Wilko Johnson has recruited Roger Daltrey to appear on his farewell album after the pair met at an awards ceremony earlier this month.
The terminally-ill guitarist refused chemotherapy in January after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and instead he’s aiming to fill his final months with as much music as possible.
He’s already delivered a series of festival shows after having completed what was to be his farewell tour. He made the decision after finding he felt much more healthy than doctors had predicted he would.
Johnson, 66, tells the Mirror: “They did tell me in January I’d be dead in October – but I may last into next year. I hope we’ll have something done before I go.
“There are a few more things I want to record. I wrote some songs right after getting this diagnosis. It won’t be morbid, though: I can’t have any truck with that.
“The music I was to make, generally. should be a laugh – not a cry. There’s not going to be any cancer dirges.”
His wife Irene Knight died of cancer in 2004, and Johnson recently said he hoped he’d have her courage when the end comes.
Daltrey has been a leading supporter of the Teenage Cancer Trust since 2000, helping to launch their annual concert series. In 2010 he underwent throat surgery after a pre-cancerous growth was found.
-Classic Rock
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