Bob Dale

BBC News, South East

A recording of an interview with rock stars Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright, made by former EastEnders star John Altman, is to be auctioned.

Altman, who played Nasty Nick Cotton in the soap from its launch in 1985, met the rock stars when as a 15-year-old he helped carry their equipment into Central Hall in Chatham, Kent, on 1 December 1967.

The three-minute recording is expected to fetch up to £2,000 when it is auctioned at Ewbank's in Send, Surrey, on 22 May.

Other items being auctioned include autographs and rare seven-inch singles, with the collection estimated to fetch up to £17,000.

Altman said: "l played truant with my best friends.

"We had tickets to see the Jimi Hendrix tour, along with Pink Floyd and Keith Emerson's band, The Nice.

"We arrived early at Chatham, Central Hall and helped the roadies carry in the gear. The stage door closed and there we were locked in with all these rock stars.

"We saw the afternoon show and the one in the evening. In-between shows l managed to interview Rick Wright from Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix in his dressing room.

"Jimi was gentle and cool, and showed us his new album - Axis Bold As Love."

Hendrix talks about his recent US tour with the Monkees, which the guitarist quit after eight shows.

"As people, they're all right," he said.

"It wasn't the kids who didn't like us, it was the parents, you know, they'd complain and all this mess."

The autographs include Hendrix's and Wright's Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and original lead singer Syd Barrett.

Wright talks about the positive response the band had received at a show in Bristol.

"In America, you know, they're the same really. But except that they do tend to, you know, give you more chance to say what you want to say."

Altman decided to sell his memorabilia rather than have it "gathering dust" in a file.

He said: "I thought it would be nice to share the joy of an amazing interview that no one else in the world would otherwise have the chance to hear."