Sadness lifts from him during his illness, a time when Johnson felt “intensely alive”, and his humour also bubbles through, which is often wonderful. Here, he throws his hands up, showing all of his flaws. The section where Irene dies, however, is full of raw, affecting sentiment, especially when Johnson watches his sons “sat together under the trees… I wondered what they were feeling”. Johnson and Lemmy had “trouble over a woman” in the mid-1970s, he says, in a fine section full of punk’s great and good, including John Lydon, but there’s no sign of any marital guilt. She’s the glue that holds this story together – the title an obvious nod to his grief – and she sounds a remarkable person, tolerating as she did her husband’s myriad indiscretions. There’s a woman at the heart of this tale too: Johnson’s wife, Irene, who died in 2004. “I wanted to present Dr Feelgood straight, simple and as it really was,” he writes of his group’s 1976 No 1 live album, Stupidity, at one point. When he describes the devastating Canvey Island floods of 1953 (“our house was in the sea”), his post-university jaunt to Kathmandu (“I had £60 stuffed down my Y-fronts”), and his post-Feelgood career as one of Ian Dury’s Blockheads (“somewhere along the way we picked up this character called Spartacus”), he does so without any descent into myth-making – a rare, attractive trait in rock’n’roll memoirs. Offering up a cracker of a tale, before going off on a tangent, he adds enough “anyways” and “sos” to make the more dramatic revelations relatable. Frontman Tom Meighan dedicated the awards to two 'rock ‘n’ roll survivors' – Wilko Johnson and his father, the singer went on to explain that his father had also survived after he was accidentally run over before leading the audience into a standing ovation for Johnson, saying: "This is for Wilko, God bless him.Johnson writes like the Mythical Bloke in the Pub speaks. Other highlights of the night saw guitarist Johnny Marr being presented with the 'Gibson Les Paul Award' by Champion cyclist Bradley Wiggins and Kasabian picking up two very respectable awards for 'Best Act In The World Today' and 'Best Live Act'. We think you'll agree that Wilko Johnson's career in music so far is one to be admired and truly worthy of the Icon award. He also supported The Stranglers on their 'Black and Blue' UK tour in 2011. Wilko went on to join other bands such as Solid Senders and Ian Drury's band The Blockheads. He was involved in what was known as the 'Pub Rockers' generation, a time where bands experimented with sound and style to deliver a mixture of 60's Hippy and 70's punk. Wilko Johnson stands out in his signature tailored suit and his on-stage movements whilst achieving his own playing style using fingers rather than guitar picks. FeelGood, one of the first influences of the British Punk scene. His musical style helped establish the early years of Dr. Wilko also went on to record a farewell album with Roger Daltrey 'Going back home' which was released in March 2014. However his love of music saw him continue on to play and appear in unannounced live sets and informal gigs in his home-town. He was given only nine or ten months to live back in January 2013 when being diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer, he chose not to receive any chemotherapy and instead announced he would be embarking on a farewell tour playing what was supposed to be his final show on the 22nd March 2013. The guitarist now managed by Alan Mcgee spoke about his recent illness on the night and declared publicly that he is now Cancer-Free following an 11-hour operation earlier this year to remove the tumour. The real celebration and highlight of the night saw Guitarist Wilko Johnson receiving a standing ovation whilst picking up 'The Icon Award'. Inspiration Award' was given to the Scottish Rock band Simple Minds and The Charlatans received 'The Hero Award' which they dedicated to former band members Rob Collins, who died in 1996, and Jon Brookes, who died last year. The award for 'Classic Album' went to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, 'The The ceremony took place last night in central London awarding some of the best acts of the British music scene whilst also paying tribute to some legends of the industry.
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