Introduction
Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Etchingham (born 18 June 1946) is an English writer known from the Swinging London music scene of the 1960s and her relationship with Jimi Hendrix.
Early life
Etchingham was born in Derby, the daughter of Charles Etchingham, an Irishman from Dublin. Her mother deserted the family when Kathy was ten years old, and Kathy was sent to the Holy Faith convent boarding school in Skerries, Dublin. Returning to England, having been snatched from the convent by her mother, she eventually made her way to London.
1960s London
In London, Etchingham became a DJ at the Cromwellian Club in Kensington and later at the Scotch of St James, in addition to working as a hairdresser. She knew the up-and-coming musicians of the period including The Animals, The Who, The Kinks, The Moody Blues, The Move, and many others. These bands became known in the US in the mid-1960s as the British Invasion.
Etchingham, at age 20, met Jimi Hendrix in the Scotch of St James nightclub, on the night of his arrival in London on 24 September 1966. They became a couple during the time of his rise to stardom. Etchingham was the inspiration for many of Hendrix's compositions including "The Wind Cries Mary" (penned after an argument between Hendrix and Etchingham), "Foxy Lady" (during one of the first performances of this number Hendrix pointed her out from the stage), as the Katherina in "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" and in "Send My Love to Linda" (the original lyrics of which were "Send My Love to Kathy", until Etchingham objected to being named). In 1969, she and Hendrix drifted apart.
Later events
Etchingham's first marriage broke up, and she later remarried and had a family. In 1997, she was instrumental in the placement of an English Heritage blue plaque for Jimi Hendrix’s home at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair. In 1998, she published a book, Through Gypsy Eyes, which Etchingham wrote with Andrew Crofts, about her life, the sixties, and Jimi Hendrix. Etchingham lived in Australia.
In 2014, Etchingham criticised the biographical film which covered her relationship with Hendrix in the 1960s, Jimi: All Is by My Side, written and directed by John Ridley. Etchingham described the film depiction of her life with Hendrix as "absolute nonsense".
Book
- Etchingham, Kathy (1999). Through Gypsy Eyes. Orion. ISBN 978-0752827254.
- "Through Gypsy Eyes: My Life, The 60s, and Jimi Hendrix". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2014.