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Topic History of: Johnnie Walker forced to retire from BBC radio on health grounds
Max. showing the last 5 posts - (Last post first)
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Rich |
robbiex wrote:
They showed the Kenny Everett episode on bbc4 a couple of years ago, so its definitely available. You get paid a lot more for tv, so imagine that would have been a factor for Noel, not to do so much radio.
A shame they didn't keep it up on the BBC iPlayer with all the other shows they've broadcast again in recent years. If they can stick 800 archive episodes of Dr Who on the place for long term viewing I don't see why they can't do it with shows such as Top of the Pops. Unless there is some music rights and royalties payments nonsense about it all that prevents it or makes it too expensive.
I listened to Bob Harris do his first show replacing Johnnie Walker this afternoon. A very nice listen and lovely introduction. A shame he made a bit of a blunder when talking about Space Oddity by David Bowie being the No1 single in the United States this week back in 1975, not once but twice he said it, having said it had been a hit here earlier too. Yet it was the UK No1, not the USA and never was over there. Bowie had topped the charts a few weeks earlier Stateside with Fame and the No1 this week was Island Girl by Elton John which had just kicked Bad Blood by Neil Sedaka off the top spot. Let down by careless researchers I suspect and there are no excuses in this day and age for not getting info like that right when reand misinforming people. |
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robbiex |
They showed the Kenny Everett episode on bbc4 a couple of years ago, so its definitely available. You get paid a lot more for tv, so imagine that would have been a factor for Noel, not to do so much radio. |
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Rich |
robbiex wrote:
I think Kenny Everett only did 2 or 3 episodes, which I believe have not all been wiped, and John Peel had about 14 years between episodes, when he returned in the early 80s.
Johnnie Walker showing a lot of courage carrying on with his show despite the terminal diagnosis. He's been replaced by Bob Harris, who is only a year younger than Johnny. I think they should have given Gambo the position. He deserves to be hosting one of the main programmes in the schedule.
Noel Edmonds is technically one of the best DJs around, but his personality is a bit diversive, with all his comments on positive energy and hating wind turbines.
Was Noel saying things like that on radio back in the 1970's then? I thought that was more of a modern thing of his. Johnnie has of course come back from serious illness before with cancer back in 2003, when Noel Edmonds was his surprising stand in at the time for a couple of months, not having done radio for years and going back to primetime evening. After getting back in the door with BBC radio at the time I was a bit surprised Noel never did anything like that again on the schedule but maybe he was seen as too bigger name for being a mere stand in to others. He may have had the massive TV career but I think his real love remained radio. That he stood in for Johnnie obviously shows the level of respect he had for him.
I did email him early last week wishing him well and showing appreciation, not the kind of thing I would normally do, as Noel had said earlier in the year on the death of Steve Wright that we must appreciate the old timers while they are still with us and before we lose them. Wise words heeded. I asked if he could spare an anecdote about his one time only appearance presenting TOTP in 1974 but alas it seems the show might have already been recorded. I should have done it a few weeks ago.
I've seen the Kenny Everett show he did from 11th October 1973 which was out there somewhere. That presentation seemed so ahead of its time and out of left field for the period and seemed more 90's in style. Just three months later was Johnnnie's sole appearance. It seems producers then just reverted back to the safe (excluding Savile) and familiar for the rest of that decade again.
Here's an edition of Kenny's with a narration by someone, can't find the full show without it. There was a poor quality snippet of Johnnie Walker I had seen previously going into or out of the Sweet's Teenage Rampage. Not re-found it though.
youtu.be/ljapBnYfUNE?si=YNwY9AFQoTrHDotI |
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robbiex |
I think Kenny Everett only did 2 or 3 episodes, which I believe have not all been wiped, and John Peel had about 14 years between episodes, when he returned in the early 80s.
Johnnie Walker showing a lot of courage carrying on with his show despite the terminal diagnosis. He's been replaced by Bob Harris, who is only a year younger than Johnny. I think they should have given Gambo the position. He deserves to be hosting one of the main programmes in the schedule.
Noel Edmonds is technically one of the best DJs around, but his personality is a bit diversive, with all his comments on positive energy and hating wind turbines. |
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Sean |
JW was the only thing I listened to on Radio 2, he's absolutely correct when he talks about the quality of BBC Radio presenters today.
That's the end of my Radio 2 days. I used to come home from school at lunchtimes to listen to Johnny count down the new chart on a Tuesday. That was 50 years ago. Today felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. Farewell Johnnie, and thank you. I will miss you. Great broadcaster who actually cared deeply about the music. His story about why he first left BBC radio in June 1976 was astonishing, such integrity. |
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