Mike Jeffery, mystery man. Who was he?

[stplsd]

Anyone got any info on him before the Animals? or otherwise? But not the usual stuff - pu-lease. Here's a start:

There's no doubt Jeffery was MI-5. His father said he did most of his national service in civilian clothes and spoke fluent Russian. He never really spoke about exactly what he did during his service to his father. Unless you can find Russian lessons that Jeffery took outside of the military you can assume the MI branch of service was where Jeffery learned his Russian. I doubt it was taught in the regular army. And we know Jeffery did several years of British National Service.

Michael Jeffery, on the other hand, is just a dark empty hole. No, Michael Jeffery is now a notorious figure in history. If he was in the regular British Army we could just look-up his service record. Jeffery has so much controversy around him that it makes sense that someone would have come forward and said "oh, yes, I know Jeffery we were mates and served together in the so and so battalion based at so and so etc. The fact no one has done that is all you need to know.

1950's Cold War MI service was very long ago in a different world set-up. There's no excuse for the British Government to not reveal which service Jeffery served in. We know he passed an aptitude test and went on to the intelligence corps. There's no doubt Jeffery was MI-5. It seems obvious to me why Jeffery's record is still secret.

We know very little about his military service, apart from what's written in Caesar's book. Has anyone actually looked it up/checked it out? ("dark empty hole" indeed! Mike is not the focus of books about Jimi, managers are not generally of much interest to the average rock fan, they want to hear about their heroes, not surprising there is litte written about this man, who was shy of publicity and only gave a handfull of interviews, if that)
I haven't seen any interviews with any of his girlfriends eg Lynn Bailey, his later wife, the actress, Gillian French, or any members of his family, apart from his father.
Everyone in the British army's record is "secret" ie not available, there is such a thing as confidentiality, you have to be family. Of course there's doubt he was MI5, it's a secret organisation!

In March 1933, Michael (“Mike”) Frank Jeffery (aka 'Jefferys' spell it how you like, it's just an added S) was born in Peckham, South London, he was the only child of Frank and Alice Jeffery, both Post Office employees.fficeffice" />>>
In a very short interview with his father (doesn't say by who) quoted in Electric Gypsy, he gave the following information:>>
"Mike did a little above average at school [he doesn't say what school] with an aptitude for sports [this later becomes "he was an Olympic skier" in Hit And Run: The Jimi Hendrix Story, and others;-)] and was never without friends. He finished his schooling in 1949 [no date given- probably September. No mention of qualifications earned, very unlikely that he achieved more that 'O' levels at 16 years of age, he probably passed several, including English, Maths, Physics & Chemistry, according to his father's statement about the Educational Corps] and went to work as a clerk [a very lowly position] for the Mobil Oil company, Then in 1951 aged nineteen, he was called up for National Service. He then says Mike's "exam success in science" [he doesn't state what qualifications, or where they were achieved] "helped him into the Royal Army Educational Corp" [according to wikipedia "by 1938 AEC recruits had to be either qualified teachers or university graduates, and were immediately promoted Sergeant." So unless by 1951 they had seriously lowered their standards for internal recruits, this was during the Korean war of 1950-53, but only having 'O' levels would not be enough, he was only a clerk with Mobil, he may just have employed as a clerk, or been chosen for further education with a view to him becoming an instructor - not very likely due to his extremely weak voice, or later joining the Intelligence Corps? (no record of him in the archives) - not teaching there. In any case he was very lucky not to have seen active service in Korea, maybe partly due to his (reportedly) suffering from light sensitivity, and having to wear tinted lenses?]. After his National service he then supposedly enlisted full time in the Intelligence Corps (IC)" [he doesn't say for how long, but apparently for around 4/5 years. This becomes “he was a [Royal Marines] Commando” in some earlier bios eg Henderson’s & Hopkins’ ]. In fact there is no record of him in the IC archives. A check of the London Gazette - where all British Army officers appear on being commissioned proved negative, ie if he was in the IC it was in a lowly capacity, as some kind of "expert" NCO, or NCO desk job. His extremely weak voice would likely rule him out of an officers position, and his weak eyesight which required wearing tinted glasses would rule him out for active service as he wouldn't be able to operate in dim light.
When asked his father said "Mike seldom spoke of his work". Having heard about Mike's reported bragging about being in something "undercover" in Egypt in the 1956 Suez crisis, the interviewer, obviously fishing, asked him if Mike spent a lot of his time in the IC in "civvies", if he spoke Russian and was he stationed in Egypt, he reportedly "confirmed this". According to Burdon in I Use To Be An Animal... bio, when Mike left the army he went on to Newcastle University to study "languages and sociology in which he gained an honours degree" (in his later book this becomes "sociology and political science, which he abandoned"). He also tells a story, in his Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood bio, of a "prank" Mike (a keen scuba-diver?) played, laying underwater charges off a tourist beach, with the US fleet (searching for lost atom bombs - a extremely delicate diplomatic crisis with facist Spain) lying just off shore in Majorca in the early morning and then detonating them to the shock and panic of the tourists (story repeated by Tappy 9 years later (funny how many of his tales originate in Burdon's books, but "star" him, not Burdon?;-). This combined with other stories Mike, and others, reportedly liked to tell, his liking for spying gadgets and his reported shoulder holstered pistol (was it a de-activated weapon? he, Chandler & Burdon were all military fetishists and had collections of firearms, knives and other militaria. Stickells spoke of carrying a pistol when he collected large cash payments after concerts in the US) have, not un-naturally, led to the juicy MI5 speculation (Let's not forget James Bond was "all the rage" internationally in the 60's;-).
I'll be adding more when I get round to it, and when new info turns up

[MourningStar]

... or otherwise?

Chas chandler : "My fucking partner Mike Jeffery had disappeared. He hadn't even seen Jimi. He managed The Animals, and when I left them he was supposed to be my partner. I never saw the cunt again until April."

[stplsd]

Post #51

Not so.

There are some key docs no longer a part of the original files. Closely held by a few collectors, moreso if my knowledge is still current, since RFoM published.

Why are they being kept secret one might wonder?

[stplsd]

Chas chandler : "My fucking partner Mike Jeffery had disappeared. He hadn't even seen Jimi. He managed The Animals, and when I left them he was supposed to be my partner. I never saw the cunt again until April."

Otherwise, okay, if we must (tedious) Yes well, he would bum himself up wouldn't he. Funny how Mike had met with Jimi several times by all accounts, and that Jimi testified that he had met Mike in New York prior to signing. Of course he was doing the paperwork etc. and still managing Burdon & the New Animals, Alan Price etc. (Chas was 50/50 on them as well) Hard not to see him when you share an office. Unless of course he had been in Spain working on your jointly owned clubs & boutiques;-) He obviously wasn't there too long anyway, if at all. They did have telephones in those days I believe?

[Scrum Drum]

I think the interview with Mr Jeffery was in Henderson's book. It sounds like he was interviewed after Jeffery's death.


The author who wrote the book alleging Hendrix told his army psychiatrist he was gay had no trouble accessing those army records. So there's no arguing that the records were there and available. Who knows what Janie's lawyers have done since?


But what is the point here? There's simply no arguing that Hendrix's army service is well known, undisputed, and out there in reality. Michael Jeffery's British National Service an opaque mystery and completely unknown. The reason for that is he served in MI-5 as he claimed.

[scoutship]

Why are they being kept secret one might wonder?

Oh I wouldn't say "kept secret" is how best to put it.

Anyway undoubtedly all part of the cover-up.

[stplsd]

Oh I wouldn't say "kept secret" is how best to put it.

Maybe secret is not the best choice of word, how about that no info about them has been published in any form, or even quoted from in any detail, that I've heard of (anyone?) which naturally brings into doubt that they are genuine, or indeed if they even exist?

[stplsd]

The author who wrote the book alleging Hendrix told his army psychiatrist he was gay had no trouble accessing those army records. So there's no arguing that the records were there and available. Who knows what Janie's lawyers have done since?

The author of what book? An author of a book claims something so it must therefore be true? Anyone can just go and look up confidential army documents legitimately?
No evidence of any kind as far as I can see has been offered that points to these alleged psychiatric documents being genuine. And they have yet to have been seen by anyone else, as far as I know.
So the only reason you can come up with for the documents not being produced/reproduced for scrutiny is a vague supposition that "Janie's lawyers" are preventing this (no reason given as to why). How convenient;-)

But what is the point here? There's simply no arguing that Hendrix's army service is well known, undisputed, and out there in reality.

Of course he was in the army, the question is how he got out.
How did they get hold of Jimi's army records that have been published? is another question. You can't just walk in and ask for a copy legitimately. Jimi is I believe very famous also;-)

Michael Jeffery's British National Service an opaque mystery and completely unknown. The reason for that is he served in MI-5 as he claimed.

You haven't considered any of the legitimate points I made (above post) as to why this may be, and are just repeating yourself. Hardly anything has been written about him. Not a complete mystery though, there are several quotes of people "close" to him that tell a tale or two. Also Michael Jeffery was, and still is, not of much interest generally, that is if anyone apart from Hendrix fanatics have even heard of him. Anyway, the point is do you have any info about him? The answer to that appears to be - no.

[Ezy Rider]

well we know what kind of car MJ was driving :-)

ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW - AND HIS CARS... (He loves 'em!) 1) Andy's first car was a Marcos which had a TV and a record player installed - The amazing thing was that the record player worked perfectly.

2) His second was an 8 Litre Shelby Cobra GT 500 that he bought from Mike Jeffries ( Hendrix's co-manager ). Andy was as proud as you could be of that car (rumoured at the time to be the only one in Britain) and soon after he bought it (for cash) from Jeffries he was interviewed on TV and he showed them the car and talked effusively about it. The very next day the people from Customs & Excise arrived and impounded the car - no import duty had been paid on it! He did eventually get it back.... Andy sang on Jimi Hendrix’s recut of Stone Free at Electric Lady Studios in NY with Jimi at the controls as engineer & producer - Andy was in NY to buy a new petrol cap for his Shelby as you could not get them in Britain and the model in the US was about to be scrapped.


http://www.judytotton.com/printable/...eather_low.htm

[stplsd]

well we know what kind of car MJ was driving :-)

Most amusing, every little helps, thanks. I remember a cobra being mentioned in connection with Mitch, or possibly Noel at some point in 68. Isn't that one of the cars filmed driving up and down the road outside Nureyev's in the silent colour 67 promo film?

[Fenders Fingers]

Can anyone show beyond doubt something, anything that links MJ to MI-5. Afaik, I've only read comments telling me this but it's never been supported.

[Ezy Rider]

possibly, but I am no car geek (just a Jimi geek)

Here is some more stuff, perhaps already known, but I will just put it up:

But then came the electrifying grand finale: the rights to Jimi Hendrix’s entire music catalog, put up for sale by the estate of the rocker’s former manager, Michael Frank Jeffery. An anonymous phone bidder paid $15 million for the lot, which includes “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe” and “Foxy Lady.”
It’s a high-risk purchase: Hendrix’s catalog is currently the subject of a bitter legal dispute between Jeffrey’s estate and the Hendrix family. Jeffrey, who died in a plane crash in 1973 just three years after Hendrix died, left his estate to fourteen U.K. charities. But Hendrix’s heirs claim they own the rights to Jimi’s music and yesterday, a spokesman for the family told Reuters, “Whoever bought this bought themselves the right to be a litigant.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/10/27/...perty-auction/

edit update: for more info on this sale, see also

http://www.messandnoise.com/discussions/345964

update: here is forum by corvette lovers on Jimi's corvettes:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c1-a...corvettes.html

[Ezy Rider]

oh yeah, and there was this comment, which looks interesting:

• M.HAYWOOD wrote:

i saw the paper work of this collection while it was in our offices here in the uk
i think the hendrix paperwork was good and that the buyer did actually buy the rights.
The reason why the hendrix family have not sued and threaten to sue is they have seen the paperwork and realise they do not own the rights but michael jeffries estate does .SHOULD PROVE INTERESTING ,WHY DID THEY NOT BUY IT THEMSELVES?

[Ezy Rider]

clubs owned by MF before managing the JHE:

1) "They played at the Downbeat Club in Cariol Square from midnight till about 3 in the morning.every Saturday. It was a great Club run by Mike Jeffreys who was later the Manager of the Animals and Jimmy Hendrix. It was always packed with a great atmosphere, many American Greats came there to sit in."

http://www.puresource.co.uk/mikecarr/biography.html

2) "Jimi was well known for loving to get up and jam with people so I wonder if he did that in Newcastle ? If he and Chas were out sampling the night life in the area a likely place to call would have been the Club A Go Go as this was owned by Mike Jeffries (Chas's co-manager of Hendrix). I wonder if anybody remembers seeing him in there ?"

http://www.newcastleforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=565.0

[stplsd]

2) "Jimi was well known for loving to get up and jam with people so I wonder if he did that in Newcastle ? If he and Chas were out sampling the night life in the area a likely place to call would have been the Club A Go Go as this was owned by Mike Jeffries (Chas's co-manager of Hendrix). I wonder if anybody remembers seeing him in there ?"

There is testimony from Kathy, Chas & others concerning Jimi's 2 visits to the area. He did play the Club A Go Go, but there is no record of him jamming at all, or of them "sampling the night life" either?

[MourningStar]

... which naturally brings into doubt that they are genuine, or indeed if they even exist?

oh, 'naturally', of course -

[Scrum Drum]

The author who wrote the claim that he accessed Jimi's army records was clear that he managed to get previously unreleased army records containing Jimi's discussions with the army psychiatrist. I believe this is true and that no one has produced any evidence of false claim scandal against this author showing where he made this up.

We could research this and it would show that this is exactly true, accurate, and correct. But somehow I don't think we will get any apology from people who seem to reject everything except that which is presented in Certified Public Accountant form.

No serious Hendrix sources doubt Jeffery's MI-5 background. Nor has any serious effort been made to show otherwise. I find efforts to question everything to an obnoxious extreme to be unreasonable and disruptive and in violation of "playing nice". We know Jeffery did British National Service. No one will be able to locate any regular army record for Jeffery. Jeffery was MI-5.


The reason there isn't any broadly-investigated public notice of Jeffery is because Jeffery was MI-5. Look at Jeffery's Wikipedia entry if you think this is casually explained.


What's obvious about this is the question is there and being asked NOW. There's no excuse for this not being followed-through on and Jeffery's true records being revealed. What is there to hide?



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4730547.stm



.

[MourningStar]

...No serious Hendrix sources doubt Jeffery's MI-5 background. Nor has any serious effort been made to show otherwise. I find efforts to question everything to an obnoxious extreme to be unreasonable and disruptive and in violation of "playing nice". ...
.

uh oh, ... strike one!

[Fenders Fingers]

Firstly get Scott in here right now !

No serious Hendrix sources doubt Jeffery's MI-5 background.
Really?

Nor has any serious effort been made to show otherwise.
Rreally?

I find efforts to question everything to an obnoxious extreme to be unreasonable and disruptive and in violation of "playing nice".
I will question anything I'm not sure of, I'll question anything that is no more than heresay. PROVE YOU STATEMENT THAT MJ WAS MI-5!

We know Jeffery did British National Service.
So did my Dad

No one will be able to locate any regular army record for Jeffery.
Locate my Dad's, bet you don't!

Jeffery was MI-5.
My Dad was NOT MI-5

I'm asking nothing other than you support your claims and or statements. I'm niether playing fair or unfair. Just want to know who MJ was like you but unlike you I refuse to accept heresay, roumour , gossip, papaer talk or even "expert Hendrix" sources.

I don't like to repeat myself but please wiki?!? Get real on this.

Just so you know exactly were I stand on MJ MI-5. I don't know as no one as proved or disproved the argument. Given this I doubt it, it being MJ MI-5.

[MourningStar]

I thought i read in various documents that MJ told people he was MI-5. what? this is not enough? I read various documents that Jimi earned his wings and the Screaming Eagle patch. My father (WWII), my nephew (Iraq) and others I know were in the same organization. Each and everyone of them have photographs with them proudly displaying their patch and silver wings. Where's Jimi's? I've seen alot of military-service photos of Jimi, but yet to find one as previously described. Share that grain of salt with all things.