Johnson, Wilko (12th July 1947-21st November 2022)

He was a guitarist born John Peter Wilkinson in Canvey Island, Essex, England, who studied English at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, after having played with various local groups, and when he finished his education he returned to Essex to play with the Pigboy Charlie Band.

This became the group known as Dr. Feelgood where he developed his own style of playing and saw success when their album Stupidity reached No. 1 in the UK album charts.

Prior to becoming a member of Ian Dury and the Blockheads he formed the group Solid Senders in 1977, essentially a backing band, and they released the album Solid Senders that same year.

After releasing several LPs he formed The Wilko Johnson Band in the mid 1980s and featured the Blockhead’s bass player Norman Watt-Ray and drummer Salvatore Ramundo. They toured regularly from the 1990s and in 2000 he recorded the album Live in Japan.

In 2012 he cancelled a show when he was taken to hospital and in 2013 he was told he had late stage pancreatic cancer. He turned down chemotherapy and made plans for a final tour. It was then discovered that the cancer wasn’t as virulent as originally thought and he underwent an 11 hour operation to remove the tumour, The surgery and outcome were successful and he was able to attend Q Awards and receive the Icon Award in October 2014.

He died in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex in November 2022 when he was 75 years old.

Here he is performing “Bye Bye Johnny”…

Sources:

Johnson, Wilko (12th July 1947-21st November 2022)

Navigation