Veteran radio DJ Johnnie Walker, who hosted BBC Radio 2’s Sounds Of The 70s and The Rock Show, has died aged 79.
Known for championing artists like Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles, Walker in October announced he would retire from radio after 58 years.
He had previously been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a lung condition.
Weeks later, he presented his final Sounds Of The 70s show on BBC Radio 2 and hosted his last episode of The Rock Show as he hung up his headphones due to ill health.
The DJ was awarded an MBE in 2006. Pic: PA
Tiggy Walker, Walker’s wife, said: “I couldn’t be more proud of Johnnie – how he kept broadcasting almost to the end and with what dignity and grace he coped with his debilitating lung disease.
“He remained his charming, humorous self to the end, what a strong, amazing man.”
She added: “And if I may say – what a day to go. He’ll be celebrating New Year’s Eve with a stash of great musicians in heaven.”
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Walker’s death was announced on air by his friend and colleague, BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, who took over as presenter of Sounds Of The 70s in November.
Harris said: “I first started listening to him on pirate radio and we know what an incredible, wonderful, superb broadcaster he was.
“We also know how passionate he was about his music, went out on a limb many times to defend the music that he loved.”
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, said the organisation was “deeply saddened” by the passing of a “pop radio pioneer and a champion of great music”.
“No one loved the audience as much as Johnnie, and we loved him back.”
From fixing cars to hosting Drivetime
Born in Birmingham, he left school aged 15 to train to as a mechanic, later becoming a car salesman.
But his passion for music was already bubbling away, and he picked up a Friday night slot as a disco DJ under the name Peter Dee.
He began his radio career in 1966 on an offshore pirate station, Swinging Radio England.
But it was with Radio Caroline that he became a household name, before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1969.
After a stint in San Francisco, where he recorded a weekly show for Radio Luxembourg, he returned to the UK in the 1980s, working on various BBC stations until landing his own weekly show on Radio 2, and then taking over Drivetime.
He gained a reputation as a DJ who placed more importance on the tracks he played than the chat between them.
Helen Thomas, head of BBC Radio 2, said Walker “loved radio and inspired a generation of presenters, passionately promoting the artists and music he cared about so deeply”.
She called him a “much-loved broadcasting legend” with a “wry sense of humour” and “warm, open style”.
Shaun Keaveny, who took over presenting Radio 2’s The Rock Show from Walker, described him as “a rebel, a soul searcher, and a seeker, a rocker, and a phenomenal broadcaster”.
The veteran DJ pictured in March 2004. Pic: PA
Walker ‘died’ three times
In October 2003, Walker underwent chemotherapy and an emergency operation for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He revealed his diagnosis live on air, and later revealed he “died” three times during surgery to repair his burst intestine.
IPF is a condition that scars lungs and makes it increasingly harder to breathe.
The NHS website says it is not clear what causes the condition, and although treatments can slow its impact, there is “currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs”.
