Legendary Radio 2 host Johnnie Walker leaves listeners in tears with goodbye message on final show

Johnnie Walker broadcast his last BBC Radio 2 amusement connected Sunday day and thanked his loyal listeners for their enactment passim his 58-year reign successful radio

Following legendary broadcaster Johnnie Walker’s announcement earlier this period that helium would beryllium stepping down from BBC Radio 2’s The Rock Show and Sounds of the 70s, connected Friday 25 ^th October helium presented The Rock Show for past clip and contiguous (Sunday 27 ^th October from 3-5pm) helium hosted his last Sounds of the 70s.

Earlier this month, the legendary vigor big announced that helium was retiring. At the time, helium announced: "That leads maine to beryllium making a precise bittersweet announcement. The struggles I’ve had with doing the amusement and trying to benignant of support up a nonrecreational modular suitable for Radio 2 has been getting much and much hard - hence my small jokes astir Puffing Billy.

"So, I’ve had to marque the determination that I request to bring my vocation to an extremity aft 58 years, and truthful I’ll beryllium doing my past Sounds of the 70s connected the 27th of October, truthful I’ll marque the past 3 shows arsenic bully arsenic I perchance can.

"Now this week successful 1978, The Rolling Stones were peculiar guests connected America’s Saturday Night Live TV amusement and they appeared successful a mates of sketches and performed 3 tracks from their latest album, Some Girls. Well, 1 of the tracks connected the medium seems rather suitable astatine the moment.”

Jonnie played The Rolling Stones’ track, Miss You earlier adding: “And by the way, I tin besides uncover not lone my past Sounds of the 70s, but the idiosyncratic taking implicit the amusement volition beryllium the 1 and lone Bob Harris, truthful Bob Harris volition beryllium successful complaint of Sounds of the 70s from the 3rd of November.”

Today, connected his last amusement of Sounds of the 70s today, helium said to his listeners: “So it doesn’t truly substance however agelong you’ve been listening to the aged JW here, we’ve had a large clip doing Sounds of the 70s. It truly developed into a benignant of a Sunday Afternoon Club, I ever got the feeling, and tons of radical preparing their Sunday roast, possibly pulling the cork connected a vessel of wine, different radical doing their gardening, pottering successful a shed, doing ironing.

"It was conscionable large spending Sunday afternoons with you and it’s going to beryllium precise unusual for maine adjacent Sunday day astatine 3 o’clock to deliberation that I won’t beryllium speaking to you. It’ll beryllium idiosyncratic else, namely Bob Harris, who’ll beryllium doing Sounds of the 70s. So, I’ll miss you a batch and it’s been large connecting up for each these years. We’ve done a batch of surviving unneurotic you and I."

He signed disconnected from the show, saying: “So present we are, the extremity of a 15 twelvemonth tally connected Sunday afternoons, Sounds of the 70s, and 58 years connected British radio, and it’s going to beryllium precise unusual not to beryllium connected the wireless anymore but also, by the aforesaid token, beingness volition beryllium somewhat little of a strain really, trying to find the enactment to bash programmes. So convey you for being with maine each these years and instrumentality bully attraction of yourself and those you emotion and possibly locomotion into the aboriginal with our heads held precocious and happiness successful our hearts. God bless you."

Rod Stewart besides sent a connection for Johnnie. Rod said: “I person to convey you my man, convey you from the bottommost of my bosom for playing not lone my songs, but The Faces and conscionable astir each different stone set successful the world connected your fantastic amusement implicit the years. By doing truthful you propelled the careers of a clump of chartless layabouts to the apical of the charts and overnight fame and everything that goes with it. It goes without saying, without your enactment we ne'er whitethorn person got there. So, if I bash negociate to get done the Pearly Gates, I’ll person a pint of Guinness delight mate and conjecture what, I’ll prime up the tab. See ya later, Johnnie. Rock connected mate, stone on.”

His wife, Tiggy, besides joined him connected the amusement astatine 1 constituent to speech astir Johnnie broadcasting his shows this year, saying: “I conscionable privation to accidental good done for keeping going arsenic agelong arsenic you have, due to the fact that you marque a batch of radical precise blessed and I cognize determination volition beryllium a batch of tears retired determination today, including mine."

Johnnie replied: “And possibly 1 oregon 2 from maine arsenic well. Thank you precise overmuch for saying that and convey you for each your fantastic care. I surely couldn’t person done this amusement without that, truthful convey you for that.”

During the programme, Johnnie added 1 past opus - Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird - into his celebrated 'Johnnie's Jukebox' earlier sealing the jukebox forever, and passim the amusement helium played his ain enactment of favourite tracks from the decade, including Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Rod Stewart - Sailing, Neil Diamond - Holy Holy, Simon and Garfunkel - Song For the Asking, David Bowie - Starman, Lou Reed - Walk On the Wild Side, The Skids - Into the Valley, and The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (but I similar it) and Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now. To adjacent the show, helium played Amazing Grace by Judy Collins.

Shaun Keaveny volition beryllium the caller presenter of The Rock Show from Friday 1^st November and Bob Harris takes implicit arsenic presenter of Sounds Of The 70s from Sunday 3^rd November.

Listen backmost to Johnnie’s last Sounds of the 70s present - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00244tb.

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