Johnnie Walker, a former BBC Radio 2 DJ known for hosting the “Sounds of the 70s” show, died Monday. He was 79. The news was announced live on the station by Bob Harris, who took over Johnnie Walker’s role on the radio show back in October. BBC reported that Johnnie Walker had pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe.

The presenter retired in October due to ill-health having worked as a DJ for 58 years.

Johnnie Walker, one of the BBC’s longest-serving radio DJs, has died. Walker died earlier today at 79 following a long battle with lung disease, two months after calling time on his radio career. Tributes flooded in from BBC top brass.

Walker first rose to fame among British music fans as a disc jockey on pirate station Radio Caroline in the Sixties, and later became a favourite among BBC listeners, even if he did hate the Bay City