Almost six decades after spinning his first disc, Johnnie Walker bids a heart-rending farewell to BBC Radio 2: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS looks back on the veteran DJ’s career
As I sit here, reflecting on the life and career of Johnnie Walker, a man who has been a staple in British broadcasting for decades, I can’t help but feel a sense of awe and admiration. His story is one that resonates with me deeply, as someone who has also dabbled in the world of radio and music.
Each lyric held a deeper meaning, an unforeseen emotional resonance. Those familiar tunes from the past transcended being merely background music for a lazy Sunday – they transformed into a reverberation of our former lives.
In the final broadcast of his illustrious 58-year career as a disc jockey, Johnnie Walker selected tracks that encapsulated his cherished memories – like cruising on his vibrant yellow Harley Davidson to witness David Bowie perform live, or reminiscing about his early days at Radio Caroline.
However, among the poignant and touching moments that filled the two-hour Sounds Of The Seventies farewell, it was ours – his audience – who held special memories. As Johnnie delved into nostalgia, hidden significances resurfaced in the songs he chose to play.
I wasn’t expecting to feel such emotion listening to Roger Daltrey’s solo single “Giving It All Away” or the punk anthem “Into The Valley” by The Skids.
I hadn’t heard them in decades, nor ever thought how much meaning was hidden in the words.
After a long career of playing songs chosen by his audience, Johnnie selected his personal favorites, taking great care like a true connoisseur. He started off with “What Is Life” by George Harrison. As the former Beatle sang, ‘I can’t express what I feel,’ on a track from an album whose title also perfectly summed up its content: All Things Eventually Come to an End.
In simpler terms, Johnnie had lost his job at the Beeb due to his deep respect for albums, which is now considered an antiquated format, as he himself remembers.
1976 saw Radio 1 controller Derek Chinnery advising him that in order to maintain his midday program, he should abandon playing full-length albums and instead focus on singles.
Instead, he walked out, prompting Chinnery to complain: ‘You’re just too into the music, man.’
Despite struggling for breath against the pulmonary fibrosis that is killing him, Johnnie, 79, managed a typically pointed comment: ‘They really wanted DJs to buy a Porsche and open shopping centres and just play what they were told, and that wasn’t me.’
He took another sardonic swipe as he recalled that Bowie concert at the Royal Albert Hall – ‘stuffed with the suits from Radio 2 who don’t really know much about music but they knew David Bowie’. All those collar-and-tie executives trooped backstage to meet the star after the gig, and ‘bored him rigid!’
Back in the initial stages of Radio 1, other hosts often expressed a mix of cautious respect towards Johnnie, as if they thought associating with him could potentially lead to some sort of trouble.
In a casual chat with his wife Tiggy featured in the Mail recently, they shared a laugh over memories from the past, reminiscing about how an oxygen tube resembled what was once used for cocaine.
I can remember him commenting mischievously on Radio 1 in the glam rock era how he couldn’t see the attraction of Page 3 girls: ‘I’m a bottle-and-glass man,’ he announced, using rhyming slang. Aged about nine, I was shocked that anyone could get away with saying that on the BBC. And of course, only Johnnie could.
Throughout the last performance, Tiggy stood beside him, adding warm jests and conversation to the mix. They had honed their comedic duo while confined indoors during lockdown, and now, due to his advanced lung illness, they were once more performing from their residence.
Rod Stewart, who he affectionately refers to as Tiggy Stardust, dedicated the song Starman to her. Previously, he had performed The Faces’ song before they gained fame, and Rod Stewart left a voicemail to express his gratitude for that gesture.
He remarked that he had catapulted some idle individuals into sudden stardom, and jokingly offered to share a drink with him in the afterlife if he could make it past the gates of Heaven.
Johnnie concluded with The Rolling Stones tunes, “The Stones” and “It’s Only Rock’n’Roll,” then transitioned to Judy Collins’ soft rendition of “Amazing Grace.” He whispered, ‘We’ve had quite a bit of life shared between us, you and I.’ It wasn’t certain if he was addressing Tiggy or the audience.
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2024-10-28 01:35