Radio 1 DJ Andy Peebles has died at the age of 76, with his colleagues paying tribute to the broadcaster. The DJ and presenter as best known for hosting shows on BBC Radio 1 between 1978 to 1992.
Fellow radio presenter Mike Read shared the sad news on X this morning, writing: “Devastated to hear the news about our chum Andy Peebles. He was about to join us at Heritage. We joined Radio One together. Knew his music & cricket inside out. Raise your bat & enjoy a long rest in the pavilion. We lunched recently with DLT & Adrian Juste. Great innings.”
Meanwhile, friend and radio executive John Simons wrote: “So sad to hear the news about Andy Peebles passing. I’ll miss our long conversations about football and soul music, of which he was far more knowledgeable. There’s going to be a Quiet Storm in heaven tonight. RIP Andy.”
Emotional tributes from fans began to flood in on social media, with one writing: “Very sad news indeed.”
Another said: “So, farewell Andy Peebles. Piccadilly Radio & BBC Radio 1. From those golden days when mainstream radio stations knew who their audience were.”
A third wrote: “I’ve just heard the sad passing of Former Radio 1 DJ Andy Peebles. He famously was the last person to interview John Lennon hours before he was shot in New York and was also an Avid Lover of Soul Music! RIP Andy!”
One of Andy’s career highlights was his interview with Beatles star John Lennon and Yoko Ono, which aired 6 December 1980 on BBC Radio 1. The chat proved to be John’s last-ever radio interview before he was murdered two days later by Mark David Chapman in the doorway of his New York residence.
Speaking to CBS in 2020, Andy said of the interview: “I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my life and I’d grown-up not just idolising him but the group and everything they’d done.
“I felt like he was on top of everything. They seemed very, very happy.”
Andy began his radio career in 1973 at BBC Radio Manchester before going onto found independent radio station Piccadilly Radio in Manchester. He joined Radio 1 as a presenter in 1978 and later hosted 15 editions of Top of the Pops.
Andy’s last TV appearance was on CBS back in 2020, however he is due to appear in an upcoming documentary about John Lennon’s last decade. Borrowed Time: Lennon’s Last Decade is set to hit cinemas later this year.
Aside from his career as a radio DJ, Andy was also a renowned cricket commentator, having regularly commentated fixtures for the BBC.
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