Today is March 1st St. David's day, the national day of Wales, when all Welshmen wear a daffodil (the national flower) and sing the national anthem "Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (the old land of my fathers). Imagine the excitement in the valleys when a studio recording said to be a Jimi Hendrix version of the Welsh national anthem, was uncovered.
The story was plausible, Hendrix spent a lot of time in the UK and he was already known for his unique version of the American anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner" played at Woodstock in the sixties. Martin Davies, a former record producer, said he inherited the tape from a fellow producer Dave Chapman after his death in 2005. He claimed the recording was made by a band whose bassist, Viv Williams, knew Hendrix.
Martin Davies, however, has come clean and admitted he had propagated the myth for fun. The guitarist on the tape is a friend of Davies, John Ellis - a 70s punk who formed the Vibrators then went on to play with the Stranglers, Peter Gabriel and others. He posted the recording on his website with a story about its discovery expecting a few hundred hits, but the hoax made its way around the world with millions of people viewing the page
"I could be accused of hoaxing but it was only a bit of fun. A lot of people had a lot of fun with it,"
Hendrix did visit Wales though, playing a total of three gigs there, all in Cardiff and all in 1967. I know because my friend Steve was there!