Hendrix gets the blues (plaque, that is)

Pop stars from the past four decades gathered in London yesterday for the unveiling of a blue plaque to the legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

The first award of its kind to a rock musician took place at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair, where Hendrix lived from 1968-9 with Kathy Etchingham, who proposed the plaque.

It was unveiled by close friends Pete Townshend, of The Who, and Noel Redding, of Hendrix's band, The Experience, with a star-studded audience including Roger Daltrey, Jimmy Page, Ray Davies, Dave Gilmour, Brian Eno, Lemmy, and, representing the current generation, Primal Scream, Dodgy and The Verve.

Hendrix spent his most successful years in Britain and it is where he initially came to fame. The Jimi Hendrix Experience had their first hit single with Hey Joe in December, 1966, following Hendrix's arrival from the United States in September of that year.

Hendrix died, aged 27, in 1970.