John Walters (11 July 1939 – 30 July 2001) was a British radio producer, presenter and musician. Initially a schoolteacher and a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

enthusiast, he played trumpet in The Mighty Joe Young Jazz Men and the 1960s pop group The Alan Price Set before joining

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

in 1967, where he was

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

's producer from 1969 to 1991.

Biography

Walters was born in

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has been part ...

, near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. He read Fine Arts at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, where he worked under Victor Pasmore and as a student had his paintings exhibited alongside the works of

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

. He then taught at a comprehensive in Kenton,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, wrote a jazz column for the Newcastle '' Journal'', gave evening classes in jazz history, played the trumpet with local bands and met Alan Price, then organist with

the Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

. When Price quit to form his own group, Walters was recruited. He featured on five of the Alan Price Set's British hits, and played the Albert Hall and the Paris Olympia. Walters joined the fledgling

in 1967 as a staff producer. He soon linked up with DJ

and became his producer, starting in 1969. As a producer for Peel, he turned down the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

for a " Peel session" when, drawing on his experience as a schoolteacher, he said Johnny Rotten "didn't look like the kind of boy you would trust to give out the scissors". He reportedly regretted this decision later, but was responsible for getting

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

their first session after witnessing an early concert. He was also responsible for The Fall's first session, a group which would later become Peel's favourite. Walters and Peel became close friends, with Walters being Peel's best man when he married his wife Sheila, and Peel requesting Walters play Roy Harper's " When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease" as his on-air memorial song if Peel were to die before Walters. Walters also produced Vivian Stanshall's first foray into radio, both by overseeing Stanshall's '' Rawlinson End Radio Flashes'' when Stanshall stood in for a vacationing John Peel, and Stanshall's '' Sir Henry at Rawlinson End''. He presented the long-running Radio 1 arts magazine ''Walters' Weekly'', as well as ''Loose Ends'' and ''Idle thoughts'', and was heard reviewing the music papers on the Janice Long show in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he was a reporter on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's current affairs magazine ''Here and Now''. Walters died suddenly on 30 July 2001, from a heart attack, at the age of 62. He was survived by his wife, Helen.

References

External links

*
John Peel's first show after the death of John Walters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, John 1939 births 2001 deaths People from Long Eaton BBC radio producers British radio people British radio producers British record producers Alumni of King's College, Newcastle