The Scotch of St James Information

On the 24th September 1966 a then unknown musical prodigy named Jimi Hendrix landed in the U.K from The States with only 40 bucks in his pocket and a guitar in his hand. That same night Hendrix found himself at THE SCOTCH of St James, having been taken there by Chas Chandler, bass player of The Animals. Whilst there Hendrix asked politely to play with the house band. They appeared bemused but relented to accommodate him. Plugging in his guitar he preoccupied himself with fiddling with the house amp, turning every knob that could be adjusted to full volume, thus challenging the mortality of the equipment and one might say the audience! He then launched into his own version of ”Wild Thing” by The Troggs, shattering the uber cool nonchalance of THE SCOTCH of St James. The speakers were almost blown off their hinges. When finished he was met by a deep wall of silence and an audience left open mouthed. A lone clapping hand could be heard at the back of the room. John Lennon was clearly impressed. This lead to more clapping of hands slowly building into a deafening crescendo, rarely seen at THE SCOTCH. The Prodigal son had arrived. THE SCOTCH of St James was one of the single most important and influential venues in London during the swinging 60’s. Some might say it played a pivotal role in creating it. THE SCOTCH of St James was the home and hangout of many a household name, such as The Beetles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, The Kinks, The Moody Blues, The Who, The Animals and many more. It was the place where any musical artists of note or merit would hangout or perform in order to touch the zeitgeist of the time. The Rare Book Shop, next door to THE SCOTCH once had an exhibition by artist Yoko Ono and was attended by Paul McCartney who brought his band mate John Lennon and the rest, is history