The last man to interview John Lennon: Legendary British DJ Andy Peebles dies at 76

23 March 2025, 16:29

Legendary British DJ Andy Peebles has died at the age of 76.

He worked for the network from the late 70s to the early 90s before moving into commercial radio.

The legendary DJ was also last person to interview John Lennon, speaking to him and his wife Yoko Ono in New York two days before the Beatles star was shot dead.

He first began working as a club DJ in the 1960s before joining local station Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.

Peebles later landed a job on BBC Radio 1 in the 1970s hosting daytime programmes and hosted the station's shows such as My Top Twelve and Soul Train along with Top Of The Pops.

Read more: Former pirate radio DJ and broadcasting legend Johnnie Walker dies aged 79

Read more: Tributes pour in after 'big-hearted' model & DJ falls to her death from Bali hotel balcony

He left the BBC in the 1990s and went on to Global's classic station Gold Radio.

Fellow veteran DJ Tony Blackburn, a BBC Radio 2 presenter, wrote on X: "So sorry to hear that fellow DJ from radio1 when I was there Andy Peebles has passed away.

"He was a lovely man and a great broadcaster, very sad news. R.I.P. Andy."

Former BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read, who says he had lunch with Peebles recently, wrote on X that he was "devastated" by the news.

He added: "He was about to join us at Heritage (Radio).

"We joined Radio 1 together. Knew his music and cricket inside out.

"Raise your bat and enjoy a long rest in the pavilion."

Peebles also had stints at Manchester's Smooth FM and London's 102.2 Jazz FM, and was inducted into the Radio Academy's Hall of Fame in 2011.

His wife Ann confirmed Peebles died on Saturday