Wilko Johnson is putting on his own 70th birthday party show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on September 26.
The legendary guitarist will mark reaching the milestone age and the 30th anniversary of the Wilko Johnson Band with a special performance with the group’s bassist Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Dylan Howe, and special guests which are yet to be announced.
In October 2014, Wilko announced he was cancer free at the Q Awards, after battling with terminal pancreatic cancer, which makes the concert even more of a celebration of his life.
Speaking at the awards bash – where he was presented with Icon Award – he said: "It’s been an extraordinary couple of years. At the beginning of last year I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I had about two months to live."
Wilko’s life was saved by a fan, who is also a cancer specialist.
He said: "Roger Daltrey got in touch with me and said, ‘I want to do an album.’ I said, ‘You better to do it quick!’
"We did do it quick, we did it right at the end of last year. I was thinking, ‘Wow, it ain’t been bad, I’m now in extra time. This is great, I’m having a really good year and if the last thing I ever do is make an album with Roger Daltrey that’s pretty good. I can go home and die.’ "
He added: "Then comes Charlie Chan. Charlie is a photographer and a cancer doctor, who has taken an interest in my case – he’s very curious as to why I’m not dead. He says, ‘Listen, can you go and see my friends at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, and let them have a look at it.’
"This tumour at this stage is huge, it’s so big it makes my guitar point the wrong way on stage. So I went to the hospital and they ran the tests again and I get told they think they can do it, and they did it."
Talking about the radical surgery he underwent, he continued: "So I had an 11-hour operation and they took this tumour out of me, it weighed three kilos, that’s the size of a baby, I was carrying it on stage every night. They got it all and cured me, so thank you Addenbrooke’s. I spent several weeks in hospital and I remember people telling me, ‘The Roger Daltrey album is doing really well.’ But I missed all that! A few weeks ago, I came home and I’m hoping to regain my strength completely soon and get back on the road. If there’s a moral to this story it’s that you never know what can happen."
Tickets are on sale now from www.royalalberthall.com/tickets
Wilko Johnson Band’s 30th anniversary show
