Legendary DJ Johnnie Walker has hung up his headphones for the last time on BBC Radio 2's The Rock Show and Sounds of the 70s.
After announcing earlier this month that he would be stepping down, Walker presented The Rock Show for the final time on Friday 25th October and today (Sunday 27th October from 3-5pm) he hosted his last Sounds of the 70s. The 79-year-old is retiring due to his ongoing issues with pulmonary fibrosis, a disease he has described as "terminal".
Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease where scarring of the lungs (fibrosis) makes it difficult to breathe. Walker, who suffered a heart attack in 2019, has revealed the condition is getting "progressively worse".
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The veteran radio host had previously shared his decision to retire, saying: "That leads me to be making a very sad announcement. The struggles I've had with doing the show and trying to sort of keep up a professional standard suitable for Radio 2 has been getting more and more difficult - hence my little jokes about Puffing Billy."
He continued: "So, I've had to make the decision that I need to bring my career to an end after 58 years, and so I'll be doing my last Sounds of the 70s on the 27th of October, so I'll make the last three shows as good as I possibly can."
Reflecting on a moment from 1978, Walker reminisced: "Now this week in 1978, The Rolling Stones were special guests on America's Saturday Night Live TV show and they appeared in a couple of sketches and performed three tracks from their latest album, Some Girls. Well, one of the tracks on the album seems quite suitable at the moment."
He played The Rolling Stones' hit "Miss You" before revealing, "And by the way, I can also reveal not only my last Sounds of the 70s, but the person taking over the show will be the one and only Bob Harris, so Bob Harris will be in charge of Sounds of the 70s from the 3rd of November.", reports the Mirror.
On his final episode of Sounds of the 70s, the iconic DJ shared heartfelt words with his audience. He said: "So it doesn't really matter how long you've been listening to the old JW here, we've had a great time doing Sounds of the 70s.
"It really developed into a sort of a Sunday Afternoon Club, I always got the feeling, and lots of people preparing their Sunday roast, maybe pulling the cork on a bottle of wine, other people doing their gardening, pottering in a shed, doing ironing." He went on to admit the coming week would be "very strange" without the show.
Johnnie continued: "It was just great spending Sunday afternoons with you and it's going to be very strange for me next Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock to think that I won't be speaking to you. It'll be somebody else, namely Bob Harris, who'll be doing Sounds of the 70s. So, I'll miss you a lot and it's been great connecting up for all these years. We've done a lot of living together you and I."
He signed off by thanking his viewers for tuning in for all of these years in an affectionate final message: "So here we are, the end of a 15 year run on Sunday afternoons, Sounds of the 70s, and 58 years on British radio, and it's going to be very strange not to be on the wireless anymore but also, by the same token, life will be slightly less of a strain really, trying to find the breath to do programmes. So thank you for being with me all these years and take good care of yourself and those you love and maybe walk into the future with our heads held high and happiness in our hearts. God bless you."
Listeners paid tribute to Johnnie and revealed their emotional reactions to his final show. One wrote on X: "Sat having Sunday dinner while listening to one of the best radio shows hosted by the legend #JohnnieWalker I may be a bearded warrior but I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes as he signed off for the last time. Gonna miss you man!."
Another wrote: "The legendary DJ #JohnnieWalker has just presented his last ever show on #bbcradio2 and British #radio. I assume you all cried as I did. If not shame on you ! #soundsofthe70s."
Meanwhile, Tiggy, Johnnie's wife, also appeared on the show to commend Johnnie's dedication, saying: "I just want to say well done for keeping going as long as you have, because you make a lot of people very happy and I know there will be a lot of tears out there today, including mine."
Johnnie responded: "And maybe one or two from me as well. Thank you very much for saying that and thank you for all your wonderful care. I certainly couldn't have done this show without that, so thank you for that."
During the show, Johnnie added one final tune - Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird - to his renowned 'Johnnie's Jukebox', sealing it forever. He played a selection of his favourite tracks from the decade, including hits by Elton John and Kiki Dee, Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Simon and Garfunkel, David Bowie, Lou Reed, The Skids, The Rolling Stones and Johnny Nash.
The show concluded with Judy Collins' rendition of Amazing Grace. Shaun Keaveny will take over as the new host of The Rock Show starting Friday 1st November, while Bob Harris will assume the role of presenter for Sounds Of The 70s from Sunday 3rd November.
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