The Gunnell brothers were ‘lovable rogues’, but working for them was exciting. They ran the Flamingo [in Wardour Street] and later they added the Bag O’Nails [in Kingly Street] and the Ram Jam Club in Brixton. We often used to double bands between the Ram Jam and the Flamingo.

When [manager] Chas Chandler first brought Jimi Hendrix over, he was very shrewd and put him out where the industry people could see him, so the first time I saw Hendrix was in the Cromwellian and he blew everybody away.

Later on, as his career developed, John Gunnell told me that Chas wanted to put Hendrix on at the clubs, so I rang Chas and negotiated a deal whereby he was to play the Ram Jam first and then the Flam, which was a later club, second, and he was doing both gigs for 75 quid, which in those days was a reasonable fee for someone who hadn’t got a record out and whose drawing power was relatively untested.

It was a couple of months ahead, so I sent the contracts off, but in the meantime, out came ‘Hey Joe’ and I think the week of his Flam and Ram Jam gigs, he was No. 1! I’d like to take credit for that, but it wasn’t so much shrewdness as luck - but I was the blue-eyed boy for about three minutes!

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