The 70s pub-rock scene had their fair share of R&B purveyors, but none were more authentic, thriving and hard-grafting as DR. FEELGOOD, a 4-piece spawned from Canvey Island, Essex, in 1971. Spearheaded by HOWLIN’ WOLF idolater Lee Brilleaux and axeman extraordinaire Wilko Johnson (other original alumni came by way of bassist John B. Sparks and sticksman The Big Figure – aka John Martin), DR. FEELGOOD brewed up a salient cocktail of R&B/pre-punk medicine that spread the length and breadth of the nation – especially on the live circuit!
Procuring their name from a boogie-woogie jazz ’n’ bluesman (aka Piano Red/Willie Perryman), or indeed, his eponymous song covered as a B-side by JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES, the gritty DR. FEELGOOD cut their teeth performing in nearby Southend-on-Sea. The group soon made a name for themselves in the capital, where their lean ’n’ mean brand of revivalist R&B went down a storm on the pub-rock circuit. While the band’s mean-faced assault was best sampled in the sweaty confines of a packed public house, DR. FEELGOOD secured a recording contract at United Artists Records and proceeded to unleash `Roxette’ (backed by Nelson Riddle’s `Route 66’), a tempting taster for their dynamic debut set, DOWN BY THE JETTY (1975) {*8}.
The band’s JOHNNY KIDD/PIRATES influenced originals – another standout track being Wilko’s piledriving `Keep It Out Of Sight’ – jostled for elbow-room alongside cover material such JOHN LEE HOOKER’s `Boom, Boom’, MICKEY JUPP’s `Cheque Book’, Mick Green/PIRATES’s `Oyeh!’ and the segued `Bonie Moronie’ (from LARRY WILLIAMS) and `Tequila’ (from The CHAMPS). And all in mono!
It was however the follow-up stereo set, MALPRACTICE (also 1975) {*8}, that saw the band make their break into the Top 20; the record’s success a gauge of the changing musical climate. With their drainpipe suits, ruffled hair and sideburns, stripped-down sound and surly demeanour, DR. FEELGOOD were as influential as any band in the onset of punk. Content to stick to the status quo of Johnson originals and cherry-picked covers, their strength lay in the tight co-ordination of their players, especially Wilko who could “chop” and change between rhythm and lead guitar at the drop of BO DIDDLEY’s hat. While one-that-got-away `Back In The Night’ and `Another Man’ morphed and duck-walked into the minds of their purist fans (Wilko also went head-to-head with NICK LOWE on `Because You’re Mine’ and Mick Green on `Going Back Home’), the highlights came in the shape of DIDDLEY’s `I Can Tell’ (a JOHNNY KIDD staple), MUDDY WATERS’ `Rollin’ And Tumblin’’ and HUEY “PIANO” SMITH’s `Don’t You Just Know It’; while there was also merit for the much-covered LEIBER & STOLLER’s `Riot In Cell Block No.9’ and BOBBY PARKER’s `Watch Your Step’.
The band’s mushrooming popularity was confirmed when live set, STUPIDITY (1976) {*7}, surprisingly topped the British charts. Remembering that punk hadn’t quite come of age yet, this was some feat in a nation that was buying STATUS QUO, ROD STEWART and EAGLES en masse as their “rock” fix. Divided into a “Sheffield side” and a “Southend side” – cultivated from two city shows the previous year – fan faves such as `Back In The Night’, `Roxette’ and `She Does It Right’ went head-to-head with half-a-dozen fresh covers, namely: `I’m Talking About You’ (CHUCK BERRY), `I’m A Man’ (BO DIDDLEY), `Walking The Dog’ (RUFUS THOMAS), `I’m A Hog For You Baby’ (LEIBER-STOLLER), `Checkin’ Up On My Baby’ (SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON) and the title track (SOLOMON BURKE).
But things were not as smooth as they seemed. During the recording of fourth set, SNEAKIN’ SUSPICION (1977) {*7}, the Feelgoods were dealt a potentially fatal blow with the acrimonious departure of focal-point, “thousand-yard-stare” guitarist and chief songwriter WILKO JOHNSON, who’d duly bolted to form his own Solid Senders combo. The Top 10 album itself was again split between Wilko’s compositions (led out by the swaggering Top 50 title track) and a string of covers; five of them in all:- DR. JOHN’s `Lights Out’, WILLIE DIXON’s `You’ll Be Mine’, BO DIDDLEY’s `Hey Mama Keep Your Mouth Shut’, LEW LEWIS’s `Lucky Seven’ and Eddie Fontaine’s `Nothin’ Shakin’ (But The Leaves On The Trees)’.
Bearing up with seasoned guitarist Henry McCulloch filling in on tour, the Feelgoods recruited “Gypie” Mayo (aka John Cawthra) as a permanent replacement and, with NICK LOWE producing (while offering up the poignant `That’s It, I Quit’), introduced a slicker sound on their rush-released BE SEEING YOU (1977) {*7}. In the spotlight were the co-penned tracks by newbie Mayo and Brilleaux (including the excellent Top 40 group composition `She’s A Windup’), although once again it was re-vamps of R&B staples that made the grade; `Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do)’ (WILSON PICKETT), `The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock’n’Roll’ (BROWNIE McGHEE & MUDDY WATERS), `Looking Back’ (JOHNNY “GUITAR” WATSON), `Baby Jane’ (Alan Wilson), and a couple closer to home including `As Long As The Price Is Right’ (LARRY WALLIS).
Although thwarted commercially with the advent of punk-rock and new wave (it reached only No.55), 1978’s rather formulaic PRIVATE PRACTICE {*5} at least spawned a Top 10 hit single (the only one of their career) in the Mayo-LOWE-penned classic `Milk & Alcohol’. While their choice of covers were rather dated and outwith the fickle punk scene (`Let’s Have A Party’ should’ve been more at home with STATUS QUO), the near-Top 40 album was graced by another Top 50 entry in MICKEY JUPP’s `Down At The Doctors’.
Though their short period of chart grace was more or less over, DR. FEELGOOD remained a hot live ticket, releasing two concert sets in the space of three years: AS IT HAPPENS (1979) {*5} – adding to the crop of renditions with `Great Balls Of Fire’ and `Matchbox’ – and ON THE JOB (1981) {*4}. Squeezed in between these non-events, at least in the eyes and ears of a post-punk/new wave public, studio set LET IT ROLL (1979) {*4} and the much-improved, NICK LOWE-produced A CASE OF THE SHAKES (1980) {*6}, basically stretched the band to breaking point; the latter highlighted two OTIS RUSH covers (`Love Hound’ and `Violent Love’) bookended either side of Tim Krekel’s `No Mo Do Yakamo’.
These albums marked the end of Mayo’s tenure with the band, Johnny Guitar (ex-COUNT BISHOPS) filling his berth on the bland-by-numbers set, FAST WOMEN & SLOW HORSES (1982) {*4}, their one and only set for Chiswick Records. Despite the presence of a song scribed by SQUEEZE’s Difford & Tilbrook (`Monkey’), a MUNGO JERRY nugget (`Baby Jump’), CHUCK BERRY’s `Beautiful Delilah’ and ditties by LARRY WILLIAMS (`Trying To Live My Life Without You’) and HUEY “PIANO” SMITH (`Educated Fool’), DR. FEELGOOD’s magic potion had looked to have run out; much like founder members Sparks and The Big Figure, whom, with the toll of over 250 gigs a year attaining little reward – it seemed – had exhausted themselves to the point of pulling out completely.
Makeshift members Pat McMullen (bass, ex-COUNT BISHOPS) and Buzz Barwell (drums, ex-LEW LEWIS BAND) were drafted in to batten down the hatches as DR. FEELGOOD’s days looked to be numbered; by 1983, after tour commitments were fulfilled, even Johnny Guitar had bailed, leaving Brilleaux as now the sole constant in this sweeping tidal wave of transition. However, unwilling the give in to adversity, Lee soldiered on, enlisting guitarist Gordon Russell, bassist Phil Mitchell and drummer Kevin Morris, to steady the ship.
Taking shelter in the branches of twilight imprint, Demon Records, it was back to the grind on “comeback” LP, DOCTOR’S ORDERS (1984) {*5}. It trailed much the same path as its predecessors, but in the Mike Vernon-produced independent follow-up, MAD MAN BLUES (1985) {*7}, cover re-vamps from the likes of JOHN LEE HOOKER, ELMORE JAMES, WILLIE DIXON, B.B. KING, FREDDIE KING, EDDIE FLOYD and LARRY WALLIS, worked well, taking precedence over a few of their own compositions.
A couple of subsequent Stiff Records albums probably led to a bit of confusion by way of their titles; BRILLEAUX (1986) {*6} – featuring respective work by JOHNNY CASH, BOBBY CHARLES, JOHN HIATT and producer Will Birch – sounding somewhat solo, while the poppy Pip Williams-produced CLASSIC (1987) {*4} – its only saving grace a cover of DYLAN’s `Highway 61’ – giving the impression that it was a compilation!
The Doctor Feelgood factor was slightly restored with the delivery of one of their best concert sets, LIVE IN LONDON (1990) {*7}, for their own Grand imprint. Recorded from a sold-out gig at the Town & Country Club a year earlier, it marked the appearance of former DT’s guitarist Steve Walwyn and, with permission from WILKO JOHNSON to feature some of his best “doctored” pieces and more besides (along with re-vamps of BILL HALEY’s `See You Later Alligator’ and B.B. KING’s `You Upset Me’), their revival was back in full swing.
It seemed even the loss of Mitchell would not dampen the progress of DR. FEELGOOD, as songwriter Dave Bronze (ex-PROCOL HARUM) – who’d superseded fill-in temp Ben Donnelly (of The INMATES) – guaranteed decent sales for both PRIMO (1991) {*6} and THE FEELGOOD FACTOR (1993) {*7}. But in the interim, unbeknown to his band buddies and the rest of his fanclub, Lee Brilleaux (aka John Collinson) was dying of lymphoma cancer and, on the 7th April 1994, he passed away at his Essex home in Leigh-on-Sea. In respect to one of rock music’s hardest-working singers, the final band – which had added veteran keyboardist Ian Gibbons – almost immediately unleashed Brilleaux’s last gigs under the title, DOWN AT THE DOCTORS (1994) {*6}.
While Messrs Morris, Mitchell and Walwyn continued with the name on the likes of the bravado ON THE ROAD AGAIN (1996) {*5} – the title taken from the accompanying CANNED HEAT nugget and showcasing croaky, LEMMY-like substitute Pete Gage – interest was switched to The Practice (or Dr. Feelgood’s Practice), who at least turned up two originals in The Big Figure and Sparks, plus Gypie Mayo!
Inspired to keep on trucking by producer Will Birch, Morris and Co found singer Robert Kane and soldiered on, regardless of “musical grave-robbing” accusations on a further three sets: CHESS MASTERS (2000) {*5} – exactly what it said on the tin, SPEEDING THRU EUROPE: LIVE IN CONCERT (2003) {*4} and “new versions of old favourites”, REPEAT PRESCRIPTION (2006) {*4}.
The memory of the great DR. FEELGOOD combo still in tact, probably thanks to WILKO JOHNSON rather than the latter-day undertakers, it was indeed solemn news when Gypie Mayo died on 23rd October 2013; ironically, it had been known for a year that it might be cancer-stricken John “Wilko” Wilkinson [Johnson] who would pass away first, and sadly as this biog goes to press, it’s only a matter of time before he too takes his trip to the great gig in the sky.
Procuring their name from a boogie-woogie jazz ’n’ bluesman (aka Piano Red/Willie Perryman), or indeed, his eponymous song covered as a B-side by JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES, the gritty DR. FEELGOOD cut their teeth performing in nearby Southend-on-Sea. The group soon made a name for themselves in the capital, where their lean ’n’ mean brand of revivalist R&B went down a storm on the pub-rock circuit. While the band’s mean-faced assault was best sampled in the sweaty confines of a packed public house, DR. FEELGOOD secured a recording contract at United Artists Records and proceeded to unleash `Roxette’ (backed by Nelson Riddle’s `Route 66’), a tempting taster for their dynamic debut set, DOWN BY THE JETTY (1975) {*8}.
The band’s JOHNNY KIDD/PIRATES influenced originals – another standout track being Wilko’s piledriving `Keep It Out Of Sight’ – jostled for elbow-room alongside cover material such JOHN LEE HOOKER’s `Boom, Boom’, MICKEY JUPP’s `Cheque Book’, Mick Green/PIRATES’s `Oyeh!’ and the segued `Bonie Moronie’ (from LARRY WILLIAMS) and `Tequila’ (from The CHAMPS). And all in mono!
It was however the follow-up stereo set, MALPRACTICE (also 1975) {*8}, that saw the band make their break into the Top 20; the record’s success a gauge of the changing musical climate. With their drainpipe suits, ruffled hair and sideburns, stripped-down sound and surly demeanour, DR. FEELGOOD were as influential as any band in the onset of punk. Content to stick to the status quo of Johnson originals and cherry-picked covers, their strength lay in the tight co-ordination of their players, especially Wilko who could “chop” and change between rhythm and lead guitar at the drop of BO DIDDLEY’s hat. While one-that-got-away `Back In The Night’ and `Another Man’ morphed and duck-walked into the minds of their purist fans (Wilko also went head-to-head with NICK LOWE on `Because You’re Mine’ and Mick Green on `Going Back Home’), the highlights came in the shape of DIDDLEY’s `I Can Tell’ (a JOHNNY KIDD staple), MUDDY WATERS’ `Rollin’ And Tumblin’’ and HUEY “PIANO” SMITH’s `Don’t You Just Know It’; while there was also merit for the much-covered LEIBER & STOLLER’s `Riot In Cell Block No.9’ and BOBBY PARKER’s `Watch Your Step’.
The band’s mushrooming popularity was confirmed when live set, STUPIDITY (1976) {*7}, surprisingly topped the British charts. Remembering that punk hadn’t quite come of age yet, this was some feat in a nation that was buying STATUS QUO, ROD STEWART and EAGLES en masse as their “rock” fix. Divided into a “Sheffield side” and a “Southend side” – cultivated from two city shows the previous year – fan faves such as `Back In The Night’, `Roxette’ and `She Does It Right’ went head-to-head with half-a-dozen fresh covers, namely: `I’m Talking About You’ (CHUCK BERRY), `I’m A Man’ (BO DIDDLEY), `Walking The Dog’ (RUFUS THOMAS), `I’m A Hog For You Baby’ (LEIBER-STOLLER), `Checkin’ Up On My Baby’ (SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON) and the title track (SOLOMON BURKE).
But things were not as smooth as they seemed. During the recording of fourth set, SNEAKIN’ SUSPICION (1977) {*7}, the Feelgoods were dealt a potentially fatal blow with the acrimonious departure of focal-point, “thousand-yard-stare” guitarist and chief songwriter WILKO JOHNSON, who’d duly bolted to form his own Solid Senders combo. The Top 10 album itself was again split between Wilko’s compositions (led out by the swaggering Top 50 title track) and a string of covers; five of them in all:- DR. JOHN’s `Lights Out’, WILLIE DIXON’s `You’ll Be Mine’, BO DIDDLEY’s `Hey Mama Keep Your Mouth Shut’, LEW LEWIS’s `Lucky Seven’ and Eddie Fontaine’s `Nothin’ Shakin’ (But The Leaves On The Trees)’.
Bearing up with seasoned guitarist Henry McCulloch filling in on tour, the Feelgoods recruited “Gypie” Mayo (aka John Cawthra) as a permanent replacement and, with NICK LOWE producing (while offering up the poignant `That’s It, I Quit’), introduced a slicker sound on their rush-released BE SEEING YOU (1977) {*7}. In the spotlight were the co-penned tracks by newbie Mayo and Brilleaux (including the excellent Top 40 group composition `She’s A Windup’), although once again it was re-vamps of R&B staples that made the grade; `Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do)’ (WILSON PICKETT), `The Blues Had A Baby And They Named It Rock’n’Roll’ (BROWNIE McGHEE & MUDDY WATERS), `Looking Back’ (JOHNNY “GUITAR” WATSON), `Baby Jane’ (Alan Wilson), and a couple closer to home including `As Long As The Price Is Right’ (LARRY WALLIS).
Although thwarted commercially with the advent of punk-rock and new wave (it reached only No.55), 1978’s rather formulaic PRIVATE PRACTICE {*5} at least spawned a Top 10 hit single (the only one of their career) in the Mayo-LOWE-penned classic `Milk & Alcohol’. While their choice of covers were rather dated and outwith the fickle punk scene (`Let’s Have A Party’ should’ve been more at home with STATUS QUO), the near-Top 40 album was graced by another Top 50 entry in MICKEY JUPP’s `Down At The Doctors’.
Though their short period of chart grace was more or less over, DR. FEELGOOD remained a hot live ticket, releasing two concert sets in the space of three years: AS IT HAPPENS (1979) {*5} – adding to the crop of renditions with `Great Balls Of Fire’ and `Matchbox’ – and ON THE JOB (1981) {*4}. Squeezed in between these non-events, at least in the eyes and ears of a post-punk/new wave public, studio set LET IT ROLL (1979) {*4} and the much-improved, NICK LOWE-produced A CASE OF THE SHAKES (1980) {*6}, basically stretched the band to breaking point; the latter highlighted two OTIS RUSH covers (`Love Hound’ and `Violent Love’) bookended either side of Tim Krekel’s `No Mo Do Yakamo’.
These albums marked the end of Mayo’s tenure with the band, Johnny Guitar (ex-COUNT BISHOPS) filling his berth on the bland-by-numbers set, FAST WOMEN & SLOW HORSES (1982) {*4}, their one and only set for Chiswick Records. Despite the presence of a song scribed by SQUEEZE’s Difford & Tilbrook (`Monkey’), a MUNGO JERRY nugget (`Baby Jump’), CHUCK BERRY’s `Beautiful Delilah’ and ditties by LARRY WILLIAMS (`Trying To Live My Life Without You’) and HUEY “PIANO” SMITH (`Educated Fool’), DR. FEELGOOD’s magic potion had looked to have run out; much like founder members Sparks and The Big Figure, whom, with the toll of over 250 gigs a year attaining little reward – it seemed – had exhausted themselves to the point of pulling out completely.
Makeshift members Pat McMullen (bass, ex-COUNT BISHOPS) and Buzz Barwell (drums, ex-LEW LEWIS BAND) were drafted in to batten down the hatches as DR. FEELGOOD’s days looked to be numbered; by 1983, after tour commitments were fulfilled, even Johnny Guitar had bailed, leaving Brilleaux as now the sole constant in this sweeping tidal wave of transition. However, unwilling the give in to adversity, Lee soldiered on, enlisting guitarist Gordon Russell, bassist Phil Mitchell and drummer Kevin Morris, to steady the ship.
Taking shelter in the branches of twilight imprint, Demon Records, it was back to the grind on “comeback” LP, DOCTOR’S ORDERS (1984) {*5}. It trailed much the same path as its predecessors, but in the Mike Vernon-produced independent follow-up, MAD MAN BLUES (1985) {*7}, cover re-vamps from the likes of JOHN LEE HOOKER, ELMORE JAMES, WILLIE DIXON, B.B. KING, FREDDIE KING, EDDIE FLOYD and LARRY WALLIS, worked well, taking precedence over a few of their own compositions.
A couple of subsequent Stiff Records albums probably led to a bit of confusion by way of their titles; BRILLEAUX (1986) {*6} – featuring respective work by JOHNNY CASH, BOBBY CHARLES, JOHN HIATT and producer Will Birch – sounding somewhat solo, while the poppy Pip Williams-produced CLASSIC (1987) {*4} – its only saving grace a cover of DYLAN’s `Highway 61’ – giving the impression that it was a compilation!
The Doctor Feelgood factor was slightly restored with the delivery of one of their best concert sets, LIVE IN LONDON (1990) {*7}, for their own Grand imprint. Recorded from a sold-out gig at the Town & Country Club a year earlier, it marked the appearance of former DT’s guitarist Steve Walwyn and, with permission from WILKO JOHNSON to feature some of his best “doctored” pieces and more besides (along with re-vamps of BILL HALEY’s `See You Later Alligator’ and B.B. KING’s `You Upset Me’), their revival was back in full swing.
It seemed even the loss of Mitchell would not dampen the progress of DR. FEELGOOD, as songwriter Dave Bronze (ex-PROCOL HARUM) – who’d superseded fill-in temp Ben Donnelly (of The INMATES) – guaranteed decent sales for both PRIMO (1991) {*6} and THE FEELGOOD FACTOR (1993) {*7}. But in the interim, unbeknown to his band buddies and the rest of his fanclub, Lee Brilleaux (aka John Collinson) was dying of lymphoma cancer and, on the 7th April 1994, he passed away at his Essex home in Leigh-on-Sea. In respect to one of rock music’s hardest-working singers, the final band – which had added veteran keyboardist Ian Gibbons – almost immediately unleashed Brilleaux’s last gigs under the title, DOWN AT THE DOCTORS (1994) {*6}.
While Messrs Morris, Mitchell and Walwyn continued with the name on the likes of the bravado ON THE ROAD AGAIN (1996) {*5} – the title taken from the accompanying CANNED HEAT nugget and showcasing croaky, LEMMY-like substitute Pete Gage – interest was switched to The Practice (or Dr. Feelgood’s Practice), who at least turned up two originals in The Big Figure and Sparks, plus Gypie Mayo!
Inspired to keep on trucking by producer Will Birch, Morris and Co found singer Robert Kane and soldiered on, regardless of “musical grave-robbing” accusations on a further three sets: CHESS MASTERS (2000) {*5} – exactly what it said on the tin, SPEEDING THRU EUROPE: LIVE IN CONCERT (2003) {*4} and “new versions of old favourites”, REPEAT PRESCRIPTION (2006) {*4}.
The memory of the great DR. FEELGOOD combo still in tact, probably thanks to WILKO JOHNSON rather than the latter-day undertakers, it was indeed solemn news when Gypie Mayo died on 23rd October 2013; ironically, it had been known for a year that it might be cancer-stricken John “Wilko” Wilkinson [Johnson] who would pass away first, and sadly as this biog goes to press, it’s only a matter of time before he too takes his trip to the great gig in the sky.