The Radio 1 listings for 26 April 1969, when Johnnie Walker made his BBC broadcasting debut, in some ways have a dated air, also boasting shows featuring “Kenny Everett and his granny phone” and “Emperor Rosko’s Midday spin”. However the entry at 2pm for Walker – “The Saturday afternoon listening revolution with music and happiness for all to share” – pretty much applied for the next 55 years of his working life.
Days of the week and stations changed – it was in the Sunday afternoon slot that he made his final Radio 2 broadcast on 27 October last year – but all his most successful shows filled afternoon airtime and the formula of “music and happiness” remained constant. Walker was a notably warm broadcaster, with spiritual beliefs that brought to his broadcasting persona a kindness and empathy rare in an egotistical and ambitious business, leading many listeners to follow him across the five and a half decades of his BBC career.
