ABS AGENCY & www.thegigcartel.com presents
WILKO JOHNSON
+ Special Guests
WILKO JOHNSON
+ Special Guests
24 HOUR BOX OFFICE: 0844 478 0898
BOOK ONLINE: www.thegigcartel.com
BOOK ONLINE: www.thegigcartel.com
TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 21st JANUARY
The news follows last week’s official statement on Wilko’s Facebook page that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer of the pancreas and has chosen not to undergo chemotherapy.
Says Wilko’s manager, Robert Hoy, “The four UK dates represent an opportunity for Wilko to express his sincere thanks to his fans for all the support he has had over his long career.”
The four UK dates represent a series of farewell concerts for Wilko. After returning from a tour of Japan, Wilko plans to record a new studio album, and will also release a live DVD from 2012’s UK tour.
He is also planning a short tour of France.
In addition to pioneering Dr. Feelgood’s iconic mid-seventies, pre-punk British R&B sound, by 1980 Johnson moved on as the guitarist for Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
Today, Johnson’s own band includes Blockheads members - Norman Watt-Roy (bass guitar) and Dylan Howe (drums).
In 2009 Johnson featured in Julien Temple’s Oil City Confidential; a fascinating full-length feature film documentary about Dr. Feelgood. The film received many accolades including the MOJO Vision Award at the MOJO Honours List 2010.
Dr. Feelgood originally formed in 1971 as a British pub rock band from Canvey Island, Essex. Their name derived from a slang term for heroin or for a doctor who was willing to overprescribe drugs. It is also a reference to a 1962 record “Dr. Feel-Good” by the American blues pianist/singer Willie Perryman (nicknamed "Piano Red"), which Perryman originally recorded under the name of Dr. Feelgood & The Interns.
Dr. Feelgood is best known for their high energy live performances. Their studio albums Down by the Jetty (1974) and Malpractice (1975) proved incredibly popular. In 1976, their live album, Stupidity reached No.1 in the Official UK Album Chart. When the band released their fourth album, Sneakin’ Suspicion (1977), Johnson quit the band to pursue a solo career.
ABS AGENCY & www.thegigcartel.com presents
WILKO JOHNSON
+ Special Guests
WILKO JOHNSON
+ Special Guests
24 HOUR BOX OFFICE: 0844 478 0898
BOOK ONLINE: www.thegigcartel.com
BOOK ONLINE: www.thegigcartel.com
London, Koko
Wednesday 6th March
Tickets: £20.00, Doors: 6:30pm
Box Office: 0870 432 5527
Book Online: www.ticketweb.co.uk
1A Camden High Street
London, NW1 7JE
www.koko.uk.com
Wednesday 6th March
Tickets: £20.00, Doors: 6:30pm
Box Office: 0870 432 5527
Book Online: www.ticketweb.co.uk
1A Camden High Street
London, NW1 7JE
www.koko.uk.com
Bilston, The Robin 2
Thursday 7th March
Tickets: £17.50, Doors: 7:30pm
Box Office: 01902 401211
www.therobin.co.uk
20-28 Mount Pleasant, Bilston,
Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ
Thursday 7th March
Tickets: £17.50, Doors: 7:30pm
Box Office: 01902 401211
www.therobin.co.uk
20-28 Mount Pleasant, Bilston,
Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ
Holmfirth, Picturedrome
Friday 8th March
Tickets: £17.50, Doors: 7:30pm
Box Office: 0844 478 8098
www.picturedrome.net
Market Walk, Holmfirth, HD9 7DA
Friday 8th March
Tickets: £17.50, Doors: 7:30pm
Box Office: 0844 478 8098
www.picturedrome.net
Market Walk, Holmfirth, HD9 7DA
Glasgow, o2 ABC
Saturday 9th March
Tickets: £17.50, Doors: 6:30pm
Box Office: 0844 477 2000
300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JA
www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk
Saturday 9th March
Tickets: £17.50, Doors: 6:30pm
Box Office: 0844 477 2000
300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JA
www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk
WILKO JOHNSON - BIOGRAPHY
When
rock'n'roll was shaken from its pre-punk complacency by the emergence
of Dr. Feelgood, it was their guitarist Wilko Johnson who excited most
attention – not only for the startling violence of his stage performance
(which was to inspire countless imitators and become one of the
classic images of rock'n'roll) but also for his guitar style which
combined the roles of lead and rhythm guitar in driving riffs and a
stuttering machine gun frenzy which altered conceptions of 'guitar
heroics'.
As a songwriter, from early Feelgood favourites like 'Back in the Night' to the power and poetry of 'Dr. Dupree' and 'Sneaking Suspicion' he has proved himself one of the best and most original exponents of R&B styles this side of the Atlantic.
The list of '70s New Wave bands who acknowledge the influence of Wilko and the Feelgoods is extensive and includes The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Boomtown Rats, and across the Atlantic The Ramones and Blondie (who spent a whole night at a New York party wearing out their specially imported copy of the Feelgood's first album, 'Down by the Jetty').
After his departure from Dr. Feelgood in 1977 Wilko formed his own band, and over the next few years worked with several personnel of varying degrees of musical accomplishment and mixed moral character. In 1980, while continuing to work with his own 3-piece, Wilko entered the ranks of Ian Dury's brilliant Blockheads, co-writing writing several songs with Ian and featuring on the 'Laughter' album. In 1985 the Blockhead's sensational and much loved bassist Norman Watt-Roy joined Wilko, and for the last 25 years they’ve entertained audiences from Helsinki to Madrid, Aberdeen to Istanbul, and Toulouse to Tokyo.
Now with the revered drummer Dylan Howe (another former Blockhead) the band has reached an even greater level of musical mastery and manic brilliance (recognised as Wilko's best band of all time). In 2008 the highly acclaimed film director Julien Temple set out to make a documentary film about the birth and all too brief phenomenon of Dr. Feelgood. 'Oil City Confidential' was premièred in October 2009 to very great critical acclaim and a series of awards. As the eccentric and enigmatic star of the film Wilko has attracted attention in some unexpected places. For the past two years, Wilko has starred as the Royal Executioner “Ser Illyn Payne” in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones, shown on Sky Atlantic.
When
rock'n'roll was shaken from its pre-punk complacency by the emergence
of Dr. Feelgood, it was their guitarist Wilko Johnson who excited most
attention – not only for the startling violence of his stage performance
(which was to inspire countless imitators and become one of the
classic images of rock'n'roll) but also for his guitar style which
combined the roles of lead and rhythm guitar in driving riffs and a
stuttering machine gun frenzy which altered conceptions of 'guitar
heroics'.As a songwriter, from early Feelgood favourites like 'Back in the Night' to the power and poetry of 'Dr. Dupree' and 'Sneaking Suspicion' he has proved himself one of the best and most original exponents of R&B styles this side of the Atlantic.
The list of '70s New Wave bands who acknowledge the influence of Wilko and the Feelgoods is extensive and includes The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Boomtown Rats, and across the Atlantic The Ramones and Blondie (who spent a whole night at a New York party wearing out their specially imported copy of the Feelgood's first album, 'Down by the Jetty').
After his departure from Dr. Feelgood in 1977 Wilko formed his own band, and over the next few years worked with several personnel of varying degrees of musical accomplishment and mixed moral character. In 1980, while continuing to work with his own 3-piece, Wilko entered the ranks of Ian Dury's brilliant Blockheads, co-writing writing several songs with Ian and featuring on the 'Laughter' album. In 1985 the Blockhead's sensational and much loved bassist Norman Watt-Roy joined Wilko, and for the last 25 years they’ve entertained audiences from Helsinki to Madrid, Aberdeen to Istanbul, and Toulouse to Tokyo.
Now with the revered drummer Dylan Howe (another former Blockhead) the band has reached an even greater level of musical mastery and manic brilliance (recognised as Wilko's best band of all time). In 2008 the highly acclaimed film director Julien Temple set out to make a documentary film about the birth and all too brief phenomenon of Dr. Feelgood. 'Oil City Confidential' was premièred in October 2009 to very great critical acclaim and a series of awards. As the eccentric and enigmatic star of the film Wilko has attracted attention in some unexpected places. For the past two years, Wilko has starred as the Royal Executioner “Ser Illyn Payne” in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones, shown on Sky Atlantic.
Wilko Johnson - Official Facebook
www.facebook.com/WilkoJohnsonBand
www.facebook.com/WilkoJohnsonBand
Wilko Johnson - Official Website
www.wilkojohnson.org
www.wilkojohnson.org
