Wilko Johnson honoured with train named after him in Southend

Posted On June 10, 2025June 10, 2025

The legacy of pioneering guitarist Wilko Johnson has been honoured with the unveiling of a train nameplate and a tribute performance in Southend.

The event took place on June 9th at Southend Central Station, in which a nameplate commemorating the life and impact of the late Dr Feelgood founder was revealed, in the presence of his family and bandmates.

This was followed by a performance by the cast of the musical Wilko: Love and Death and Rock and Roll, before the specially named ‘Wilko Express’ train set off on a one-off journey from the Southend station to Fenchurch Street in London.

Johnson’s former bandmates John B Sparks and Norman Watt-Roy attended the ceremony alongside his brother Malcolm and son Simon, the latter of whom said: ‘’It is very touching that c2c are honouring my father in this way. I am told this is a tribute usually only reserved for poets and royalty. As an aspiring poet, I know he would be well chuffed.”

The timing of the tribute aligns well with a series of significant anniversaries in Johnson’s legacy, including the 50th anniversary of Dr Feelgood’s debut album Down by the Jetty, which was initially released in 1975.

Although Johnson and the band never reached huge commercial acclaim, his influence was hailed across the rock music sphere as being a godfather of punk.

Prior to his death in 2022 from cancer at the age of 75, the guitarist had enjoyed a varied career, including roles as an actor. His most high-profile appearance was in 2011 and 2012 in the smash hit HBO series Game of Thrones, in which he played the mute executioner Ser Ilyn Payne.

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