With this economic sound, coupled with that black-suited, scowling look, and the yards he covered across the stage pausing only to twist the guitar lead out from under his feet, Wilko became one of the guitar heroes of the era. This allows for chords and lead to be played at the same time, giving a fluency and a distinctive sound very unlike the cleaner swat of a pick. Heavily influenced by legendary guitarist Mick Green from '60s rockers Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Wilko employs a finger-style, chop-chord strumming action. But no, Wilko was lured into music by the dark magic spun by his first Telecaster, bought from a music store in Southend, Essex, soon after becoming the strutting, grimacing, six-string rhythmic powerhouse behind Lee Brilleaux in Dr Feelgood.įeel good? Audiences certainly did in the mid '70s as Wilko duck-walked his way across countless stages and venues in the UK, with Dr Feelgood in the vanguard of the pub rock movement, performing the gutsy down-to-earth rock and roll that was a welcome antidote to the faltering prog-rock era. The man from Canvey Island, who studied English at Newcastle University before doing a bit of travelling, could have been a retired teacher by now, sucking on a pipe and whittling away at his pension. But despite the doctors' worst predictions he continued to perform and present himself with vigour and a new zest for life. "I'm supposed to be dead now." So said Wilko in a recent interview, having been diagnosed in late 2012 with terminal pancreatic cancer. The former Dr Feelgood guitarist & Blockhead Wilko Johnson has recently been in the news for lots of non-music reasons.
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