Live Aid presenter and Radio 1 DJ Andy Kershaw dead aged 66
Andy Kershaw, a former Live Aid presenter and beloved Radio 1 DJ, has passed away at the age of 66.
In January, it was announced that the broadcaster had been diagnosed with cancer. As a result, he was soon unable to walk.
He had been undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy and physiotherapy and needed “a lot of scans and painkillers”.
Now, his family has confirmed that Kershaw tragically passed away at around 19:30 BST on April 16th.
Kershaw could be heard on Radio 1 for 15 years, beginning in 1985; following this, he moved to Radio 4, where he reported on a mix of global and music news, travelling in and out of conflict zones.
A year before his long stint at Radio 1, Kershaw anchored the BBC’s flagship TV rock programme, The Old Grey Whistle Test. He landed the gig after being spotted working for a roadie and a driver for Billy Bragg.
He was also one of the TV presenters for the BBC’s coverage of Live Aid, the benefit concert which raised money for those suffering in the Ethiopian famine.
However, Kershaw’s career hit a bump in the road after he was jailed in 2008 for three months, after breaking a restraining order which prevented him from getting in contact with Juliette Banner, the mother of his two children.
He returned to the BBC in 2011 with a new music series. Along with co-presenter Lucy Duran, Kershaw travelled around the world to find the best sounds from the most isolated locations.
One of his last public statements, made after his cancer diagnosis, highlighted the strength and humour he maintained until the very end.
The music mogul, who reported being in “good spirits”, joked: “I am determined not to die before Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Ant’ n ‘Dec. That should keep me going for a while.”
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