Wilko Johnson passed away. His wild stage persona and machine-gun guitar playing had a significant impact on punk. The musician gained notoriety with the pub-rock group Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s. He later collaborated with Ian Dury before beginning a four-decade solo career.
Wilko also played the silent executioner Ser Ilyn Payne in two seasons of Game of Thrones. He beat pancreatic cancer that was first thought to be terminal ten years ago.
The performer declined treatment to start a farewell tour. Chemotherapy could only prolong my life for a relatively short time, so he said, “The decision was quite clear. I figured I’d much rather enjoy the health that was left to me.” He said this on BBC Radio 5 Live.
A rare and less aggressive neuroendocrine tumor was the guitarist’s pancreatic cancer, according to later examinations.
After an extensive, 11-hour surgery in which his pancreas, spleen, and portions of his stomach and intestines were removed, he was diagnosed as cancer-free in 2014.
At that year’s Q awards, he remarked,
“Now, I’m spending my time gradually coming to terms with the concept that my death is not imminent, that I am going to live on.”
The musician performed live performances up until last month, hosting his final show on October 18 at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Johnson’s agents informed the BBC of his passing.
They said in a statement shared on social media: “We regrettably have to make this announcement on behalf of Wilko’s family and the band, and we do so with great sadness.
“Wilko Johnson passed away. On Monday, November 21, 2022, in the evening, he passed away at home.
Wilko’s family would like to thank everyone for respecting their privacy during this difficult time and for their unwavering support throughout his remarkable life.
Johnson and The Who’s Roger Daltrey collaborated on a top-three album in 2014, and Daltrey predicted that Johnson’s music will “live on.”
Wilko desired to be a poet more than anything else, according to a statement from him. “I was fortunate to have known him and be friends with him. His song continues to be heard, but this time there is no dodging the curtain call.”
Jimmy Page, a member of Led Zeppelin, tweeted that he was “saddened to hear of the demise of Wilko Johnson,” reminiscing about the “electric” feeling he felt while watching the late guitarist perform in Camden in 2013.
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Johnson, who was up in Canvey Island, Essex, honed a particular finger-picked technique that combined percussive stabs and flowing licks and allowed him to simultaneously play lead and rhythm guitar.
In 2013, he said on Radio 4 that “it’s kind of like riding a bike.” It’s simple to perform yet challenging to express.
With Dr. Feelgood, where his passionate and erratic stage persona gave the band a terrifying intensity, he honed the style.
Johnson collaborated with the band on three studio albums, but Stupidity, a live album, was the only one to reach the top spot.
Johnson was previously referred to as “one of the iconic English guitar heroes” by Classic Rock magazine’s Steve Howley, who said that his combative performance style directly contributed to punk.
In an interview with Uncut magazine, Paul Weller said of Wilko, “He’s right up there. He may not be as well-known as some other guitarists.
“Many people will make the same statement. In many locations, I hear Wilko. It is a legacy.”
Enthusiast for Space
Johnson left Dr. Feelgood in 1977 after disagreements with the band’s lead singer, Lee Brilleaux. Before Johnson joined Ian Dury’s backing band The Blockheads, he started a brief band named Solid Senders that recorded an album for Virgin Records.
Following the breakup of the band due to Dury’s drug use, the guitarist embarked on a solo career, releasing albums including Ice On The Motorway, Call It What You Want, and Barbed Wire Blues, which featured his go-to supporting band The Wilko Johnson Band.
They continued to tour nonstop, gaining new fans in the twenty-first century as a result of Julien Temple’s Oil City Confidential, a Dr. Feelgood film that portrayed Johnson as a lovable, wacky, and very British guitar god.
Following the popularity of the movie, Wilko Johnson released two volumes of The Best of Wilko Johnson in 2010, and he began writing his autobiography, Looking Back on Me, in which he discussed his passion for astronomy and his decision to construct his observatory in Southend.
I would truly like to travel through galaxies and experience the intergalactic nothingness, he wrote.
He continued to perform and record after overcoming illness, opening for Status Quo on their 2014 tour, and releasing his final album, Blows Your Mind, in 2018.
On Twitter, musicians including Graham Coxon of Blur, Clem Burke of Blondie, and Tim Burgess of The Charlatans paid respect after learning of his passing.
Alex Kapranos of the indie band Franz Ferdinand commented, “Very sad to hear Wilko Johnson has passed away.”
“Many guitarists, including myself, were enthralled and inspired by his distinctive, electric playing and stage persona. He will continue to be felt for a very long time.”
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