Regular readers know I consider Dr. Feelgood one of the most important British bands of the 1970s. The creative force behind the punk pioneers, guitarist Wilko Johnson (born John Wilkinson) died Monday at age 75, nine years after a cancer diagnosis gave him less than a year to live.
Johnson stood out for both his guitar style and his stage antics. He played without a pick, which allowed him to strum the strings while plucking out lead riffs at the same time. He did all this with a wide-eyed, unblinking stare and rapid, robotic movement around the stage, projecting an air of menace that influenced virtually every British punk band.
He left Dr. Feelgood in 1977 over creative differences with band leader Lee Brilleaux, forming the Solid Senders and the Wilko Johnson Band, which released eight LPs over the years. “When I’m Gone” originally appeared on Wilko’s “Ice on the Motorway” LP, released in 1980. This live performance captures his intense stage persona.
He was given a late-career boost by a documentary on the Feelgoods, 2009’s “Oil City Condidential,” which helped him land a role as a mute executioner in “Game of Thrones” and introduced him to a new generation. In 2013 he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He declined chemotherapy but soon learned that he had a different, less virulent form of the disease and kept playing gigs until this September.
