Philip Norman’s Diary: Jimi Hendrix in London, the babying of Britain and Corbyn’s unlikely restaurant chain

Although Jimi was born in Seattle, his story is as much a fable of mid-1960s London as that of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.

By Philip Norman

Hendrix and his band at London Airport in 1967 (Photo By George Stroud/Express/Getty Images)

My constant companion during these past months of book-writing has been Angel, a community radio station for older listeners serving West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, but with fans all over Britain and as far away as Canada.

Styling itself “the home of pure nostalgia”, it offers a variety of popular music available on no commercial station, from Edwardian music-hall through jazz and Hollywood musicals to hardcore R&B. Its principal fare, however, is Fifties pop, the era of Johnnie Ray, Frankie Laine, and the Ink Spots when rock ’n’ roll was born, well ahead of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley.