The radio presenter Ken Bruce paid tributes to listeners as he hosted his final show on BBC Radio 2.
Bruce, who has hosted the morning programme for 30 years, chose the medley of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End, which closes The Beatles’ album Abbey Road, to end his last show on Friday.
Opening the programme, he warned listeners not to “expect hidden messages” in the songs he played.
He thanked listeners, members of the Ken Bruce Preservation Society who gave him a bottle of Irish cream liqueur, and his production crew.
Echoing a Beatles lyric, he added: “In the end the love you take is equal to the love you make and I have loved being here with you.”
Bruce received on-air tributes from BBC Radio 2 DJs including Zoe Ball, Richie Anderson and Jeremy Vine.
He told the PA Media news agency outside the building, he would “absolutely” look back on his last few weeks with fond memories despite the broadcaster asking him to leave earlier than he initially expected.
Bruce has spoken of his sadness at coming off air before his BBC contract ended, saying it seemed a shame he could not complete his final month.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the decision was “entirely within the BBC’s right” but that “for the sake of 17 days, which was all that was remaining … it seems a shame”.
Bruce, 72, announced in January that he was leaving the BBC after 46 years to join Greatest Hits Radio (GHR) in April. He has presented a morning radio show on Radio 2 since 1986, with a two-year break in the early 1990s.
He was put on gardening leave for the last three weeks of his contract amid concerns that his continued presence on the BBC would in effect be advertising for a rival show. Vernon Kay is returning to the BBC to take over Bruce’s slot.
In the interview on Today before his last show Bruce spoke of his regret at not being able to work to the end of the month.
“My belief is that when I’m given a contract, I work to it and complete it and I haven’t had, over the last 46 years, very much time off ever,” he said. “I’ve attempted to turn up whenever I’m required to turn up, so my natural feeling as a broadcaster is if I’ve got 17 days to do I want to do them.
“I love daily broadcasting, it’s what I’ve done for years and years. I’ve been on BBC Radio every day, five days a week, since 1977. So it’s going to be different, it’s going to change me a bit but I still want to be on the air every day.”
Born in Glasgow, Bruce trained as an accountant and began his career working on the hospital broadcasting service in the city.
As his favourite two tribute songs to his show, he picked Marvin Gaye’s I Heard it Through the Grapevine and Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder.
Describing interviewing Stevie Wonder at Abbey Road Studios, Bruce said: “He was in a dressing room. I was there. He had a little keyboard just on his knees, and he answered questions and played to illustrate the answers, which I thought: ‘I may have died and gone to heaven here. This is beautiful.’
A BBC spokesperson said: “Ken decided to leave Radio 2 and it’s always been known he’s leaving in March. Returning to Wogan House for a week after a month of broadcasting the Piano Room sessions at Maida Vale provided a natural break. We wish Ken all the best for the future.”
