BBC Radio 2 listeners cried as terminally ill Johnnie Walker said goodbye on his final show on Sunday.
The veteran broadcaster, 79, recorded the final episode of 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 respiratory system.
He closed his final episode of BBC Radio 2’s The Rock Show on Friday and performed his latest Sounds Of The 70s on Sunday, playing his favorite tracks.
Fans were overcome with emotion as they listened to their latest shows and flocked to X to share sweet tributes.
BBC Radio 2 listeners cried as terminally ill Johnnie Walker, 79, said goodbye on 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 greats of radio. I would love to wish you a happy retirement, but unfortunately your circumstances dictate otherwise. Bravo, sir, and thank you’,
‘A sad day when Johnnie Walker presents his last radio show. Millions of us will miss his warmth, his love of music, the stars who sounded like friends… and you were our incorrigible and irreverent companion, who had the best rock’n’roll stories. Sail safely, pirate JW. #JohnnieWalker’,
‘Goodbye, Johnnie Walker. The captain of the airwaves loved the show today and every week. Always interested in the musician! 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 host, so do I. That was a very emotional last broadcast…luckily our lovely lad from Leigh is on hand 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 listening to old JW here, we’ve had a great time making Sounds of the 70s.”
“I always had the feeling that it really became a bit of a Sunday afternoon club, and lots of people were preparing their Sunday roast, maybe uncorking a bottle of wine, other people doing gardening, working in a shed, they did ironing.
‘It was great spending Sunday afternoons with you and it’s going to be very strange for me next Sunday at 3 o’clock to think that I won’t be talking to you.
Johnnie has just weeks to live after a battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare and progressive disease that affects the respiratory system.
Fans were overcome with emotion as they listened to their latest shows and flocked to X to share a sweet tribute.
‘It will be someone else, namely Bob Harris, who will do Sounds of the 70s. I will miss you so much and it has been great connecting over all these years. We have lived a lot together, you and I.
He signed off the show saying: “So here we are, the end of 15 years of Sunday afternoon broadcasting, Sounds of the 70s, and 58 years on British radio, and it’s going to be very strange not to be on wireless already.
‘But also, by the same token, life will be a little less exhausting, trying to find the breath to do shows.
‘So thank you for being with me all these years and taking good care of yourself and your loved ones and maybe walking into the future with your head held high and happiness in your heart. God bless you.’
During his final show on Friday, he talked about his “favorite rock anthems,” opening with Sweet Jane by Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner and Lou Reed.
Shaun Keaveny will take over The Rock Show starting November 1st. Bob Harris will take over as host of Sounds Of The 70s from Sunday 3 November.
Johnnie with his wife Tiggy. The terminally ill DJ streamed many of his latest shows from his home in Dorset
Johnnie started out in pirate radio before joining the BBC in 1969.
Born in Birmingham, the DJ started out in pirate radio on Swinging Radio England in 1966, before moving to Radio Caroline.
He first joined BBC Radio 1 Corporation in 1969. In 1976 he moved to San Francisco to record a weekly broadcast on Radio Luxembourg.
He returned to the BBC in the early 1980s, where he remained until now. In recent years he has broadcast programs from his home in Dorset.
