RADIO 2’s Johnnie Walker, who lives at Shaftesbury, is hitting the road to share some of his musical memories.

He arrives at Wimborne’s Tivoli Theatre on October 7 and Forest Arts, New Milton, on Saturday, October 9.

All of which prompted Echo reader Mike Race to dig out the photo on the right of Johnnie at a charity gig in aid of Lymington Hospital Radio in 1975 at Beaulieu.

“According to my sources the disco was a big gamble for Lymington Hospital Radio at the time,” says Mike. “JW was paid £275 for his appearance and the tickets were 75 pence!

“Up to a week before only 40 tickets had been sold so the committee did a big push and on the night coaches turned up from all over the area, having been paid for by local companies. On the night more than 1,000 people turned up and we made a small profit.

“The photo is of me as support DJ and JW at the Brabazon Suite. JW’s hair is now grey, but I have lost most of mine!

“I kept in touch with JW and visited him at Radio 1 when he was on air one day. I had been to San Francisco and done a tape for a job on KSAN radio, but I couldn’t get a Green Card and came back and told him.

“A few months later he left the Beeb and went to work on a radio station in San Francisco... guess where?”