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. The band then suffered an almost career-finishing blow when Brilleaux died of lymphoma on 7 April 1994.
As Brilleaux had insisted prior to his death, Dr. Feelgood reunited in May 1995, initially with vocalist Pete Gage (not to be confused with guitarist Pete Gage of Geno Washington and Vinegar Joe), 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 after Brilleaux's death, a special concert known as the Lee Brilleaux Birthday Memorial was held on Canvey Island, where former and current Feelgoods 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 (disguised as 'The Alibi Club' on the sleeve of the album Sneakin' Suspicion).
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.
On 16 June 2021, it was announced that Walwyn was "unavailable to play live shows for the foreseeable future", due to family holiday commitments and the fact that his son has a possible compromised immune system. Later concerts were played by former guitarist Gordon Russell, whom Walwyn had replaced 32 years before. With Russell back in the band, they recorded Damm Right! in 2022, the first album with original songs since The Feelgood Factor in 1993, their last with Brilleaux.
In April 2024 the band's van was stolen, leaving them without any instruments and equipment, a week before a forthcoming tour of Germany. The theft took place outside the home of bassist Phil Mitchell in Hockley, Essex, between the night of 15 April and the morning of 16 April.
In 2025 John B. Sparks, the original founding member and bass player on all of the hit records, started gigging again with his own band 'Sparko's Going Back Home'.
