Vincent Dowd from BBC News is reporting:

Forty years ago, one of the most admired of all rock guitarists died in London at the age of 27.

Since his death, JIMI HENDRIX has become an icon of 1960s culture, both the music and the visual image known around the world.

Born in the US, Hendrix spent his final years mainly in London.

He died of an apparent overdose at what was then the Samarkand Hotel in Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill, on 18 September 1970.

Sound engineer Roger Mayer, who knew Hendrix well in London, believes Hendrix's drug-use has been exaggerated.

"When I knew him he wasn't stoned all the time, which is what people think," he says.

"You can't play guitar to that standard on stage or in the studio if you're stoned on drugs. I've seen other people try but it doesn't work.

"He was less outrageous than a lot of other people at the time," he adds.

Mr. Mayer first approached Hendrix after a gig at the Bag O'Nails nightclub in London, organised to introduce him to journalists and the music industry.

He decided Hendrix ought to know about a pitch-shifting device he had been developing to give electric guitars a bigger range.

Hendrix loved the Octavia and used it on classic tracks such as Purple Haze and Fire.

As "sonic consultant", Mr. Mayer went to many Hendrix concerts.

"He wasn't the typical guitar player who was just staring at his shoes, he had immediate stage presence and charisma.

"He'd do all kinds of tricks like playing the instrument behind his head," he says.

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