Jaw clenched and eyes bulging. Skittering across the stage, bolt-upright and belligerent. Shouldering s black and red'62 Tele in the style of a machine gun to mock-strafe the crowd. The sight of Wilko Johnson in full flight - a spectacle so visceral that only the antics of Pete Townshend come close - would have been electrifying at any point in rock 'n' roll history. In the early 70s, when the presiding guitarists of prog stood statue-still and studious, nobody could take their eyes off the late Dr Feelgood guitarist.
"His playing was angry and angular," wrote Billy Bragg after the news broke of Johnson's death on 21 November. "But his presence - twitchy, confrontational, out of control - was something we'd never beheld before in UK pop."
Born John Wilkinson on Canvey Island, Essex, Johnson quickly rejected the path of his gas-fitter father ("a stupid, uneducated and violent person," he said). The imported blues vinyl of Chicago's Chess Records signposted another way - "When I first heard Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley," Johnson told this writer, "it was just so exciting and mysterious" - as did the defining guitar influence of Johnny Kidd And The Pirates' Mick Green.
Bu hikaye Guitarist dergisinin February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Guitarist dergisinin February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms
