3 days ago
'His last words on British radio' - poignant end to Nottingham radio legend's final show recorded before his death
The final show that Nottingham radio legend John Peters recorded before his death has been broadcast for the first time as a long-time friend and colleague paid a poignant tribute. John died at the age of 75 on May 24 following a career which saw him become a familiar voice on stations including Radio Trent and Boom Radio.
John was the first voice that Nottingham heard when Radio Trent launched on July 3, 1975. Other stations that John helped to launch included Saga 106.6 and GEM-AM.
The final part of his career saw him join the line-up at the Nottingham-based national station Boom Radio. John manned programmes including a Friday evening show, a Saturday show called John's Jukebox and a Vintage Charts show during his time at Boom Radio.
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The last chart show played out whilst John was alive was broadcast on May 18, but the much-loved DJ had prepared another one just before he died. This was heard for the first time on Sunday (June 1) at 12pm. The broadcast began with an introduction from David Lloyd, the co-founder of Boom Radio and a long-standing colleague of John Peters.
Mr Lloyd opened the broadcast by saying: "This time last week we brought you the sad news of the death of our John Peters who is normally with you this time every Sunday. Today, we celebrate his fine achievements in British radio over more than 50 years and we kick off with a special vintage chart.
"It was one prepared by John right at the end of his life. He was told not to carry on by everybody around him, including us, but he took no notice. He battled on one last time and we felt he'd want you to hear those efforts. So for the next hour, lets raise a toast to 'John John' and enjoy his final performance."
The show itself began with the usual introduction from John: "Well it's Sunday, it's 12 O'clock. I'm John Peters and we're here on the vintage charts, but where can I send you this week? Well how about the 26th of May 1966?"
John's final show was a whistle-stop tour of the top 20 from May 26, 1966, with the final three songs played out by John Peters being Frank Sinatra's Strangers In The Night, Wild Thing by The Troggs and, finally, Paint It, Black by The Rolling Stones. Before introducing the latter and running down the top 20, John's last words were: "Don't forget there's no news at 1 O'clock, hope you'll stay with us."
Mr Lloyd finished the broadcast by saying: "Those were his last words on British radio after his 50-plus-year-career. It was a chart rundown, at quite a pace, too. Thank you John Peters, my friend."
