Steve Cradock – best known as the guitarist behind Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller’s go-to sideman – has revealed he once smoked shavings of Jimi Hendrix’s Strat in a joint, while rehearsing in a UK studio in the early ’90s.
Jimi Hendrix was one of the greatest guitar players to ever live, and as such the electric guitars he used during his trailblazing career are viewed upon by fans as de facto Holy relics.
From his ’68 Woodstock and ’65 ‘Monterey’ Stratocasters all the way to his ‘Love Drops’ Gibson Flying V, Hendrix’s arsenal of six-strings is filled with high-profile and historic models – as well as some lesser known examples that have slipped into obscurity.
While the vast majority of fans will never be able to get close to such hallowed instruments, Steve Cradock once found himself in the studio with what appeared to be one of Hendrix's more elusive instruments.
So, what did he do while in the presence of such a mythical relic? Well, in the full spirit of Purple Haze, he scraped off some of the wood, rolled it into a joint, and smoked it, of course.
“That’s true. We smoked Jimi Hendrix’s guitar,” Cradock says in an upcoming Guitar World interview, when asked about the story.
“It was actually a guy called Bob Lamb’s studio. This would have been the 1990 or 1991 era, and it was Bob Lamb who was friends with Trevor Burton [guitarist with The Move].
“He jammed with Jimi Hendrix and was a drummer in Trevor Burton’s band... [and] he had what he claimed to be a black Stratocaster that was owned by Jimi Hendrix. There were no pickups in it; it was just the body of the guitar on his wall. So, I thought it’d be fun to crumble a bit of the wood off and pop it inside a spliff [a joint].”
Incorporating the shavings of the Strat into his smoke break made for an undeniably rock 'n' roll studio tale – albeit one that Cradock admits is somewhat controversial.
“It was just one of those stupid things you do,” he reflects. “It seemed funny. And this is probably not good to hear in America, but we used a page from the Bible as the paper to roll it up with. We got a nice verse out of Psalms and skinned-up the guitar.”
While Guitar World would not endorse smoking any literature, or musical instruments – particularly any covered with nitrocellulose lacquer – we can see how the more superstitious players out there might hope that a potent concoction of Bible pages, alder chips and nitro might help them to imbibe something of Hendrix’s spirit.
When asked if he was hoping for something along those lines, though, the UK guitar icon says his ambitions were not quite so, er, high.
“No, I wasn’t! He’s untouchable that dude – I love Jimi Hendrix,” says Cradock. "We did it because it was stupid, and we thought it would be – and it was – fun. But I can confirm that, yes, it did happen...”
Keep your eyes peeled on GuitarWorld.com for the full interview with Steve Cradock.
