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Johnnie Walker obituary: pioneering DJ and radio disc jockey

Disc jockey who helped to start Radio Caroline before joining the BBC in a career that spanned seven decades

He marked the occasion by cracking open a bottle of champagne and after delivering a sarcastic “thank you” to Wilson, in his sleepy voice declared to a Europe-wide audience of 20 million: “As we enter this new phase in our broadcasting history, you naturally have our assurance that we intend to stay on the air. Though he hosted the prime lunchtime show he insisted on playing album tracks alongside hit singles, and among the then little-known artists he championed were Lou Reed, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Steely Dan and Eric Clapton. These rock’n’roll radio outposts had been under attack from Harold Wilson’s Labour government, steered by postmaster general Tony Benn, since they had emerged three years earlier, and the act was regarded by many as a vindictive piece of legislation that bowed to the BBC’s desire for a monopoly over the airwaves.

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