#The ecstasy of wilko johnson reviews full

Massive thanks to Scott Wetherill for the video.

After you’ve finished absorbing the awesomeness of Wilko himself, you may find yourself drawn to the equally bizarre bassist Norman Watt-Roy. It’s well worth watching when it appears later this year. It is in fact a hugely emotional journey and a fascinating insight into people battling with terminal illness. This mixture of lighthearted humour with honest reflection is indicative of the tone of the film, which is far more than just a rockumentary on a band’s final tour. He also spoke humorously about the fact he never got his coffee from a backstage assistant, and reflected that he was looking forward to the end but now has to keep gigging because people keep coming back for more. I was walking around outside the studio thinking ‘this is going to be the last thing I do, this is freaky, I’m going to die soon'”. It was the first thing I’d done in “extra time”. Doing the record with Roger was just one of the many strange things that happened to me that year. Speaking on the album he did with The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Wilko was in a reflective mood: “I think of all the things I did that year. So I had time to feel sorry for myself.” Of course, when he announces he’s all-clear, the crowd erupts in joy and applause. I had an 11-hour operation to remove a 3.5kg tumour from my stomach… and then weeks of recuperation with post-operative-infections. You go back after a year and they give you the all-clear and it’s not instant at all. “You go and see the doctor and he says you have cancer and, like that, the universe changes. He talked in the Q&A about the difference between being told you have cancer and being told you have the all-clear. It covers this period, then goes on to what he describes as “extra time” and then his miraculous recovery following some radical treatment. The film is ostensibly about Wilko’s battle with cancer as he was given ten months to live. Wilko stated early on that he isn’t a fan of seeing footage of himself, so seeing a film based entirely on himself would be hard work to watch. Prior to the film was an extended interview with Wilko, Julien Temple and Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian. Wilko and Julien speak in the pre-screening Q&A Film + Q&A

#The ecstasy of wilko johnson reviews full

I’m hoping I get to see the band in a full set soon. It was a brilliant gig though, it has to be said. Oh how the true Wilko fans will be fuming. Instead of reviewing his gig all I’ve done is talk about his eyes, the machine gun guitar technique and Game of Thrones. He wasn’t in many episodes but when you see his eyes on stage it instantly brings it back. Those unfamiliar with his music might be more familiar with his role in Game of Thrones as the executioner Ilyn Payne. Whilst doing that, he’s also carrying his Fender Telecaster like it’s a machine gun. It brings an intensity to the music I can’t quite describe. The first thing you notice when watching Wilko Johnson is that he has thunderously focused eyes. Well, imagine how much fun you’d have if the band were actually really top quality. It’s a great night even though the band aren’t always great.

I’ve seen many bad versions of this band in pubs across the country on a Friday night, playing vintage 12-bar-blues to an older audience. I’m largely unfamiliar with Wilko’s music but the set gave me a flavour of what he’s about. It was a short set (about 30 minutes) followed by a long interview (about 30 minutes) followed by an exclusive screening of the new Julien Temple documentary The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson. Our first act of the day was Wilko Johnson on the William’s Green Stage. A few familiar acts start to pop up and by and large nobody has a 50 minute pilgrimage with a 40kg weight strapped to their back to kick-off the day. The second day at Glastonbury is when the fun starts to get interesting.