Radio DJ Johnnie Walker dies at 79 - Denon MD user!

[kgallen]

UK radio DJ Johnnie Walker has died at 79. He was still broadcasting live on Radio 2 until 2 months ago.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c728nxnx03eo

 

Note the Denon DN-981F and DN-990R MD machines in the background of the photo, which based on the machines is probably from the mid-late 1990's.

 

[BearBoy]

 Good spot! I think MiniDisc was fairly common in radio stations back in the mid/late 90s, in the UK at least. Probably for similar reasons to why you use them for your theatre productions - reliable instant replay of sound effects, jingles etc.

 

Wonder why some pro units are rack mount style (MDS-E10/12 etc) and why some are the square boxy type like those Denons? One type for recording studios and the other for radio stations perhaps?

 

There's some info on their use in radio stations on MiniDisc.org: https://www.minidisc.org/radio_use.html

 

When I was growing up back in the 80s, I remember thinking DJs like Johnnie Walker, Tony Backburn, Dave Lee Travis etc were really old. Scary thing is they were younger then than I am now 😯

 

Anyway, RIP Mr Walker. Was nice that he was able to keep doing what he loved right up until the end.

[kgallen]

There are some photos of Terry Wogan in the radio studio where you can see MDS-E12 rack mount units in a rack of kit in the background. Those machines first came out 2001 timeframe. As you say jingles, programme adverts and possibly even the music that played when the fire alarm went off and they all had to vacate the studio 😆

 

The boxy units like above I think were a drop-in replacement for the continuous loop cart machines. The overall shape and layout of the front panel on those Denon’s looks very much like the cart machines. So it was almost certainly a deliberate decision to keep the layout and operation familiar for DJs. Later on the machines like the MDS-E12 were probably triggered remotely by commands from the studio mixing console or possibly even from the control room. The MDS-E12 has a few remote control options as well as the balanced analogue audio I/O that is favoured in pro-audio setups. 

[kgallen]

This is not the best photo example I’ve seen but the machine above the unit with lots of green buttons is an MDS-E12.

 

https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/no-tears-says-terry-but-the-emotion-shows-as-listeners-wake-up-to-life-after-wogan-6804454.html
 

When MDS-E12 get listed on eBay in the UK they’ll often say ‘ex-BBC’.

In the rack below the two 2U CD players above the green unit.