Hotel Samarkand

The Story

In the early morning of September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix died at this hotel in Lansdowne Crescent. He was only 27 years old. His German girlfriend, Monika Dannemann, who rented the apartment, found him unconscious at 11:18 AM and called an ambulance. Hendrix was taken to St Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington, where he was pronounced dead at 12:45 PM. The night before, he had gone to Ronnie Scott's to see Eric Burdon & War and even had a jam session (it was his last live performance). Ronnie Wood, who was there, said Hendrix "looked very sad" and that it was the first time he didn't say goodbye to the audience when leaving. The Samarkand still operates as a hotel at the same address, and it was in the garden, having tea, that Jimi took his last photos.

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