Wilko Johnson Confirms Album With Daltrey
Going Back Home will be released on the iconic Chess label – reactivate specifically for the record – on March 10. And the pair will perform a one-off show in London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on February 25.
It’s an emotional milestone in the career of Johnson, who’d pledged to record an album before terminal cancer ended his career.
For his part, Daltrey has wanted to make a blues record for years. He explains the collaboration was first discussed in 2010: “It turned out we both loves Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. They’d been a big influence on both our bands. That heavy power-trio sound, backing up a singer – it’s a British institution. No one does that better than us.”
Classic Rock Award winner Johnson, who recently recorded a double-A side single with The Urban Voodoo Machine, reveals that recording sessions took place in November after Daltrey had completed a Who tour. “Roger jumped up and said, ‘Let’s do it,’” he explains. “He knew this lovely little studio called Yellow Fish. Unfortunate name for a place – but a great studio.”
The pair were joined by Johnson’s live band, bassist Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Dylan Howe, plus keyboardist Mick Talbot. Going Back Home features 10 tracks from across Johnson’s career plus a cover of Bob Dylan’s Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window.
“I’ve had a brilliant year,” says the former Dr Feelgood guitarist. “I was meant to die in October and now I’ve recorded this with Roger. I can’t keep gushing, but I saw The Who in 1969 when I was at university. He’s a star to me.”
Going Back Home tracklist
01. All Through The City
02. Sneaking Suspicion
03. Going Back Home
04. Everybody’s Carrying A Gun
05. Keep It Out Of Sight
06. Keep On Loving You
07. Some Kind Of Hero
08. Turned 21
09. I Keep It To Myself
10. Ice On The Motorway
11. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window