Wilko Johnson dead aged 75
The Dr. Feelgood legend passed away on Monday
Last updated 23rd Nov 2022
Iconic British guitarist Wilko Johnson passed away aged 75 on Monday 21st November his team have confirmed today in a statement.
Johnson's last gig was Planet Rock's Rocktober show at London's Shepherd Bush Empire on Tuesday 18th October 2022.
The short post on Johnson's social media channels, states: "This is the announcement we never wanted to make, & we do so with a very heavy heart: Wilko Johnson has died.
"He passed away at home on Monday 21st November. Thank you for respecting the family's privacy at this very sad time. RIP Wilko Johnson."
Wilko Johnson was born John Peter Wilkinson in Canvey Island, Essex on 12th July 1947. He studied English Language and Literature at university and after graduating travelled overland to Goa, India. He returned to England and worked for a short time as an English teacher.
After his return he joined the band that would eventually become Dr. Feelgood, who became a staple of the 1970s pub rock scene.
Johnson's unique finger picking playing style and highly eccentric live persona, which saw him jerk across the stage staring straight ahead like a gimlet-eyed musical robot, occasionally "machine-gunning" the audience with his guitar helped make Dr. Feelgood one of the pub rock scene's most successful bands.
Watch: Dr. Feelgood 'Going Back Home' (Live at Southend Kursaal)
After the success of Feelgood's first 4 albums 'Down by the Jetty', 'Malpractice', 'Stupidity' and 'Sneakin' Suspicion', all released in a frenetic two-year period between 1975 and 1977, in a shock move Johnson left the band at the height of their popularity.
He went on to form Solid Senders, and The Wilko Johnson Band, as well as joining Ian Dury's Blockheads in 1980.
Over the course of the rest of the 80s, 90s and 00s, Johnson toured as a solo artist, before the 2009 Julien Temple Dr Feelgood documentary 'Oil City Confidential' brought him back to the public eye.
Watch: Wilko Johnson's opening scene in Oil City Confidential
Even more unexpectedly, the documentary also brought Johnson to the attention of the producers of Game of Thrones. Johnson's famous gimlet stare was employed in his role as mute executioner Ser Ilyn Payne in the first and second series of Game of Thrones, bringing him to a whole new audience.
On being cast in the role Johnson recalled: " They said they wanted somebody really sinister who went around looking daggers at people before killing them. That made it easy. Looking daggers at people is what I do all the time, it's like second nature to me."
In 2013, Johnson revealed to the world that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer with nine or ten months to live, and announced a farewell tour. After the announcement and subsequent publicity, The Who frontman Roger Daltrey contacted Johnson expressing his desire to make an album with him.
The two recorded the critically-acclaimed covers album 'Going Back Home' in the space of just one week, with Johnson saying "I thought that was going to be the last thing I ever did."
It entered the UK album chart at No.3, making it Daltrey's highest ranking album since The Who's 1981 'Face Dances', and Johnson's highest since Dr. Feelgood's 'Stupidity', which hit No.1 in 1976.
Watch: Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey - 'I Keep It To Myself'
Despite his original terminal prognosis, a specialist surgeon later discovered that Johnson had a more benign form of cancer, and undertook radical 11 hour surgery on the rock legend. In October 2014, Johnson announced that he was cancer-free: "This tumour weighed 3kg - that's the size of a baby! Anyway, they got it all. They cured me."
Following his treatment and album with Daltrey, Johnson went on to release his first album of new material in over 30 years with 2018's 'Blow Your Mind' and tour frequently, with the likes of Joanne Shaw Taylor and supporting Status Quo on their 'Frantic Four' tour.