They were also expected to have Lulu join Jimi and the rest of the group on the latter song to perform a cringeworthy duet. The first of which would see the band perform two hits, their brilliant song ‘Voodoo Child’ and their latest hit ‘Hey Joe’, to an adoring audience. The group were invited to the show with the expectation that they would comply, not only with the show’s practices but also with the BBC’s rigorous straight-laced demands. They were a phenomenon that was about to sweep the entire world. But the Beeb needed viewers, so they had to invite the scene’s most daring acts. During the late sixties, there was only one man who could truly live up to that hype, the only act which could spark a revolution with one single note, Jimi Hendrix and his band The Experience. Welcoming artists from the pop music bubble wielding their guitars with their long hair and floral clothing - they were an affront to everything the BBC stood for at the time. The show would air just before the 6 o’clock news, a prime time slot, and was the home to some of the country’s brightest and best musicians.

Lulu represented a perfect crossover of styles - having been friends with The Beatles she had some reputation but her bubbly, charming, and well-mannered tone and straight-laced image made her the perfect candidate for the BBC’s new primetime show Happening For Lulu. They were certainly unhappy with his performance.Īlthough Lulu could have a subversive side, she was still the natural choice for the BBC when they were sketching out their intent to capture the viewership of the growing counterculture movement. They were likely unhappy about even inviting the mercurial counter culture poster boy, Jimi Hendrix on to the prime time TV show hosted by Lulu, in the first place. While London was positively swinging with rock ‘n’ roll creativity in the sixties, the BBC was still a very stuffy, starch-collar-shirted, stiff-upper-lipped, establishment capable of making rash decisions over the smallest indiscretions. In 1969, Jimi Hendrix would find himself, in quick succession, both making a legendary prime time appearance on BBC television and, just a few songs later, banned from the channel indefinitely for an impromptu tribute to Cream.

It may seem like it would take a lot to be banned from an entire TV channel, but Jimi Hendrix made it happened with one singular performance.

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