Dr. Feelgood (band)


Dr. Feelgood are an English pub rock band formed in 1971. Hailing from Canvey Island, Essex, the group are best known for early singles such as "She Does It Right", "Roxette", "Back in the Night" and "Milk and Alcohol". The group's original distinctively British R&B sound was centred on Wilko Johnson's choppy guitar style. Along with Johnson, the original band line-up included singer Lee Brilleaux and the rhythm section of John B. Sparks, known as "Sparko", on bass guitar and John Martin, known as "The Big Figure", on drums. Although their most commercially productive years were the early to mid-1970s, and in spite of Brilleaux's death in 1994 of lymphoma, a version of the band continues to tour and record to this day.

Career

Early years

The band was formed in Canvey Island in 1971 by Johnson, Brilleaux and Sparks, who had all been members of existing R&B bands, and soon added drummer John Martin. They took their name from a 1962 record by the American blues pianist and singer Willie Perryman called "Dr. Feel-Good", which Perryman recorded under the name of Dr. Feelgood & The Interns. The song was covered by several British beat groups in the 1960s, including Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. The term is also a slang term for heroin or for a doctor who is willing to overprescribe drugs.
By late 1973, the band's driving R&B had made them one of the most popular bands on the growing London pub rock circuit, and they recorded their debut album, Down by the Jetty, for United Artists in 1974. Like many pub rock acts, Dr. Feelgood were known primarily for their high energy live performances honed through constant touring and regular performances, although their studio albums like Down by the Jetty and Malpractice were also popular.
Their breakthrough 1976 live album, Stupidity, reached number one in the UK Albums Chart. But after the 1977 follow-up Sneakin' Suspicion, Johnson left the group because of conflicts with Lee Brilleaux. He was replaced by John 'Gypie' Mayo. With Mayo, the band was never as popular as with Johnson but still enjoyed their only Top Ten hit single in 1979, with "Milk and Alcohol". Johnson never achieved any great success outside the band, apart from a brief spell with Ian Dury and The Blockheads from 1980. Fans always speculated about a return by Johnson that never occurred.
, 18 March 2009

Later years

Despite Mayo's departure in 1981, and various subsequent line-up changes which left Brilleaux the only remaining original member, Dr. Feelgood continued touring and recording through the 1980s. However, the band then suffered an almost career-finishing blow when Brilleaux died of cancer on 7 April 1994.
As Brilleaux had insisted prior to his death, Dr. Feelgood reunited in May 1995, initially with vocalist Pete Gage, and recommenced touring in 1996. Though the band contained no original members at this point, the musicians backing Gage had all previously played as members of Dr. Feelgood for at least five years, and in some cases for over a decade. In 1999 Gage was replaced by Robert Kane, formerly of The Animals II and The Alligators, who celebrated his 1,000th gig as the frontman of Dr. Feelgood in April 2007.
Every year since Brilleaux's death, a special concert known as the Lee Brilleaux Birthday Memorial has been held on Canvey Island, where former and current Feelgoods have celebrated the music of Dr. Feelgood, and raised money for The Fair Havens Hospice in Westcliff-on-Sea. Fans attended from all over the globe, and the 20th and final event was held on 9 May 2014. Still based in the UK, Dr. Feelgood continue to play across the world, with concerts in 2010 in Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
Band manager Chris Fenwick organises an annual walk around Canvey to commemorate Brilleaux's life, as well as additional walking tours during which he points out landmarks from the band's career. These include the jetty featured in the photograph on the band's first album cover, and venues where they played early in their career, such as The Lobster Smack inn, The Monico Nightclub and The Canvey Club.
A film by Julien Temple about the early days of the band, Oil City Confidential, premiered at the London Film Festival on 22 October 2009, and received a standing ovation. Guest of honour was Lee Brilleaux's mother Joan Collinson, along with his widow Shirley and children Kelly and Nick. All the surviving members of the original band were present along with manager Chris Fenwick, former tour manager and Stiff Records boss Jake Riviera and other friends and colleagues of the band. The film has its own Facebook page.
Reviewing the film for The Independent, Nick Hasted concluded: "Feelgood are remembered in rock history, if at all, as John the Baptists to punk's messiahs". On general release from 1 February 2010, the film was critically well received, with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian describing it as "...a vivid study of period, music and place". The film was first broadcast on BBC Four in April 2010.
A major exhibition of memorabilia celebrating the band's career ran at The Canvey Club between May and July 2013, having been extended several times.

Members

Current members

UK discography

Albums

Date of issueTitleLabel & catalogue numberUK Albums Chart placing and notes
January 1975Down by the JettyUnited Artists UAS 29727
Edsel ED160
GRAND 05 		-
October 1975MalpracticeUnited Artists UAS 29880
GRAND 09 		No. 17
September 1976StupidityUnited Artists UAS 29990
GRAND 21 		No. 1
Live album
May 1977Sneakin' SuspicionUnited Artists UAS 30075
GRAND 13 		No. 10
September 1977Be Seeing YouUnited Artists UAS 30123
Edsel ED238
GRAND 14 		No. 55
First album with Gypie Mayo on guitar
September 1978Private PracticeUnited Artists UAS 30184
GRAND 01 		No. 41
June 1979As It HappensUnited Artists UAK 30239
GRAND 15 		No. 42
Live album
September 1979Let It RollUnited Artists UAG 30269
GRAND 07 		Guest appearances by Steve Gregory on tenor and alto sax; 'Shotgun' Roy Davies on organ plus Mike Deacon and Geraint Watkins on piano
September 1980A Case of the ShakesUnited Artists UAG 30311
Edsel ED189
GRAND 10 		-
August 1981On the JobLiberty LBG 30328
GRAND 16 		Live album
November 1981CasebookLiberty LBG 30341Compilation
October 1982Fast Women and Slow HorsesChiswick TOSS 4
GRAND 03 		Only album release with Johnny Guitar
October 1984Doctor's OrdersDemon FIEND 29
GRAND 06 		First album with Gordon Russell, P H Mitchell and Kevin Morris
October 1985Mad Man BluesLolita 5042
GRAND 02 		Originally only available as a French Import. Six tracks issued on a 12" EP NOSE 5
August 1986BrilleauxStiff SEEZ 65
GRAND 04 		-
April 1987Case History:
The Best of Dr Feelgood		EMI CDP 7467112Compilation
September 1987ClassicStiff SEEZ 67
GRAND 11 		-
May 1989Singles – The UA YearsLiberty EM 1332The early singles
May 1990Live in LondonGRAND 08Live album; First album with Steve Walwyn
March 1991Stupidity Plus Liberty EM 1388Compilation of live recordings
June 1991PrimoGRAND 12First album with Dave Bronze
July 1993The Feelgood FactorGRAND 17-
April 1994Down at the DoctorsGRAND 18Lee Brilleaux's final live concert.
October 1995Looking BackLiberty ACDFEEL 195Five CD box set in tribute to Brilleaux.
August 1996On the Road AgainGRAND 19First album with Pete Gage, P H Mitchell returns.
Guest appearance by Alan Glen on harmonica
April 1997Twenty Five Years of Dr FeelgoodGRAND 20Compilation
September 1997Centenary Collection:
EMI 7243 8 59633 2 2Compilation
June 1999Live at the BBC 1974–75GRAND 22-
May 2000Chess MastersGRAND 23First album with Robert Kane
A celebration of the output of the Chess Records label
September 2001BBC Sessions 1973–1978GRAND 24-
September 2001Singled Out:
UA/Liberty As, Bs & Rarities		EMI 534 242 2Triple album CD box set
October 2002Finely TunedGRAND 25Retrospective
November 2002Down at the BBC:
In Concert 1977–78		GRAND 26-
June 2003Speeding Thru EuropeGRAND 27-
November 2005The Complete Stiff RecordingsGRAND 29Double album
September 2006Repeat PrescriptionGRAND 30Studio album with new renditions of old favourites
April 2013All Through The City Parlophone3 CD Compilation album and DVD
June 2013Taking No Prisoners EMICompilation album and DVD

Singles