Fender has unveiled the Wilko Johnson Signature Telecaster in recognition of the pub rock pioneer's contribution to Tele-toting legend.
The Dr Feelgood guitarist, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in January, is highly respected as one of the most distinctive British guitarists of the late '70s, with an unmistakable raw tone and magnetic stage presence.
The Wilko Johnson Telecaster is a replica of Wilko's black and red Tele, and includes vintage-style single coil pickups, a C-profile maple neck and vintage style tuners.
For more information, visit the official Fender website.
Fender press release
Fender is proud to announce the release of the Fender Wilko Johnson Telecaster guitar, which is sold exclusively throughout Europe.
With his electrifying proto-punk Telecaster chops, angular onstage swagger and pre-Lydon thousand-yard stare, Wilko Johnson is a venerable, influential and unmistakable U.K. guitar hero.
With pub rock institution Dr. Feelgood, Johnson was an original '70s-era architect of the bridge from no-nonsense Brit R&B to snarling high-energy punk. His percussively choppy fingerstyle work on his early-'60s Telecaster furiously fused rhythm and lead parts, inspiring a new generation of iconoclastic U.K. punk, new wave and post-punk guitarists.
Fender's Wilko Johnson Telecaster now puts his distinctive-looking instrument in your hands, with features including a Black finish and single-ply red pickguard, maple neck with comfortable "C"-shaped profile, and dual vintage-style single-coil pickups.
Other features include a 7.25"-radius rosewood fingerboard with 21 vintage-style frets, three-way pickup switching, vintage-style strings-through-body bridge with three chrome-barrel saddles, and vintage-style tuners. Special in-case extras include two Wilko Johnson photos and facsimiles of the notebook pages on which Johnson penned Dr. Feelgood hits "She Does it Right," "Back in the Night" and "Roxette."
"I have been working closely with Fender on the details of my signature Tele," said Johnson. "It's great to know people will be able to play an instrument just like the one that has served me so well throughout my career."
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