Former BBC Radio 2 and World Service presenter and Jazz FM programme controller Malcolm Laycock has died.
Malcolm spent 14 years with Radio 2 presenting Sunday Night at 10 – a programme which plays big band music from the 1930s and 1940s – hosting his last one just a few months ago.
He also helped set up Jazz FM in London, becoming programme controller. He won a Sony Radio Award for his programme Billie Holliday In Her Own Words.
At the end of his last programme in July, he said:
[i]
"And from me Malcolm Laycock, with great regret, I have to say that this is my last ‘Sunday Night at 10’ programme. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to sit in this chair every week for the last 14 years. I’ve made many friends through the programme, and many of you have been kind enough to write to me and send me messages of encouragement. Thank you – I’m going to miss our weekly get-togethers. And I must thank, too, my original producer Roy Oakshott, and my current producer Caroline Snook. So, finally, I leave you with the band who’ll be playing at the Concorde Club on Wednesday, the ‘Back to Basie’ Orchestra, and another classic – Neal Hefti’s "Flight of the Foo Birds". So for the last time – take care!"[/i]
Bob Shennan, controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music, told [link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8351614.stm]BBC News[/link] Mr Laycock's former colleagues were "shocked and saddened" to hear of his death: "Malcolm was a much-loved and highly respected broadcaster, renowned for his skill as a presenter and producer, and his passion for music and radio," he said.
PHOTO: BBC