Why did hendrix burn his guitar

Since it was already damaged, he decided to smash it altogether. In March that same year, Hendrix was part of a British tour. Altham came up with the idea initially. Jimi set fire to it on stage, after a few aborted efforts he whirled it around his head like an Olympic torch, much to the disconcertion of the fire chief who would probably never work again on the circuit.

Early in he accidentally cracked one of his guitars backstage and decided to wreck it as part of his act. Audiences liked it so he found creative ways to trash his instrument. But unlike Townshend, Hendrix continued to create music as his burned his guitars.

While waiting to go onstage at the Rainbow Theatre on March 31, , Hendrix and Chandler were talking to rock journalist Keith Altham who said it would be cool if during their song Fire they could actually play with fire during the act. Chandler and Hendrix went one better, burning the guitar instead. It did the trick; Hendrix soon became a headline act. Later in the year at Monterey he would break through by burning a guitar for US audiences. From the carnage of Gallipoli to the Test cricket arena, the descendants of 10 African First Fleeters have played pivotal, but often overlooked, roles in our history.

Once a luxury only the rich could afford, blocks of ice used to be shipped to Australia from America — until we discovered a way to manufacture it on our own. Plus more NSW history. Read Today's Paper Tributes. Hendrix grabbed the guitar, knelt beside it and, after a few burnt matches, set it alight.

Due to the amount of fluid on the instrument, the flames soared to a height of four feet, burning the guitarist's hands in the process. The emcee, rushing to extinguish the fire, also suffered minor burns.

Although Hendrix was able to perform the finale on another guitar, he was later treated for his injuries at the hospital. The headlining Walker Brothers weren't thrilled about being upstaged by this youngster and, reportedly, treated Hendrix and friends rather poorly for the rest of the tour.

Hendrix didn't set any more guitars literally on fire on that tour, although he would repeat the stunt during his band's legendary performance at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival a few months later. That's a chunk of change to spend in order to stand next to the remnant of Jimi's fire. Home News.