Obviously, it came from black culture in America, it was something they were born into, but you could live for a hundred years and never play the boogie like John Lee Hooker. It’s hard to put into words the power that these people exuded.
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His voice is so vibrant and heavy, it sounds so free and natural. It’s not flashy guitar, but it’s powerful. He’s not playing a regular riff, he don’t give a damn about no 12-bar, he’s going to change the chords where he feels like it. I first heard Sugar Mama on The Blues Volume One, it’s just John Lee Hooker and his guitar.
“I probably listen to more John Lee Hooker at home than anything else. Muddy played it with a slide, and when he hit this first note… Oh man, it just sounded so good. He was playing a Fender Telecaster, which excited me because my hero, Mick Green, played one and I wanted one. Muddy made his entrance walking along the railroad track. I also remember there was this fantastic television programme, a live British blues show filmed on a railway station in the rain. I first heard Muddy when the first Rolling Stones album came out. “The power and expressiveness of Muddy Waters’ voice is just miraculous, so direct, and the song’s marvellous. Here’s hoping these timelessly visceral recordings, many of which have been re-compiled by Wilko himself on The First Time I Met The Blues, will inspire a whole new generation. A whole lot of my early R&B education came from those records.” I’ve always been a miserable so-and-so, so becoming gloomy again is a good sign of my returning health.Living on the outer edge of the Thames Delta, on Canvey Island, and saving every spare penny for a Telecaster of his own made record-buying almost impossible: “But you could borrow records from school friends.” There were, however, a pair of truly essential albums that effectively changed the direction of Wilko’s young life: “Two great compilations from the Chess label were released on the Pye International R&B label – which had a very distinctive yellow and orange label that used to give me the shivers as well – The Blues Volume One and The Blues Volume Two. Then as I slowly regained my physical strength I realised that I was no longer living with the euphoric consciousness of imminent death, and I started to get depressed. Was coming to terms with living a difficult process?Īfter the operation it took a long time to recover. But now that I’m back in the world and the future’s indefinite again, I’ve regained a normal consciousness and fear death the same as everyone else. As time passed I came to accept the universe and, if it hadn’t proved painful and extended, then it would have been a perfect death. The way I handled it was to live in the minute and to absolutely accept that I was going to die. That extraordinary year of facing death is fading like a dream. Have you ever felt that your recovery cheated you out of the perfect death? Feelgood, influencing and becoming part of the story of rock’n’roll, I’m quite proud of that. He’d been watching us on stage and sussed me out as a speed freak. You don’t know it yet, but you are,” and pulled out a huge bag of whizz. After the first show, Lemmy came up to me and said: “You’re really pleased to see me. Feelgood signed to United Artists they gave us some gigs supporting Hawkwind. Over the last three decades I’ve got more disillusioned with politicians generally.
Back in those days I thought of myself as an anarchist. When I was at university I was left-wing. He’s got these soliloquies where he’s just so bitter, railing against mankind. He’s partying down with everyone, they’re all spending his money and then he runs out of cash and freaks. To which Shakespearean role would you be best suited? It’s an expensive one, but I can’t be bothered with it. So we got it home, and I can’t even make the propellers go round. But on the way I got a bit pissed, went into Maplins and I come walking out with one of those drones.
Just last week I was hunting around and the mission was to get a reel of gaffer tape. Then I’d barge into him and he’d send me off on a silly-walk solo. Look at pictures of Feelgood and I’m always looking across at him. Feelgood stage dynamic centred on me responding to Lee’s ferocity. Who’s the fiercest: Roger Daltrey or Lee Brilleaux? I had this technique of blowing over my tongue while drinking. I used to be able to drink a cup of hot coffee quicker than anyone I’ve met. If I was ever going to rejoin I should have rejoined the proper Dr. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if that hadn’t occurred. I sometimes think I regret the bust up with Dr. What are the best and worst drugs you’ve taken?
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