Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell estates sue label for rights to Jimi Hendrix Experience records

The estates of Jimi Hendrix's former bandmates are pursuing legal action against Sony Music Entertainment UK (SMEUK), claiming they were excluded from a share of revenue.

Noel Redding's and Mitch Mitchell's estates are seeking copyright and performers' rights for three records by the Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love, and Electric Ladyland. 

They recieved confirmation the lawsuit would go to trial in early 2024.

Simon Malynicz KC, representing the prosecution, told the High Court this week the band was "one of the most commercially successful acts of its era" from its formation in 1966 to its dissolution after Hendrix's death in 1970.

However, Malynicz said, Redding and Mitchell "were excluded early on in their lifetimes" and "died in relative poverty" despite the continued commercial success of their music. Redding died in Clonakilty in 2003 and Mitchell died in Oregon in 2008.

Malynicz added Redding's and Mitchell's families — though entitled to a share of the revenue through inheritable property rights — have also been consistently excluded.

The issue was not the fault of Hendrix, Malynicz said, but rather the administrators of Hendrix's estate, legal proceedings and SMEUK, which he described as "a major multinational which refuses to recognise or remunerate their copyright and performers' rights."

"Ensure not only that justice is done to the memory of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, but it can also give effect to James Marshall Hendrix's wishes," Malynicz said.

"For surely, he would have wanted his fellow musicians to receive everything to which they are entitled."

Robert Howe KC, representing SMEUK, argued the original recording copyright was the property of the albums' producers rather than the musicians.

Howe claimed the predecessors to Redding's and Mitchell's estates previously relinquished any rights to the songs and "expressly authorised the defendant’s predecessors in title to do all of the acts of which complaint is made."

Howe cited agreements that Redding and Mitchell signed in New York in the early 1970s, long before the advent of streaming and CDs significantly impacted such payout schemes.

Royalties were granted for the trio’s recordings prior to Hendrix’s death in 1970 at age 27, with Redding and Mitchell receiving 25% each, and Hendrix allotting 50%.

As per their agreement, Redding received $100,000 (€85,364) and Mitchell received $247,500 (€211,277) for their contributions to the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The pair also signed documents barring them from making any legal claims over the royalties.

Howe said Redding and Mitchell "did not seek" to prevent Hendrix's estate from utilising the band's recordings in any way "despite maintaining close ties to Jimi Hendrix’s heirs and those managing his legacy." He added SMEUK has been using the recordings in the UK since 2009 and asserts its right to continue doing so.

"In essence, what the claimants have done in this action is the equivalent of suing the sub-tenant of one room in a house for trespass, as a device to try to obtain a declaration as to their alleged ownership of the house," Howe said.

The trial is scheduled to conclude on December 18 with a judgment to be issued at a later date.

Noel Redding first met Jimi Hendrix at an audition for the New Animals, where Redding’s bluesy bass stylings impressed Hendrix. Soon after, Redding joined the Experience as its bassist in 1966.

During the latter half of the ‘60s, The Jimi Hendrix Experience shook the world with iconic tunes such as ‘Purple Haze,’ ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return),’ the famed Dylan cover ‘All Along The Watchtower,’ ‘Hey Joe,’ and countless others. At the turn of 1969, it seemed The Jimi Hendrix Experience was on top of the world; Hendrix was the world’s highest-paid rock artist.

Despite their success, however, relations between the trio had deteriorated, particularly between Redding and Hendrix. After a performance in Denver in June 1969, Redding left the Jimi Hendrix Experience and formed his own band Fat Mattress, but sales were unsuccessful for their two albums.

Redding, a Kent native, spent his final decades in Ireland, living in Clonakilty, Co. Cork with his mother Margaret. In an article with Hot Press in 2003, Jackie Hayden reflected on his personal relationship with Redding and the bassist’s legacy.

"When I stayed with him a few times during visits to the Clonakilty area I was overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity of this quietly spoken man and felt privileged to be allowed view his lovingly-cared-for collection of Hendrix memorabilia," Hayden said.

Speaking on Redding’s impoverished twilight years, Hayden said, "I was simultaneously depressed by the comparative dilapidation of a once great house and the penury in which Noel told me he regularly lived."