Wilko Johnson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilko Johnson (2014)

John Peter "Wilko" Wilkinson (born July 12, 1947 in Canvey Island , Essex ) is a British musician and actor . In the 1970s he was a member of the pub rock / rhythm and blues band Dr. Feel good . He plays a 1962 Fender Telecaster .

Life

Johnson attended Westcliff High School for boys, then Newcastle University . There he did his Bachelor in Arts in English and Literature. He joined music groups at both schools and played guitar in his spare time.

After graduation, he traveled to India before returning to Essex to play with the Pigboy Charlie Band . The band developed into Dr. Feelgood , one of the pioneers of the 1970s pub rock movement. After returning from Goa in 1972 , Johnson worked as an English teacher for less than a year.

Johnson's wife died of cancer in 2005.

From 2011 to 2012 he appeared in four episodes of the fantasy television series Game of Thrones as the royal executioner Ser Ilyn Payn .

Johnson published his autobiography, Looking Back at Me , co-co-authored with Zoe Howe, in late May 2012 .

In early 2013, it was announced that Johnson had developed pancreatic cancer. After a successful operation, he was diagnosed as cancer-free.

Music career

Johnson developed his own image by combining jerky movements on stage (his so-called "duck walk") with a choppy guitar style and occasionally lifting his guitar to his shoulder like a pistol. He also distinguished himself with a novel sense of clothing. He preferred a black suit and a pudding-cup haircut. He achieved his style of play by not using a pick , but relying on the fingerstyle. This enabled him to play rhythm guitar and riffs or solos at the same time and produce a very percussive guitar sound. It grew out of a failed attempt to copy Mick Green from Johnny Kidd & the Pirates , a guitarist Johnson greatly admired. His Bo Diddley- influenced style was the main driving force behind Dr. Feelgood in the early years, including the band's first four albums, Down by the Jetty , Malpractice , Stupidity and Sneakin 'Suspicion , all of which were released between 1975 and 1977.

In 1977 Johnson was a founding member of Solid Senders with keyboardist John Potter, bassist Steve Lewins and drummer Alan Platt. They signed with Virgin Records in 1978 and released the album Solid Senders that same year . The Wilko Johnson Band played at the Front Row Festival in late November and early December 1977 .

In 1980 Johnson joined Ian Dury's band The Blockheads . In 1984 the Wilko Johnson Band was re-established with Norman Watt-Roy and the Italian-born drummer Salvatore "Sav" Ramundo. Ramundo left the band in June 1999 and was replaced by Steve Monti. Johnson's second album Ice on the Motorway was released in 1981 and his EP Bottle Up and Go! 1983. Over the next decade several albums were released on European labels. In 1992 Johnson performed at the Eurockéennes Music Festival and the following year at GuilFest. The album Going Back Home was released in 1998 on the Mystic label . In 1999 he began to limit his concert appearances and released the album Don't Let Your Daddy Know the following year .

On October 2, 2010, it was announced that Johnson would support The Stranglers on their Black & Blue UK tour from March 2011 . In April 2011 he played several sold-out shows at the Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Festival in Ireland.

On July 13, 2013, he played an unannounced hour-long live concert with Norman Watt-Roy and Dylan Howe at the Village Green Festival in his hometown of Westcliff-on-Sea .

In June 2018 the album Blow Your Mind was released.

literature

Filmography

Web links

Commons : Wilko Johnson  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Roeland Tijskens: WorldMusicDatabase - PROFILE: Wilko Johnson . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Wilko Johnson on southend-sites.co.uk, accessed on 20 March 2020th
  3. ↑ a b Wilko johnson & jj Burnel , The Stranglers, February 8, 2011, accessed March 20, 2020.
  4. ↑ Die Zeit : I have a dream , April 19, 2017, accessed on March 20, 2020.
  5. ↑ Gala : Wilko Johnson: End-Stage Cancer , January 11, 2013, accessed March 20, 2020.
  6. ↑ The Guardian : Wilko Johnson: 'I can't get my head around the idea that I've got a future' , July 10, 2015, accessed March 20, 2020.
  7. ↑ Allmusic : Artist Wilko Johnson , accessed on March 20, 2020.
  8. ↑ Wilko Johnson releases first album in 30 years , ffm-rock on April 30, 2018, accessed on March 20, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Wilko
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilkinson, John Peter (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British musician and actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Canvey Island , Essex , United Kingdom