Fat Mattress was formed in Folkestone, Kent, in 1968 by Noel Redding on guitar (while he was still playing bass in the Jimi Hendrix Experience) with ex-Flowerpot Men vocalist Neil Landon and bass guitarist Jim Leverton and drummer Eric Dillon (both from – of all places – Engelbert Humperdinck‘s backing band).
Redding formed the band so he could play the guitar (rather than bass) and record some original material – neither of which he could readily do while playing with Hendrix.
Fat Mattress performed as the opening act to the Jimi Hendrix Experience on a tour of the US, during which Redding would perform with both bands.
The group was signed to Polydor Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the US and released their eponymous debut in 1969.
In August of that year, they made an appearance in front of a crowd of an estimated 120,000 people at the Isle of Wight Festival alongside Bob Dylan, The Nice, The Pretty Things and The Who.
A major American tour was cancelled after only five performances of a planned thirty dates, and in the midst of recording Fat Mattress II, Redding and Leverton had a falling out, resulting in Redding’s departure from the band.
He was replaced by Steve Hammond at roughly the same time as Mick Weaver was added to relieve Leverton on keyboard duties, allowing Leverton to focus on bass and vocals.
Fat Mattress II was less of a success than their debut, and the band split in the middle of recording what would have been their third album.
Noel Redding was found dead in his home in Clonakilty (Ireland) on 11 May 2003. A postmortem concluded that he had died of a haemorrhage due to cirrhosis of the liver. He was 57.
Neil Landon died in Hamburg (Germany) in 2020, aged 78, after a short battle with cancer.
Neil Landon Vocals
Noel Redding
Guitar, vocals Jim Leverton
Bass, keyboards, vocals Eric Dillon
Drums Steve Hammond
Guitar, vocals Mick Weaver
Keyboards
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In August of that year, they made an appearance in front of a crowd of an estimated 120,000 people at the Isle of Wight Festival alongside Bob Dylan, The Nice, The Pretty Things and The Who.
