted me onto his shoulders and ran around the dressing room with me. Then, likely too excited to hold back, I somehow ended up onstage during the performance and whispered something into his ear. What I said remains unknown—it could have been a song request or perhaps I asked for his tailor’s address. The exact words are still a mystery.

The black and white photo of that backstage encounter only surfaced for me during Christmas 2013 when Yazid Manou, a French music publicist for Sony Music and a photo detective, reached out to me on Facebook. Naturally, I was astonished. The picture is now housed in the Handel and Hendrix museum, located at 23 Brook Street in Mayfair, along with a brief mention of my father.