BBC Radio 2 listeners in tears as terminally ill DJ Johnnie Walker, 79, bids farewell in emotional final show
BBC Radio 2 listeners were in tears as terminally ill Johnnie Walker said goodbye in his final show on Sunday.
The veteran broadcaster, 79, recorded the final episode of his Sounds Of The 70s, ending a 58-year career in radio.
Johnnie has just weeks to live after a battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare and progressive disease that affects the airways.
He signed off on his final episode of BBC Radio 2’s The Rock Show on Friday and presented his final Sounds Of The 70s on Sunday, playing his favorite songs.
Fans were overcome with emotion as they listened to his latest shows and headed to X to share beautiful tributes.
BBC Radio 2 listeners were in tears as terminally ill Johnnie Walker, 79, said goodbye in his final show on Sunday
The veteran broadcaster recorded the final episode of his Sounds Of The 70s, ending a 58-year career in radio
Some wrote: ‘Johnnie Walker has hung up his headphones after 58 years. One of the radio greats. I would like to wish him a happy retirement, but unfortunately his circumstances dictate otherwise. Bravo, sir, and thank you’,
‘A sad day as Johnnie Walker presents his last radio show. Millions of us will miss his warmth, his love for music, the stars who sounded like friends… and you were our inveterate, irreverent partner, who had the best rock ‘n’ roll stories. Sail on safely, pirate JW. #JohnnieWalker’,
“Goodbye Johnnie Walker, captain of the airwaves on the show, today and every week. Always into music man! Thank you for being the soundtrack of our lives. We will all miss you very much’,
“Goodbye Johnnie Walker, my late grandmother loved your show, my mother loves you and as a little radio head I do too. That was a very emotional final broadcast. Luckily our sweet boy from Leigh is next door to calm us down’,
“Sunday won’t be the same without #johnniewalker. I’m going to miss him.’
During the show he told listeners: ‘So it doesn’t really matter how long you’ve been here listening to old JW, we had a great time with Sounds of the 70s.
‘It really developed into a sort of Sunday afternoon club, I’ve always had that feeling, and lots of people preparing their Sunday roast, maybe popping the cork on a bottle of wine, other people doing their garden work, crafting in a shed, doing the ironing.
‘It was just wonderful to spend Sunday afternoons with you and it will be very strange for me if I think that at three o’clock next Sunday afternoon I will not be speaking to you.
Johnnie has just weeks to live after a battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare and progressive disease that affects the airways.
Fans were overcome with emotion listening to his latest shows and went to X to share a beautiful tribute
‘It will be someone else, namely Bob Harris, who will do Sounds of the 70s. So I will miss you very much and it was great to have been in touch all these years. We’ve lived a lot together, you and I.’
He quit the show and said: ‘So here we are, the end of a fifteen year run on Sunday afternoons, Sounds of the 70s, and 58 years on British radio, and it will be very strange not to be on the radio to be. wireless no more.
“But in the same way, if you try to find the breath to create programs, life will be a little less stressful.
“So thank you for being with me all these years and take care of yourself and the people you love and maybe walk into the future with our heads held high and happiness in our hearts. God bless you.’
His final show on Friday featured “favorite rock anthems,” opening with Sweet Jane by Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner and Lou Reed.
The Rock Show will be taken over by Shaun Keaveny from November 1. Bob Harris will take over as presenter of Sounds Of The 70s from Sunday 3 November.
Johnnie with his wife Tiggy. The DJ, who is terminally ill, broadcast many of his recent shows from his home in Dorset
Johnnie started out in pirate radio before first joining the BBC in 1969
Born in Birmingham, the DJ started in pirate radio at Swinging Radio England in 1966 before moving to Radio Caroline.
He first joined the Corporation at BBC Radio 1 in 1969. In 1976 he moved to San Francisco to record a weekly broadcast on Radio Luxembourg.
In the early 1980s he returned to the BBC, where he remained until now. In recent years he has broadcast programs from his home in Dorset.