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Almost six decades after spinning his first disc, Johnnie Walker bids a heart-rending farewell to BBC Radio 2: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS looks back on the veteran DJ's career

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Every lyric took on an extra significance as Johnnie Walker did his last radio show in his 58-year career as he struggled for breath against pulmonary fibrosis

I never thought I'd get a lump in my throat over Roger Daltrey's solo single Giving It All Away, or The Skids' punk war cry Into The Valley. Despite struggling for breath against the pulmonary fibrosis that is killing him, Johnnie, 79, managed a typically pointed comment: 'They really wanted DJs to buy a Porsche and open shopping centres and just play what they were told, and that wasn't me.' I can remember him commenting mischievously on Radio 1 in the glam rock era how he couldn't see the attraction of Page 3 girls: 'I'm a bottle-and-glass man,' he announced, using rhyming slang.

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