BBC Radio legend Andy Kershaw dies following cancer battle

Olivia Gantzer
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:19:51 +0000

Andy Kershaw, the celebrated BBC broadcaster and world music champion, has passed away at the age of 66, his family confirmed on Thursday evening.

The presenter had revealed in January that he was battling cancer and had lost the ability to walk.

Throughout his career, Kershaw became one of British radio's most distinctive voices, spending 15 years at Radio 1 from 1985 and earning recognition for his eclectic musical tastes.

Beyond music programming, he later transitioned to journalism at Radio 4, covering both international music scenes and major global conflicts, including reporting on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide.

Mr Kershaw was born in Rochdale in 1959 and went on to study at Leeds University before entering the broadcasting industry.

His professional journey began during the early 1980s at Radio Aire in Leeds, where he took on the role of promotions manager and established a working relationship with the experienced presenter Martin Kelner.

The broadcaster's big break came in 1984 when he was selected to present The Old Grey Whistle Test, the BBC's premier television rock programme.

Remarkably, he had been discovered while serving as a roadie and driver for the musician Billy Bragg.

This opportunity proved transformative, launching him from behind-the-scenes work into the spotlight of British music broadcasting.

The following year brought another career-defining moment when Kershaw served as one of the BBC's television presenters for Live Aid, the landmark charity concert organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.

His move to Radio 1 came in the summer of 1985, where many regarded him as a potential heir to the legendary John Peel.

During his tenure at the station, his sister Liz Kershaw also broadcast there between 1987 and 1992.

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Mr Kershaw became renowned for introducing listeners to global sounds they might never otherwise have encountered.

However, his late-night weekly programme was cancelled in 2000 as part of broader schedule changes at the network.

His final broadcasts on Radio 1 featured sessions from Willie Nelson and Lou Reed.

Following his departure from Radio 1, Mr Kershaw embarked on a new chapter at Radio 4, contributing reports to the Today Programme while travelling extensively to explore both international music and political hotspots.

At Radio 3, he described his approach as continuing "to ignore categories and mix it all up", undertaking musical journeys through Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

The broadcaster's career was interrupted for several years due to personal difficulties, which culminated in a three-month prison sentence in 2008 for violating a restraining order preventing contact with Juliette Banner, mother of his two children.

He made his comeback in 2011 with Music Planet alongside Lucy Duran, and published his autobiography No Off Switch.

Upon receiving his cancer diagnosis, Kershaw quipped: "I am determined not to die before Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Ant'n'Dec."