Jimi Hendrix

There are two times in history,

Before Hendrix and after.

In a time of dull conformity,

Jimi came and set us free:

Banishing the black and grey,

The discipline that overstayed

World War Two's necessity.

He blew the war's cobwebs away,
Restored the colours we had lost,
In a glowing rock glasnost;

Helped us articulate our dreams,

Reduced the flow of silent screams.

I still remember Hendrix performing 'Purple Haze' on Top of the Pops. I don't know how the posh Southerners reacted to him, but in the West of Scotland we were gob-smacked.