How Wilko Johnson inspired Paul Weller and The Jam
The late Wilko Johnson might not be as famous as some of his contemporaries, but the recent outpowering of mourning for him speaks volumes about his influence on British music. According to Paul Weller, Johnson was a pivotal precursor to punk, allowing bands like The Jam to thrive.
The Dr Feelgood founder left the group under a cloud in 1977, six years after their formation, and went on to create a varied career. While the group are still active today, it is their first three albums – produced with Wilko – which they are most celebrated for. Similarly, despite Johnson releasing a string of albums as a solo artist, it was with Feelgood that he peaked.
Although the band was lumbered in with the rest of the pub-rock crowd, there was much more to Feelgood than meets the eye. Johnson was a technician who played by his own rules, which is why he had Roger Daltrey and Ian Dury queueing up to work with him.
After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013, Johnson was given just months to live. Miraculously, despite not undergoing chemotherapy and instead opting for radical surgery, Johnson beat the terminal diagnosis. Before he announced his recovery at the Q Awards in 2014, Weller explained the impact of Johnson on his life to Uncut and labelled him a “one-off”.
“I don’t think I’d ever heard anyone play like Wilko before. You could liken his playing to someone like Bo Diddley, but Wilko is unique, a one-off,” he said in 2013. “He is also a great songwriter as well, especially on all those early tunes from Down By The Jetty and Malpractice. I thought they were very special songs… I took elements of his playing, that choppiness, into The Jam.”
He added: “Wilko may not be as famous as some other guitarists, but he’s right up there. And there are a lot of people who’ll say the same. I can hear Wilko in lots of places. It’s some legacy.”
Meanwhile, in conversation with Absolute Radio, Weller confessed: “Dr Feelgood were the first band for me in the middle of the ’70s that really meant something to me, and Wilko Johnson, especially who was the guitarist. He was the first ’70s guitar hero for me, really. It sort of preceded punk in a lot of ways. It was short, sharp songs that were spikey, a lot of aggression in it, and all the things you kind of want when you’re 16, 17.”
Weller’s warm words about Wilko show how significant his impact was on him as a teenager. After listening to the angst in Dr Feelgood, Weller injected a similar level of ferocity, making The Jam one of their generation’s most critical bands, representing the public’s anger at the solemn state of Britain.
