Kathy Etchingham


Kathleen Mary Etchingham 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. According to her personal web page, Etchingham was the inspiration for many of Hendrix's compositions including "The Wind Cries Mary", "Foxy Lady", as the Katherina in "1983... " and in "Send My Love to Linda". 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 on the wall of 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 1960s, and Jimi Hendrix.
In 2014, Etchingham criticised the biographical film which covered her relationship with Hendrix in the 1960s, , written and directed by John Ridley. Etchingham described the film depiction of her life with Hendrix as "absolute nonsense".