With a radio career spanning nearly half a century – his
first broadcast was in May 1966 – I’ve chosen this show from 1995 when he left
Radio 1 … for the third time!
Johnnie first said goodbye to Radio 1 in the summer of 1976 when
he said farewell to the UK and followed
his radio dreams in America. Back with the Beeb in the eighties, on The Stereo Sequence, he left again in
1988 for Branson’s Radio Radio, aka The Super Station. Three years later controller Johnny Beerling invited
him back to Radio 1 to resume his Saturday afternoon shows.
But changes were afoot at Radio 1. Johnnie and producer Phil
Ward-Large set up their own independent company, Wizard Radio, to secure the
Saturday afternoon slot under new controller Matthew Bannister. They were
awarded a one-year contract. Come year two there were verbal assurances that
Walker was still safe at the station but within weeks he was given his marching
orders. According to Walker’s
autobiography he maintains he was dropped as Bannister was desperately looking
of savings to fund Chris Evans’s move from GLR to the Breakfast Show.
Here is that full show from Saturday 21 October 1995, but
missing the concert featuring Hole. So there is, you might say, a hole in this
recording! Packed full of guests you’ll hear Nick Cave, Neil and Tim Finn, Emmylou
Harris, Chrissie Hynde, Nanci Griffith, and Bruce Springsteen.
1 comment:
The oldest-skewing show left on Radio 1 by then, probably ... and it was up against Martin Kelner's show which was specifically intended to draw a younger audience to Radio 2. Not the best scheduling in the world, really.
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