A new exhibition opening at Handel Hendrix House in London's Mayfair reveals the mundane side of rock legend Jimi Hendrix's life. Receipts for hamburgers, steaks, and dry cleaning—including a striped suit and a gold jacket—are on display for the first time in 53 years, showing that even the iconic guitarist faced everyday chores.
The Trixie Sullivan Archive
The items come from the personal archive of Hendrix's former personal assistant, Patricia 'Trixie' Sullivan, now 83 and suffering from dementia. Her grandson, Jonathan Garcia, 29, helped curate the exhibition. Trixie rescued the paperwork from bailiffs raiding the office of Hendrix's manager, Michael Jeffrey, after his death in a 1973 plane crash. She kept the documents in plastic trunks under her bed in Majorca before entrusting them to Jonathan, who stored them in his shed in Dorset.
Behind the Scenes of a Rock Star
The exhibition includes recording contracts, flight itineraries, invoices for music equipment, phone bills totaling tens of thousands of pounds, and personal letters. Food receipts show Hendrix frequently ordered hamburgers and steaks from Mr Love's restaurant, located beneath his apartment. One bill covering several months totaled £32/16s/6d (about £485 today). Hendrix was known to complain about English food, saying, "You get mashed potatoes with just about everything, and I ain't gonna say anything good about that."
Trixie's diaries are also on display, describing a gig in Munster, Germany, in January 1969: "One show only – great crowd nearly rioted – broke many chairs damage $250. Got pushed around as entered car."
A Personal Connection
Jonathan Garcia recalls his grandmother's stories about Hendrix, describing him as "quite introverted" and someone who "doubted himself a lot." Trixie often accompanied Hendrix on tours and handled his schedule, even having power of attorney to sign him for the famous Royal Albert Hall concert in 1969. Despite her loyalty, Trixie rarely spoke about Hendrix, even to her grandson. "If you were to ask her about Jimi she would get emotional really quickly," Jonathan said.
One memorable anecdote involves Hendrix and Trixie watching the film 2001: A Space Odyssey together when it first premiered. "I can't wrap my head around going to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey with Jimi Hendrix!" Jonathan exclaimed.
Exhibition Details
The permanent exhibition opens on Friday at Handel Hendrix House, 23 Brook Street, Mayfair—a Georgian property also known as the home of 'baroque 'n' roll' because composer George Frideric Handel once lived there. Curator Claire Davies noted that the paperwork relates directly to the property, where Hendrix paid rent. Receipts show he bought high-end Persian rugs worth about £30,000 in today's money. "It's a really interesting insight into what his life behind his rock star image looked like," she said.
Project archivist Isabel Deards added, "Through these previously unseen materials, visitors will be able to picture the everyday life of Jimi Hendrix."
The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday. For more information, visit www.handelhendrix.org.
