Hendrix in Britain opens up to the public the flat the musician lived in with his girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham, after he began to make a name for himself on the London club scene.

Born in Seattle, and a frequent visitor to Vancouver, it took years for Hendrix to become an "overnight sensation." After a brush with U.S. military duty in the early '60s he spent much of the decade as a guitarist in touring bands including stints with the Isley Brothers and Little Richard among others.

A fortuitous stand with his own band at the Cheetah Club in New York City earned him a plane ticket to England where his original take on rock music would be more appreciated. The Animals' bass player Chas Chandler thought he knew how to package an explosive talent like Hendrix and as his manager alerted the local cognescenti that a star was about to be born.

Hendrix arrived in London on Sept. 24, 1966 and a couple of days later began auditioning musicians for a new band to be called The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Up until he died, almost exactly four years later, on Sept. 18, 1970, Hendrix lived the rest of his life in rock star mode. Everything we know about him and his music is from this short period and for 18 of those months Hendrix leased two upper floors in a five-storey building at 23 Brook Street.

"Kathy Etchingham actually found the flat," says Martin Wyatt, deputy director of Handel House Museum. "They'd lived together in a couple of hotels before they moved here and also they briefly shared a flat in Montagu Square which is not very far from here. There is a basement flat that belonged to Ringo Starr and in the ground floor Chas Chandler, who was Hendrix's manager, lived with his girlfriend and Jimi and Kathy lived in the basement. There are various stories as to why they moved out of there. The most common one was it was just too noisy for the neighbours."

23 Brook Street and the adjacent building at 25 are now owned by the Handel House Trust named after German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel, the original owner and first occupant of the building in the 18th century.

"It was a new building when he moved in in 1723," says Wyatt. "It was a new up and coming area and very middle class. Handel was very middle class. It was a convenient location for him -- easy walking distance to the part of London at that time where music instrument makers were and not far from the two or three main theatres he worked in. Just north of here at that time was pretty much countryside which is slightly mind-blowing to think about today."

Handel lived at 25 Brook Street for the rest of his life and wrote most of his masterworks there from Julius Caesar onward, including all the oratorios and about 30 operas. "He was unmarried and didn't have any children," says Wyatt. "It was just him and two or three domestic staff. He was considerably better off than Hendrix was."

By the time Hendrix and Etchingham moved into the neighbourhood 200 years later things had changed. "This end of Brook Street wasn't the best part of London," says Wyatt. "It's in Mayfair, which is one of the most expensive areas of London, right in the centre, but Brook Street itself has had mixed fortunes. We know the courtyard at the back here, which now has some rather fine restaurants, at the time was almost tenement in a way. There were a couple of slightly sleazy clubs down there and apparently right next door, just behind their flat, there was a prostitute living and working. It wasn't a particularly classy area. Having said that the rent was still 30 pounds a week which at that time was really quite expensive. Now it is quite a glamorous upbeat area but at that time not so much."

Hendrix and Etchingham only occupied the top two floors of 23 Brook Street. On the ground floor was a cafe called Mr. Love, actually run by somebody named Love who owned the entire building. On the floors between the cafe and Hendrix's flat was a photographic studio with darkroom and offices for a photographer.

"It's not a very big flat," says Wyatt. "We're not talking New York loft apartment here. It's an 18th century house. Basically two rooms on one floor and then on the floor above there was a kitchen and bathroom and then one other room as well which they tended to use as a storage room. There was a spare bed in there and there's a whole roster of famous musicians who stayed there -- Ringo stayed there for awhile and John Lennon crashed there. Eric Clapton crashed there. Everyone who was anyone in the musical world seems to have crashed there at some point or another."

Although Hendrix was quoted as saying 23 Brook Street was the only home he ever considered his own the nomadic musician actually spent very little time there. "He was touring a lot," says Wyatt. "The only consistent period of time he spent here was January, February and then into early March 1969. He first returned to the States in December '67 and while he was away Kathy found the flat for when he got back."

For a couple of months they settled down into a domestic life. Hendrix and Etchingham put a lot of effort into furnishing and decorating it. Nearby is Oxford Street, one of London's main shopping areas, and they spent an afternoon in the furniture department of John Lewis selecting drapes, throw cushions and other household items.

"Not quite the Jimi Hendrix image that we're accustomed to," says Wyatt. "And then it was suppers at home and watching TV together and stuff like that. It didn't last very long. His managers had him back on the road as soon as they possibly could. For a couple of months there he did have a nice quiet life. It was about a 10 or 15 minute walk from most of the clubs he was regularly visiting -- The Speakeasy and Bag O'Nails. They usually had their dinner at the Speakeasy in the evenings. And after that he was back to the States and touring again."

HANDEL

-- George Frideric Handel,

Born in Halle.

Feb. 23, 1685 - April 14, 1759.

-- Baroque composer famous for his operas, oratorios and concertos. Works included Messiah, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Born in Germany in the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, he was strongly influenced by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

-- Original owner of 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, London. Lived at address from 1723 until his death in 1759. At the time Mayfair was a newly developed middle-class suburb on the northern edge of London.

HENDRIX

-- James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix, Born in Seattle.

Nov. 27, 1942 - Sept. 18, 1970.

-- Rock star famous for a Fender Stratocaster sound that favoured use of wah-wah pedal and overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble. Hendrix was influenced by the electric blues styles (Muddy Waters, B.B. King) and popular rock of the '50s (Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry). Early on he played gigs with bands in Seattle as well as across the border in Vancouver.

-- Leased top two floors at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, for 18 months in 1968-69 with girlfriend Kathy Etchingham.

By the time Hendrix moved in, Brook Street had seen better days and the rent was high but his flat was centrally located.

HANDEL HOUSE MUSEUM:

The Handel House Museum at 25 Brook Street was home to the baroque composer George Frideric Handel from 1723 until his death in 1759. The museum hosts frequent music rehearsals, weekly concerts and special musical events in addition to regular displays and exhibitions.

For more information on the museum and their current exhibit, Hendrix in Britain, visit the museum's website

www.handelhouse.org.