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Veteran BBC DJ Johnnie Walker has shared a farewell on his final show after 58 years.
The 79-year-old presenter announced earlier this month that he would be retiring from radio after nearly 60 years due to ill health.
During his final broadcast of Sounds Of The 70s yesterday (October 27) on BBC Radio 2, Walker told listeners that he wouldn’t be taking requests at the time as he would be closing out his final show by “playing all the ones I love”. The segment also included emotional messages of support from Sir Rod Stewart and Walker’s wife, Tiggy.
He opened the show with the George Harrison solo track ‘What Is Life’, before playing Sister Sledge‘s ‘We Are Family’ afterwards and dedicating it to his listeners throughout the years.
Walker became the presenter of Sounds Of The 70s back in 2009, but his career in British radio has lasted for 58 years.
He started out as a DJ on the pirate station Radio Caroline in the ‘60s, before landing a slot on BBC Radio 1 at the end of the decade. He would leave the UK and the BBC in the mid-’70s to move to San Francisco, before returning in the ‘80s and rejoining BBC Radio 1 for The Stereo Sequence show in 1987.
His most famous shows over the years since have included The Rock Show, which airs on Fridays and BBC Radio 2 Drivetime. The latter saw him work there for seven years, beginning in 1999, and he hosted his last episode of The Rock Show last week by breaking out more of his favourite tracks.
These included ‘Sweet Jane’, which featured on The Velvet Underground’s 1970 album ‘Loaded’, and The Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
In his final broadcast yesterday, he told listeners (via BBC): “I get cards from people saying: ‘You’re the friend I’ve never met’ and things like that. So it will be sad to say goodbye.”
The presenter was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis 20 years ago. Due to his health, Walker had been presenting his shows from his home in Dorset, where he is being looked after full-time by his wife.
In honour of Carers Week back in June, the two of them shared details about their life on the Walker And Walker: Johnnie and Tiggy podcast. There, Johnnie opened up about having “only a finite amount of time left here in the physical before I pass over”, calling it “a very reflective time for us”.
In his final episode of the Sounds Of The 70s show, Rod Stewart recalled how Walker had “propelled the careers of a bunch of unknown layabouts to the top of the charts, and overnight fame and everything that goes with it”.
His wife Tiggy made an emotional speech as well, saying: “I’m the one person who knows how hard it’s been for you, and I just want to say well done for keeping going as long as you have, because you make a lot of people very happy.
“I know there will be a lot of tears out there today, including mine.”
He will be replaced on the Sounds Of The 70s programme by former The Old Grey Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris from November 3. You can listen to Walker’s final episode here.
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Bad Bunny has thrown his support behind Kamala Harris for President following a speaker’s racist joke about Puerto Rico during a Trump rally.
Speaking at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night (October 27), comedian and podcast host Tony Hinchcliffe told the crowd: “There’s a lot going on, like, I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
Immediately following Hinchcliffe’s comment, which he has since defended as “a joke taken out of context to make it seem racist,” Bad Bunny took to his Instagram account and shared – multiple times – a video of VP Harris detailing her plans for Puerto Rico to his 46 million followers.
“I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader,” Harris says in the clip, referring to his handling of 2017’s Hurricane Irma and Maria. “He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes, and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults.”
According to CNN‘s source, the musician’s team has been in conversation with Harris’ team as part of “a thoughtful and deliberate approach focused on the issues.”
The outlet also reports that a rep for Bad Bunny said his post was “not an endorsement,” but that he is “supporting” Harris.
“Benito’s political focus has always been on Puerto Rico,” the rep added.
Fellow Puerto Rican superstars Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin also shared Harris’ video, making for a combined audience of over 315 million people on Instagram between themselves and Bad Bunny.
Bad Bunny declaring support for Harris follows Beyoncé doing the same over the weekend a rally in her hometown.
Joined by her former Destiny’s Child groupmate Kelly Rowland, the Queen Bey appeared at Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium on Friday (October 25) at an event that also featured country music legend Willie Nelson.
Bey didn’t perform, but instead gave a short speech praising Harris, before bringing her up onstage.
The superstar said she was “not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother.”
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she continued.
“It’s time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a chorus of unity. They sing a song of dignity and opportunity. Are y’all ready to add your voice to the new American song?”
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