Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Andy Kershaw, who co-presented the TV coverage of Live Aid in 1985, has died, aged 66.
Kershaw’s family announced the death of the broadcaster, months after sharing his spinal cancer diagnosis. He was diagnosed in August 2025, and had been left unable to walk.
He was best known for his 15-year stint on Radio 1, where he championed world music.
The presenter had been undergoing treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, physiotherapy and “a lot of scans and painkillers”, his friend and podcast producer Peter Everett wrote in a Facebook post in January.
He shared a message from Kershaw himself, who said at the time: “I am in good spirits, feeling very positive and planning another podcast.
“I am determined not to die before Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Ant ’n’ Dec. That should keep me going for a while.”
Born in Rochdale, Kershaw – the brother of fellow broadcaster Liz Kershaw – grew up a fan of artists such as Bob Dylan, and went to university with the aim of becoming a journalist.
After arriving in London in 1984, where he secured a job as a roadie and driver for singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, he was enlisted as a new presenter for BBC 2’s Whistle Test.
He was given his own show on Radio 1 the following year, which he presented for 15 years before being sacked, as his website states, “to be replaced by another dance music programme”.
Kershaw went on to work at Radio 3 while also making travel documentaries for Channel 4.
He became a tabloid fixture in 2008 after his 17-year marriage ended following infidelity on his part, which he admitted to.
His ex-wife, Juliette Banner, left him and obtained a court order to keep him away from their two children; Kershaw repeatedly broke the terms of the order and was imprisoned three times before going on the run.
He ended up developing an alcohol dependency and was temporarily homeless. “Nobody, not even my allies within the serious media, bothered to look at what was really going on,” he told The Independent at the time.
“All I wanted to do was see my children, so why was I in jail? Why was I on the run? It was ridiculous, insane.”
In 2012, he published an autobiography, titled No Off Switch, which detailed his improbable rise through the UK media, including his work as a war correspondent.
“It’s an insatiable curiosity, basically, a nosiness,” he told The Independent that year of his approach to music and life. “I think initially Radio 1 wanted another [John] Peel, but I got quickly bored of those awful, insipid demo tapes I was receiving from Liverpudlian indie acts, especially as I was beginning to discover properly fantastic, amazing music from Malawi, the Congo, South Africa.
“The way I saw it, this was music that would have an appeal way beyond the circle of African music aficionados. And the letters I received from enthusiastic listeners suggested I was right.”
Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Andy Kershaw dies, aged 66
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