Wilko Johnson

Following the release of his most recent greatest hits compilation, Wilko Johnson will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Wilko Johnson band with a special concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London this September, which will also coincide with his 70th birthday celebrations.

Wilko Johnson celebrates band's 30th anniversary

The former Dr. Feelgood guitarist turned 70 this summer, and it also marks 30 years since he founded The Wilko Johnson Band. He'll be joined by his bassist Norman Watt-Roy of and drummer Dylan Howe of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, as well as punk poet special guest Dr. John Cooper Clarke

Continue reading: Wilko Johnson Band Celebrates 30th Anniversary At The Royal Albert Hall

Rhythm and Blues legend Wilko Johnson gave a five minute acceptance speech while receiving an icon award at the 'Q Awards' and took the time to reveal he was cancer free. In 2012, Johnson was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. The star rejected chemotherapy and was ultimately given '10 months to live'. He proceeded to live longer than the prediction, and soon went ahead with a radical surgery which removed the 3kg tumour and left Johnson cancer free. "If there's a moral to this story, it's that you never know what's going to happen" he stated. 

Johnson had a 3kg tumour removed and is fine now

Wilko Johnson explained coming to terms with the cancer, saying: "I decided that was the way to deal with it - not to curse it or fight it or anything like that. Just try and enjoy the time left, which I'd done." He continued to explain the surgery: "When they first said they could operate, I was thinking, 'What are they saying? They may be offering me two or three more months life?' But no they weren't, they were saying they could get rid of the tumour, and that's what they did. And it's gone. And I don't have cancer."

Continue reading: Cancer Free Wilko Johnson - "They Did It, Man!"

Online ticket re-sellers and touts waiting outside the venue have been cashing in on Wilko Johnson’s final concerts in London. The Dr Feelgood star recently revealed that he has been given just months to live, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fans of the iconic star have obviously been snapping up the tickets to his final London shows at Camden venue Koko but many were unable to get tickets at face value and are instead being forced to cough up anywhere up to five times the face value of the tickets.

Touts and online retailers have been selling Wilko Johnson tickets for up to five times face value

Continue reading: Shameless Touts Cash In On Terminally Ill Wilko Johnson's Farewell Gig In London

Wilko Johnson played one of the final shows of his life last night in London (March 6, 2013), with the musician bringing the house down at KOKO in what was a heartbreaking performance in every way. 

Wilko Johnson playing one of his last ever shows at KOKO London last night

Continue reading: Triumph Mixed With Tragedy On Wilko Johnson's Final Tour (Pictures)

Wilko Johnson, the guitarist from Dr Feelgood was diagnosed with cancer just before Christmas. The news of the cult musician dying came as a shock to his friends, family and fans, but Wilko is certainly not taking illness lying down and, as he explained to Reuters, is making the absolute best of his final months. Not only is he set to go on tour, he has also hinted towards the possibility of making a new album.

As soon as the news of his illness was made public, there was an instant surge of interest in all things Wilko Johnson, including all dates of his upcoming, hastily planned tour being sold out in quick time. The news of his death then, in many ways, has been liberating for the musician. "It makes you feel so alive," he said. "Just walking down the street, man, everything looks really intense. Any little thing you look at, it almost gives you a kind of childlike consciousness." 

This new way of thinking is a big turnaround for Johnson who has a history of suffering with depression. "I'm a miserable so-and-so... but all that stuff whatever it was I used to worry about - it doesn't matter. What's gone, what is and what will be, do not matter."

Continue reading: Cult Musician Dying But Making The Most Of Last Months, Wilko Johnson Says Album May Be On The Way

A cult musician dying never fails to be a tragic event, but Dr Feelgood's Wilko Johnson, who was diagnosed with cancer late last year is putting the absolute best use to the last few months of his life. He has planned a tour for fans that want to see him live one last time, and speaking to Reuters, he has spoken of how he has never felt so alive. 

A cancer diagnosis has given Wilko a new lease of life: ''I suddenly found myself in a position where nothing matters anymore,'' he said. ''I'm a miserable so-and-so normally. I'd be worrying about the taxman or all the things that we worry about that get in the way of the real things. And suddenly it doesn't matter. All of that doesn't matter. You walk down the street and you feel intensely alive. You're 'Oh, look at that leaf!' You're looking around and you think, 'I'm alive. Ain't it amazing?' ''

If only more of us had that mind-set, the world would certainly be a more pleasant place to be! Not only is Wilko taking to numerous stages for fans, but he's also ploughing some energy into a new album, potentially. "It's going to be rough and ready, because we've got about three or four days and we're just going to go in and to bash it down. We're not going to twiddle with anything.''

The terminally ill former guitarist of Dr Feelgood, Wilko Johnson, gave an intimate interview on BBC Radio 4's Front Row last night, in which he revealed he is not only coping with his bout with cancer, but it is even making him feel "vividly alive."

Speaking to Front Row's John Wilson, the guitarist, who also played with Ian Dury and the Blockheads and the Wilko Johnson Band, revealed that he is experiencing an upside to his diagnosis and since he found out he was suffering from pancreatic cancer he has not felt more alive in years. He told Wilson: "I am actually a miserable person. I've spent most of my life moping in depressions and things, but this has all lifted."

Wilko lost his wife to cancer eight years ago and admitted that he is "still prone to bursting into tears thinking about her," but he has yet to feel remotely sorry for himself about his condition, adding "I've had a fantastic life. When I think about the things that have happened to me and the things I've done, I think anybody who asks for more would just be being greedy. I don't wanna be greedy."

Continue reading: Wilko Johnson Says His Cancer Diagnosis Made Him "Feel Alive"

Wilko Johnson has revealed that his recent cancer diagnosis, for which he has refused treatment, has made him "feel vividly alive" during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Front Row programme, which airs tonight at 7.15pm.

Wilko gave an insightful interview into his life and condition, speaking of the strange sense of "euphoria" that came with his diagnosis, something which wiped away the bouts of depression he had been struggling with prior to his diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer. He told the show's presenter John Wilson, "The things that used to bring me down, or worry me, or annoy me, they don't matter anymore - and that's when you sit thinking 'Wow, why didn't I work this out before? Why didn't I work out before that it's just the moment you're in that matters?'"

The 65-year-old guitarist, who also played with Ian Dury and the Blockheads after Dr Feelgood folded, also admitted that he was weary not to get himself checked out when his suspicions first arose that he might be ill, saying, "I noticed the symptoms a few months ago - there was this lump in my stomach. I treated it by ignoring it and hoping it would go away. When I went in for the diagnosis and the doctor told me 'You've got cancer' it was quite plain it was an inoperable thing, there was nothing they could do."

Continue reading: Wilko Johnson "Feels Alive" After Cancer Diagnosis

Terminally ill guitarist Wilko Johnson is to reunite with his former Dr Feelgood bandmates on stage for the first time in years when he embarks on his farewell tour this March.

Earlier this month, Wilko's manager, Robert Hoy, took to his official Facebook page to announce the sad news that the guitarist has terminal cancer of the pancreas and has decide against receiving chemotherapy. He also announced that Johnson plans to resume his busy work schedule and he is currently in Japan on tour and will continue work on his final album once he returns. A few days later his manager again took to the Facebook page to announce that Johnson will be embarking on a farewell tour, covering four dates across the UK this March.

It has now been revealed that Wilko will be joined on these dates by his former Dr Feelgood bandmates, with whom he performed with from 1971 to 1977 before he went on to work with Ian Dury and the Blockhead before going starting his own musical project with The Wilko Johnson Band. In his first post, Hoy reassured fans by saying: "Wilko is currently in good spirits, is not yet suffering any physical effects and can expect to enjoy at least another few months of reasonable health and activity."

Continue reading: Wilko Johnson To Reunite With Dr Feelgood Members During Farewell Tour