ShortcutsJimi Hendrix This article is more than 4 years oldElegantly waisted: why a worthless pair of Jimi Hendrix’s trousers are invaluable
This article is more than 4 years oldA fan who adjusted a pair of red slacks given to him by the guitarist in 1967 so he could wear them says he has no regrets – despite the fact he has missed out on £25,000
After Mickey Martin fetched drinks all night for a young guitarist at a gig in Cheltenham in 1967, he received a pair of trousers as thanks. They were red and suede and, because they belonged to Jimi Hendrix, would have been worth a small fortune today if he had preserved them. But Martin had other plans. Rather than frame or store them in a temperature-controlled vault, he had them altered to fit him and wore them for years.
You might expect Martin, now 73, to have some regrets: had he looked after the trousers he says he acquired at the Blue Moon Club and got them autographed, they could be worth £25,000 today. Instead, they’re almost worthless.
Should we pity him for a missed opportunity – or celebrate his unfazed attitude towards celebrity? After all, whether collecting Marilyn Monroe’s x-rays or John Lennon’s tooth, there is something ghoulish about the superfans who swamp the estates of dead stars. We might live in a capitalist society, but that doesn’t mean we should view celebrity memorabilia in purely monetary terms.
I can relate to this on a personal level - when I was 11, I persuaded my big sister to take me to a JK Rowling talk and book signing at the Canterbury branch of Waterstones. After the talk, I queued up, sweaty-palmed, and presented Rowling with my first-edition Chamber of Secrets, which she signed. Later, I dropped it in the bath. Would that signed first edition have been worth something today? Probably. Do I lose sleep over it? Absolutely not. The experience of meeting one of my literary idols as a child – and have her be everything I hoped for – is incalculably more precious.
What better tribute to Hendrix could Martin have paid than to keep some life in his trousers (Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27)? He will never cash in like the owner of the black Fender Stratocaster that Hendrix appeared to destroy at a festival in 1967 did (Hendrix switched his beloved guitar for a stand-in before pouring lighter fluid on it and striking a match). The “burned” guitar sold in 2017 for £280,000. Either way, Martin says, the trousers are not for sale.
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