Harry Shapiro’s talk on Jimi Hendrix was a great hit and sold out at Dimbola, raising over £400 for the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust which runs and maintains Dimbola Museum & Galleries for all to enjoy.
Over 50 people turned out to hear Harry talk on Jimi’s life, especially the years of 1969 and 1970, which he entitled ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’. Touching a little on his childhood, Harry took everyone quickly up to the years in which Jimi was performing and becoming, arguably, the greatest guitarist in the world.
After the interval, Harry concentrated on the last year of Jimi’s life, which was rather eventful to say the least, and finally, that fateful morning that he died.
Harry Shapiro’s biography of Jimi Hendrix, called Electric Gypsy, was first published in September 1990, to mark the 20th anniversary of Jimi’s death. It is widely held as the definitive biography of the giant of the electric guitar.
Whilst Harry has worked as a British music writer, with biographies of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Alexis Korner and Graham Bond, he has also, for over 40 years, worked for UK drug charities as an author, journalist and public speaker. He admitted that he’d never given a talk on his biography of Jimi, so Dimbola were honoured to have had the first and only talk by Jimi’s biographer!!
Harry said:
“I was flattered to be asked. It was a great evening; well organised, full house and a very appreciative audience”.
In the audience was Peter Harrigan, the publicist of the original 1969 and 1970 IW Festivals and publisher of ‘The Last Great Event: with Jimi Hendrix – When the World Came to the Isle of Wight, Volume II, 1970’, and he sent a rave review of the evening to Chair of Dimbola, Brian Hinton and organiser Jo Macaulay.
Peter said:
“Thanks for presenting such a brilliant event and enjoyable evening!
“Harry gave us a magisterial illustrated talk. ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’ was full of compelling detail and he gave us fascinating insights into Jimi’s life and music, revealing significant detail on the last year of Hendrix’s life. The IW Festival performance was tragically the last great event for Hendrix as well as the end of Festivals here for three decades.”
This event was held in and was part of the exhibition ‘Experience the Isle of Wight Festival 2002 to 2023’, which runs until 17th September 2023 and includes over 100 photographs of artists who have headlined the Isle of Wight Festival over the past 21 years, along with ‘best of’ footage on a large screen in a cinema room, many photographs from around the Festival site, plus artifacts including an IW Festival guitar.
It’s a museum for Tennysons photography friend Julia Margaret Cameron.
I have never understood the link between a drug addict who died of a drug overdose shortly after just once strumming his guitar in a field 3 miles away, and a fine Victorian lady who took photographs.?
Will there be a statue of Amy Winehouse placed at Osborne House any time soon Mr Hinton.?
You are so sweet to be there with us I am very happy to be here for your birthday as you were the one to help you and to have your birthday be the only thing you need right there for you I know you’re so very special I am happy that I can have your back to work so much easier for your health than it would have be to work at night I am very grateful that you’re home with your kids I know that you’re so loved I know you are so very special to have you in your family I know you love you so much and I love you have a wonderful family you will miss them all of us love to both and I’m sure we love to you have an exciting new family you will always have many happy anniversary and we love and I hope to see you soon we will miss each other
Have you been on Jimi or Brian’s wacko tobacco.?
You have copy and pasted that from an Indian copy of Mills and Boon then put it into Bing translator.
It has nothing to do with the story.
Just say no.