Johnnie Walker’s wife says she is ‘proud’ of his career after his death at 79
The DJ’s death was announced by Sounds Of The 70s presenter Bob Harris.
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Your support makes all the difference.Veteran radio DJ Johnnie Walker’s wife Tiggy has said she “couldn’t be more proud of” her husband, after he died at the age of 79.
Walker’s death was announced on air by his friend and colleague, BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, who took over presenting Sounds Of The 70s in November.
Tiggy 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. It has been a roller-coaster ride from start to finish.
“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. One year on from his last live show.
“God bless that extraordinary husband of mine, who is now in a place of peace.”
Also paying tribute to Walker was Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, who said in a post on X: “So long Johnnie Walker, all across the years, a defender and gatekeeper of great musical taste, a cool, kind man who kept the bar high for all of us who loved him.”
At the end of October, Walker presented his final Sounds Of The 70s show on BBC Radio 2 and hosted his last episode of The Rock Show as he retired due to ill health.
Announcing his death on the show after playing David Bowie’s Golden Years, Harris said: “I’ve known Johnnie since the 1960s when 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 and he was passionate about radio, and as the 60s moved into the 70s he and I became increasingly close friends, a friendship that endured right up to the present day.
“We had many shared experiences, not least our support of each other during our various health experiences.
“In fact, Johnnie and I were exchanging texts through the time after I took over the show, he wished me well at the beginning of the first programme that I did.
“‘Sending you lots of love’ he said, ‘relax and enjoy, the listeners are lovely, and they’ll look after you, all the very best from Johnnie’.”
Harris went on to say how Walker helped him after an aortic dissection, saying he was “there for me” and had told the DJ “it’s what friends do”.
He said his “heart goes out to” Tiggy, who he said had been Walker’s “rock”.
Harris added: “I know that she will agree with me when I say that it’s Johnnie’s spirit that’s been keeping him going through these past few months and years.
“Actually, I took over the Sounds Of The 70s programme at the beginning of November, and I knew right the way through the year that Johnnie had not been well, but he kept himself going.
“He was just absolutely so brilliant, such a wonderful friend and a brilliant broadcaster.
“So today, what we’d like you to do is help us celebrate his life.”
Walker had announced in early October that he was retiring from radio after 58 years, having been previously diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, said: “We are deeply saddened by the news of Johnnie’s passing and our thoughts are with his family and friends, as well as everyone at Radio 2.
“Johnnie was a pop radio pioneer and a champion of great music, entertaining millions of beloved listeners on the BBC across decades, most recently hosting two shows on Radio 2.
“No-one loved the audience as much as Johnnie and we loved him back.”
Shaun Keaveny, who took over presenting Radio 2’s Rock Show from Walker, said in a message sent to Harris’s show: “Johnnie Walker, a rebel, a soul searcher, and a seeker, a rocker, and a phenomenal broadcaster.
“He absolutely lived life to the limit, it was a total privilege to have worked with him.”
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, a charity supported by Walker and his wife, who were joint patrons, also paid tribute to the DJ.
She said: “This is absolutely devastating news for all of us at Carers UK – Johnnie and Tiggy are part of the Carers UK family, they have always been more than just co-patrons to us and have consistently been there to help us whatever the notice or ask.
“From a personal perspective it was always such a joy to meet up with Johnnie and Tiggy and bounce ideas around about what they might do for us next.
“It never seemed like work because together they were simply such great company and a lot of fun. I can’t imagine the loss that Tiggy is feeling and our hearts go out to her at this terrible time.”
Walker was born in Birmingham and left school at the age of 15 to train to become a mechanic, later taking a job as a car salesman.
He found an outlet for his passion for music with a Friday night slot as a disco DJ under the name Peter Dee.
Walker began his radio career in 1966 on Swinging Radio England, an offshore pirate station.
He later moved to Radio Caroline, where he became a household name hosting the hugely popular night-time show.
Walker went on to join BBC Radio 1 in 1969, continuing until 1976, with him later moving to San Francisco, where he recorded a weekly show broadcast on Radio Luxembourg.
He returned to the UK in the 80s and presented Radio 1’s Saturday Stereo Sequence.
After working on various BBC stations, he left Radio 1 for good in 1995 and three years later he was offered his own weekly show on Radio 2, before taking over Drivetime.
He earned a reputation as a DJ who accorded more importance to the records he played than the chat between tracks, with names he pioneered including Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles.
In October 2003, Walker underwent chemotherapy and an emergency operation for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He told his listeners live on air of the diagnosis and later revealed that he “died” on the operating table three times during surgery to repair his burst intestine.
The condition IPF is one “in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult”, according to the NHS.
The NHS website says it is not clear what causes the condition and that treatments can reduce the rate at which it worsens, but that there is “currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs”.