Wilko Johnson: Dr Feelgood guitarist dies, aged 75

Wilko Johnson, whose machine-gun guitar benignant and manic signifier beingness was a large power connected punk, has died.

The instrumentalist recovered fame with the 1970s pub-rock set Dr Feelgood, and aboriginal played with Ian Dury earlier embarking connected a four-decade solo career.

He besides starred successful 2 bid of Game Of Thrones arsenic the mute executioner Ser Ilyn Payne.

Ten years agone helium survived what was initially diagnosed arsenic a terminal lawsuit of pancreatic cancer.

The instrumentalist refused chemotherapy to embark connected a farewell tour.

"The determination was rather casual - chemotherapy could bash nary much than widen my beingness for a comparatively abbreviated play and I thought I'd conscionable alternatively bask the wellness that was near to me," helium told BBC Radio 5 Live.

However, aboriginal tests discovered that the guitarist's pancreatic crab was successful information a uncommon and little assertive neuroendocrine tumour.

He underwent a radical, 11-hour cognition that removed his pancreas, spleen and parts of his tummy and intestines, and was declared cancer-free successful 2014.

"Now, I'm spending my clip gradually coming to presumption with the thought that my decease is not imminent, that I americium going to unrecorded on," helium said astatine that year's Q awards.

The instrumentalist continued to play unrecorded until past month, hosting his last gig astatine London's Shepherd's Bush Empire connected 18 October.

Johnson's decease was confirmed to the BBC by his representatives.

In a connection posted connected societal media, they added: "This is the announcement we ne'er wanted to make, and we bash so, connected behalf of Wilko's household and the band, with a precise dense heart.

"Wilko Johnson has died. He passed distant astatine location connected Monday evening, 21 November 2022.

"Thank you for respecting Wilko's family's privateness astatine this precise bittersweet time, and convey you each for having been specified a tremendous enactment passim Wilko's unthinkable life."

Steve Howley, of Classic Rock magazine, erstwhile said Johnson's confrontational benignant led straight to punk, calling him "one of the quintessential English guitar heroes."

"Wilko whitethorn not beryllium arsenic celebrated arsenic immoderate different guitarists, but he's close up there," agreed Paul Weller successful an interrogation with Uncut magazine.

"There are a batch of radical who'll accidental the same. I tin perceive Wilko successful tons of places. It's immoderate legacy."

The instrumentalist developed a distinctive, finger-picked benignant that blended percussive stabs and fluid licks, allowing him to play pb and bushed guitar astatine the aforesaid time.

"It's a spot similar riding a bike," helium told Radio 4 successful 2013. "It's casual to bash but hard to describe".

He perfected the benignant with Dr Feelgood, wherever his aggravated and unhinged signifier persona gave the set a menacing energy.

Johnson recorded 3 workplace albums with the set but fittingly, it was the unrecorded record, Stupidity, that became their lone fig one.

Arguments with pb vocalist Lee Brileaux led to his departure successful 1977. He formed a short-lived set called Solid Senders, who released connected medium connected Virgin Records, earlier Johnson joined Ian Dury's backing radical The Blockheads.

After Dury's cause problems prompted the dissolution of that group, Johnson acceptable retired connected a solo career, with albums including Ice On The Motorway, Call It What You Want and Barbed Wire Blues - which introduced his regular backing radical The Wilko Johnson Band.

They toured relentlessly, receiving a caller question of involvement successful the 21st Century acknowledgment to Julien Temple's Oil City Confidential, a Dr Feelgood documentary that presented Johnson arsenic a loveable, loopy, quintessentially British guitar god.

On the backmost of the film's success, 2 volumes of The Best of Wilko Johnson were released successful 2010, and the instrumentalist started penning his autobiography, Looking Back connected Me, wherever helium elaborate his emotion of astronomy - going truthful acold arsenic to physique his ain observatory successful Southend.

"I truly would similar to spell into the galaxies, to beryllium successful the intergalactic void," helium wrote.

After recovering from cancer, helium continued to play and record, supporting Status Quo connected their 2014 circuit and releasing his past album, Blow Your Mind successful 2018.

News of his decease was greeted with sadness connected Twitter, with musicians including Blur's Graham Coxon, Blondie's Clem Burke and The Charlatans' Tim Burgess paying tribute.

"His unique, wired playing and signifier beingness thrilled and inspired galore guitarists, myself included. His beingness volition beryllium felt for galore much years."