Andy Kershaw, the broadcaster best known for his 15-year stint on BBC Radio 1, has died at the age of 66, his family has confirmed. Kershaw, who began his BBC career in 1984 on the rock music show Whistle Test, also co-presented the corporation's television coverage of Live Aid.
In January, Kershaw revealed he was undergoing cancer treatment after tumours that severely limited his mobility were discovered in his spine the previous August. Known for his eclectic musical taste, he often featured non-mainstream sounds on his weekly programme, once saying: 'We're not here to give the public what it wants. We're here to give the public what it didn't know it wanted.'
Born in Rochdale, Kershaw studied at the University of Leeds and began his career at Radio Aire in Leeds. He was spotted while working as a roadie and driver for Billy Bragg, which led to his role on BBC Two's The Old Grey Whistle Test. He joined Radio 1 in summer 1985, where his sister Liz Kershaw, a long-serving female national radio DJ, also worked.
Kershaw was viewed by some as a successor to John Peel. He once said Radio 1 initially wanted another Peel, but he grew bored with demo tapes from indie acts and instead discovered music from Malawi, the Congo, and South Africa. His show was axed in 2000 as part of a scheduling overhaul, after which he reported for BBC Radio 4, covering the Rwandan genocide and the civil war in Sierra Leone, and documenting radio diaries from North Korea.
He received multiple Sony Radio Academy awards and joined BBC Radio 3 in 2001, leaving in 2007 after personal problems including a breakdown of his long-term relationship and a jail sentence for breaking a restraining order. He later returned with a music series tied to Human Planet and released an autobiography, No Off Switch, in 2011.
In a statement earlier this year, Kershaw said he was in 'good spirits' and joked he was 'determined not to die before Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Ant and Dec.' His sister Liz wrote on X: 'Thank you for all your messages of affection for Our Andrew and kindness today. I've lost my best friend.'
