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. Nine Below Zero toured with The Who and The Kinks and also appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test, and The South Bank Show.The former Dr Feelgood guitarist & Blockhead Wilko Johnson has recently been in the news for lots of non-music reasons. The band kept the momentum going with Don’t Point Your Finger (1981) before releasing their third and final LP on A&M Records, Third Degree(1982). UK-based Rhythm ‘n’ Blues Group Nine Below Zero released the classic debut LP Live at the Marquee in 1980. Featuring former Blockhead Dylan Howe on drums, the trio is known as one of the most exciting r’n’b bands in the world today.

He, alongside his original Feelgood bandmates, is also widely acknowledged as a forefather of punk on both sides of the Atlantic, fans ranging from Joe Strummer to Blondie.įollowing a stint with Ian Dury & The Blockheads in the 1980s, he formed the Wilko Johnson Band, with Blockheads bassist Norman Watt-Roy.

With this electrifying sound, his trademark black-suited, scowling look and his characteristic strut, Wilko became one of the guitar heroes of the 1970s and beyond, not to mention on of rock ’n’ roll’s most extraordinary characters. Wilko is famed for his blistering chop-chord strumming action (the ‘stab’, as he describes it), a technique inspired by his admiration of the late Pirates guitarist Mick Green. Feelgood guitarist, actor (Game of Thrones character Ser ilyn Payne) and all round national treasure has enjoyed a rousing return to the live arena, including a number 1 album with Roger Daltrey (Going Back Home), a sold out show at The Royal Albert Hall to mark his 70th birthday and, most recently, the release of Blow Your Mind, his first album of new material in decades. Following a remarkable recovery from a diagnosis of terminal cancer, Wilko Johnson,the original Dr.

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