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Jimmy Young dies

By | Published on Tuesday 8 November 2016

Jimmy Young

BBC radio veteran Jimmy Young has died aged 95. A spokesperson for his family said that the former DJ died “peacefully at home” on Monday afternoon with his wife Alicia by his side. One of the original DJs at Radio 1 when it launched in 1967, Young moved to Radio 2 six years later and continued to present for the BBC station until his retirement in 2002.

Prior to his radio career, Young enjoyed success as a singer, being signed to Polygon Records and then Decca in the 1950s. He had most success recording versions of US hits for the British market, as was common at the time, and scored two number ones in 1955 with his versions of ‘Unchained Melody’ and ‘The Man From Laramie’, both linked to movies that came out that year.

Paying tribute to Young yesterday, BBC radio chief Bob Shennan said: “He was a truly unique broadcaster who pioneered a form of presenting that generations have followed. He made current affairs relevant to millions of listeners and helped shape Radio 2 into the station it is today”.

Meanwhile Tony Blackburn – who was just last month paying tribute to another original Radio 1 presenter, Dave Cashtold the BBC: “Jimmy was a legendary broadcaster, there at the very start of Radio 1 and then, for so long, the voice of Radio 2. 2016 has been a terrible year for losing iconic figures from our youth. Today we lost another”.



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