You might know him after all from a popular series:
Wilko is a good guy. His guitar style is patterned after the late Mick Green (Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, at the end of his career he played with Van Morrison), but Wilko's style is more percussive with all the ghost notes he uses.
Early Dr. Feelgood (once famously described as "
they look like they all came from some unsavoury unit of the British Army"), those Canvey Islanders (a desolate oil refinery island in the Thames estuary),
were in that no man's land between pub rock and beginning of punk in the mid-70ies. Darlings of the New Musical Express, they had their 15 minutes of fame where they managed to somehow appeal to both Status Quo and Sex Pistols/Clash fans. But Wilko threw a fit - a traditionalist who was admamant that their first two albums were recorded in glorious mono - when the band recorded a song he didn't like and he left in a huff.
I only saw them with his replacement, (the late) Gypie Mayo (don't think they ever toured Germany with Wilko, they were very much a Brit phenomenon early on), who was no slouch on guitar either, though more conventional in technique and - probably no coincidence - less weird- and more punkish-looking.
(the "eight bars of piano" at 2:01 when there is in fact zilch piano is brilliant and typical of them)
Lee Brilleaux', likewise late by now, vocals, gruff and raw as they were, came as an acquired taste, he baritoned his way through their set at a time when even blues and RnB rock singers were expected to do Rober Plant falsettos. Lee never did, he had a range of three or maybe four notes. That said, he was a gifted harmonica player, kind of the British Magic Dick (and there are some further similarities between the Feelgoods and the J. Geils Band).
Wilko almost died a few years ago with a huge cancer tumor in his gut, deemed unoperable, he did a farewell tour and an album with Roger Daltrey (who sang with a deep voice in Lee Brilleaux style) and then one day the tumor began decreasing in size - the healing power of music.
Dave amazed me (he always does!) by actually knowing them. I always thought their only claim to fame in the US was getting thrown off a Kiss tour as opening act when they demolished a hotel room one night and Kiss were aghast. (Gene Simmons doesn't like it if you break stuff that cost good money!)
Of course, this post couldn't be complete without some type of Deep Purple reference, ok, your wish is my command, Lee's harmonica comes in at 1:25 ...
Man, Coverdale could still sing back then too!
