Dr Feelgood to Game of Thrones - Wilko Johnson remembered in pictures

His band's official page announced "with a heavy heart" this week that Wilko had passed away at home on Monday (November 21).

The Dr Feelgood and Game of Thrones star was born in Canvey in 1946, and lived in Westcliff in recent years.

Wilko Johnson at a gig in 2012 (Image: Newsquest)

In his autobiography, he said had a tough childhood and found joy in literature but, after realising he was never going to cut it as a poet, he discovered music.

He graduated from Newcastle University before travelling around India, then returned to Essex to work as an English teacher.

• READ MORE: How Wilko Johnson became the face of Southend's Railway Hotel

Not long after, he formed Dr Feelgood, hugely influential pub-rock pioneers who paved the way for British punk.

He left the band in 1977, following disagreements, and maintained that he was kicked out while the remaining members claimed that he left voluntarily.

Wilko on Canvey

In 1980 he joined Ian Dury's band The Blockheads and, around 1984, he then re-formed The Wilko Johnson Band.

Wilko appeared in the Julien Temple-directed documentary film Oil City Confidential in 2009, where he related his memories of Canvey and the early days of Dr Feelgood.

Johnson at Southend's Railway Hotel - which he became the face of in 2013 (Image: Newsquest)

This is what led to his acting debut as, after producers saw him in the documentary, he was cast in the first two seasons of the famous TV show Game Of Thrones, as the mute executioner Ser Ilyn Payne.

At the time, he said of the role: “They said they wanted somebody really sinister who went around looking daggers at people before killing them. That made it easy. Looking daggers at people is what I do all the time, it’s like second nature to me.”

Wilko in Game of Thrones, pictured with Sophie Turner (Image: HBO)

His autobiography Looking Back At Me was published in 2012 and just a year later he told the Echo he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and announced a farewell tour.

But in 2014, the star had an 11-hour complicated operation to remove a tumour and large sections of his digestive system, and later declared he was cancer-free.

When Wilko became the face of the Railway Hotel (Image: Newsquest)

In a tweet earlier this week, his band said: “This is the announcement we never wanted to make, and we do so with a very heavy heart.

“Wilko Johnson has died.

“He passed away at home on Monday, November 21.

“Thank you for respecting the family’s privacy at this very sad time.

“RIP Wilko Johnson.”