A 2026 feature from Far Out Magazine revisits the tragic story of Michael "Binky" McKenzie, a London-based bassist once hailed by contemporaries such as John McLaughlin and Free's Andy Fraser as an extraordinary talent, sometimes dubbed "the Jimi Hendrix of bass". Despite his early promise in London's jazz and rock scenes of the late 1960s, McKenzie's life was overshadowed by deteriorating mental health, which culminated in a horrific act of violence against his own family in 1971.

On 29 July 1971, shortly after his release from prison on a drugs charge, the 23-year-old McKenzie attacked his parents and younger sister Candy at the family home in Kilburn, north London, in what was described as a state of insanity. His mother, Enna McKenzie, died of stab wounds on the doorstep, while his father Winston and Candy's husband, American sailor Richard Simms, were also found dead at the scene; Candy, then 17 and a new mother, survived her injuries after fleeing to a neighbour for help, and her infant was found unharmed. The killings marked a devastating end to a promising career, with McKenzie previously imprisoned alongside his brother Bunny on drug offences after being reported by their own parents.