It was a smart yet confrontational and adrenalised persona which would eventually influence John Lydon, Suggs and all manner of post-punk pop barkers.Ĭredit: Colin Fuller/Redferns/Getty Images He cut an eye-catching figure onstage too, jerking and jolting around stages in black suit and pudding bowl haircut, firing riffs from his guitar from shoulder height, machine gun style. Having purchased his first Fender Telecaster in Southend in 1965, he’d played in several local groups as a teenager and swiftly rejoined the pub band community as a member of the Pigboy Charlie Band.īy 1971 the group had evolved into Dr Feelgood, naming themselves after a nickname for heroin (or the backstreet doctor willing to ‘prescribe’ it) and basing their vital British R&B sound around Wilko’s songwriting panache and distinct guitar style, inspired by Bo Diddley and Mick Green from Johnny Kidd And The Pirates. His English degree at the University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne included the study of Icelandic sagas and he then travelled to Goa in India before settling back in Essex to become a teacher. The vitality of The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, The Vaccines and Idles, it could be argued, originated at Wilko’s fingertips.Ĭanvey Island in Essex might not be quite as exotic as it sounds, but Wilko’s early life certainly looked to horizons. Indeed, beyond his immediate influence on punk, Johnson’s stabbing, compulsive chord work bled into new wave acts such as The Jam, Elvis Costello and Gang Of Four and has been dissipated across alternative rock and pop for decades since. And there are a lot of people who’ll say the same. In the wake of his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in 2012 he set about recording a farewell album with Roger Daltrey (2014’s ‘Going Back Home’), while Paul Weller told Uncut magazine, “Wilko may not be as famous as some other guitarists, but he’s right up there. And, in the UK, Dr Feelgood, the Canvey Island R&B pub rockers whose driving energy and subversive attitude fed into the punk movement, and whose legendary guitarist Wilko Johnson died today (November 23) some ten years after doctors had given him mere months to live.įamed for his choppy, percussive guitar style and trademark ‘duckwalk’ stage move, Johnson was a much-loved figure within the music world. Iggy Pop, The MC5, the New York Dolls, The Modern Lovers. The album is a mixture of self-penned tracks such as 'Certified Rose' and the soulful ballad ‘Always Heading Home’ along with songs that have inspired Daltrey over the years including Nick Cave’s ‘Into My Arms’, ‘You Haven’t Done Nothing’ by Stevie Wonder, Stephen Stills’ ‘How Far’ and the title track originally recorded by Garnet Mimms in 1964 the year that Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle and Moon changed their name from The High Numbers and became The Who.For a genre that seemed to roar out of nowhere, punk had many fathers. Work on ‘As Long As I Have You’ was started shortly after the top 5 gold selling ‘Going Back Home’ was released and continued during breaks on The Who’s record breaking 50th anniversary tour ‘The Who Hits 50’. 'As Long As I Have You’ was produced by Dave Eringa, best known for his work with the Manic Street Preachers and on Roger and Wilko Johnson’s album ‘Going Back Home’ and features Pete Townshend’s inimitable guitar on seven tracks as well as guest performances from Mick Talbot on keyboards (Dexys, The Style Council) and Sean Genockey on lead guitar who has worked with Suede, Shame and The Proclaimers).
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