News about Bob Harris

Johnnie Walker confirmed the end of an era on Sunday after announcing his departure from BBC Radio 1, some 55-years after making his debut. London was swinging, Carnaby Street was the epicentre of cool and Johnnie Walker was just 24-years old when he hosted his first two-hour Saturday show with the broadcasting giant in April 1969. But he will now draw a line under this lengthy association with the BBC, aged 79, as he battles idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a rare and progressive illness that affects the respiratory system.

Veteran DJ Johnnie Walker has revealed he is stepping down from his BBC Radio 2 shows as he continues to live with a terminal illness which has left him completely housebound. In a moving message during the show today, the 79-year-old read out a letter from a listener whose dad had loved the show, but had passed away in 2022 due to pulmonary fibrosis, which is the condition Johnnie has. He then told his listeners that he has made the decision to bring his career to an end after 58 years. 'I'll be doing my last Sounds of the 70s on the 27th of October, so I'll make the last three shows as good as I possibly can,' he added.

Garry Richardson, a presenter for BBC Radio 4's Today programme, has departed after 43 years with his last show on September 9 - exactly 50 years since the corporation was established. Since his departure was announced, the news reporter, 68, who is known to millions as he reads headlines from around the world, released an emotional remark. "I have had the most wonderful time working for the BBC alongside my heroes from sport and showbusiness," says the author.

The Beatles' hits range from Love Me Do and Eleanor Rigby to Hey Jude, Help, and Let It Be. The Fab Four formed a worldwide superstar after burst on the music scene as a covers band in Liverpool in 1960. But it wasn't the songs he 'gave away' that intrigued him for 'Whispering Bob' Harris (inset, presenting the Old Grey Whistle Test) who has made a name for himself after mixing with a number of actors in his various television and radio appearances throughout the decade that kept him interested. The 77-year-old Old Grey Whistle Test presenter, who is 77, is one of a new theatre tour that delves into The Beatles' prodigious songwriting skills, which has seen them summon up to 30 tracks for a group of fellow artists. They featured Cilla Black's 1968 hit Step Inside Love (left, recording the song as McCartney watches), Jackie Lomax's Sour Milk Sea, and Gordon's chart-topping A World Without Love (right). Harris praised Sir Paul's "generosity of spirit," which prompted him to write songs for other artists even as the Beatles were at the height of their fame.