Mitch Mitchell’s widow Dee Mitchell has warned Jimi Hendrix fans of the amount of fake memorabilia flooding auction sites online.
Mitch Mitchell was the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He died in 2008. He played on the three Hendrix Experience classic albums ‘Are You Experienced’ (1967), ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ (1968) and ‘Electric Ladyland’ (1968). He also played with Hendrix on the 1970 live album ‘Band of Gypsys’.
Mitchell was also the drummer for the one-off The Dirty Mac, formed for the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus and featuring John Lennon on vocals, Keith Richards on bass and Eric Clapton on guitar.
Dee Mitchell has become aware of increasing numbers of items for sale that have been falsely attributed as having come “From The Estate of Mitch Mitchell” or from herself. She says that includes musical equipment, clothing, boots, drumsticks, stick bags and even guitars and scraps of fabric. She characterizes most of the goods that have been offered as “tacky, cheap rubbish.” She notes that merchandise of this nature would typically not fool any reputable auction house though at least one reasonably well-know auction house has, in fact, put fake Mitch Mitchell items up for sale.
Mrs. Mitchell urges would-be buyers to exercise extra caution before consummating any purchase and suggests, they “ask for plenty of authentication, dates, and a full provenance with loads of information.” She adds, “Any provenance from me would be detailed and packed with information.” She suggests that collectors look for good quality items and ask questions about the vendor, and to ” take great care not to buy anything which seems a bit dodgy.” She cautions, “Please, don’t get ripped off. Far too many already have. Let the buyer beware.”
