Four unreleased Jimi Hendrix 16mm color films were posted on eBay recently and fetched $10,000 when the video reels sold during the final hours of a ten-day auction. The seller, aware of the concert films one-of-a-kind value started the bidding price at 10K and a sole bidder committed to pay that, in return to own this historic Hendrix memorabilia.

These film reels originally belonged to Chas Chandler, the English musician and record producer who managed Hendrix for years. In fact, it was Chandler who recruited bassist Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to partner with Hendrix resulting in the formation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

One film features a one song advance proof from the Monterey Pop Festival while others include close-up clips and background footage. The films were shot between 1967 and 1970 by various people including a film student, a UK music reporter and a commune leader who knew Chandler from the 1968 Hawaii shows. Some of the songs appear to have audio while others are listed as silent. Notably, three songs are listed as “unknown” which instantly raises the bar if they’re truly unique to this footage.

The seller, who claims to have known Chandler, says that he sold him the four reels but not before they remained in the former manager’s personal collection for over twenty years. Chandler apparently treasured the reels and especially favored the Monterey Pop footage because it was Hendrix first appearance in a major film.

A guarantee that the films were all original and had never been duplicated, copied or transferred obviously helped seal the deal at $10,000.00. Hendrix fans can only hope that the investor considers sharing these tapes with the Hendrix Estate so that someday this video footage might be enjoyed by the masses.

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