Tony Blackburn remembers ‘fine broadcaster and very good friend’ Johnnie Walker
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Tony Blackburn has paid tribute to radio DJ Johnnie Walker after he died at the age of 79, describing him as a “fine broadcaster and very good friend”. It comes after Walker’s death was announced on air on Tuesday by his friend and colleague, BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, who took over presenting Sounds Of The 70s from the late DJ in November.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Blackburn said: “It’s very sad news, it was expected, because he’s been unwell for quite a long time. “I spoke to him about three weeks ago, and he was very breathless, he’s had problems with his lungs and everything, and he retired, of course, about three weeks ago.
“But yes, I knew him very well. I never, funnily enough, knew him on the pirate radio stations, because I was there from 1964 to (1966) and he joined a lot later on Radio Caroline. “But I got to know him much better on Radio 1, and of course, more recently on Radio 2, a fine broadcaster and very good friend, and very sad news.”.
The 81-year-old went on to describe Walker as a “real pirate” because he had continued to present on pirate radio after the radio offences bill in 1967 made it illegal. He continued: “We were both very proud of the fact in the 60s, we were trying to break the monopoly of the BBC, which of course, we did eventually, and then we ended up at the BBC, where we all had a great time.
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