BBC Radio 2 legend Phil Swern dies aged 76 as Ken Bruce leads tributes-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro

‘It’s the saddest of days,’ Ken Bruce wrote in his tribute (Picture: X/@tonyblackburn)

Ken Bruce and Tony Blackburn have led tributes to late BBC Radio 2 legend Phil Swern, following his death aged 76.

Swern, who earned the nickname ‘The Collector’ in his illustrious career, produed Pick of the Pops for Radio 1 in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

He went on to produce the show on Radio 2 from 1997 up until last year, as well as Sound of the 60s for 17 years.

Swern also played a pivotal role in Bruce’s quiz show PopMaster – which has now moved from Radio 2 to Greatest Hits Radio – by coming up with the questions.

In a post shared on X, Bruce, 73, wrote that it was one of the ‘saddest days’ following the loss of his close friend.

‘It’s the saddest of days as my great friend Phil Swern has passed away. Phil was a brilliantly inventive man with a passion for music. He had a vast career as a record and radio producer, deviser of tv formats and as the guiding light and co-creator of Popmaster,’ the radio presenter wrote.

‘He was a one-man fount of all pop knowledge, starting his record collection as a boy and still displaying the same enthusiasm into his seventies.

‘Without him, there would be no Popmaster, on radio or tv. He leaves a giant gap in my life and in the lives of so many.’

Blackburn, 81, also shared a heartfelt tribute, writing: ‘I am very sad to say that my dear friend of over 60 years and producer of ⁦@BBCRadio2 Sound of the Sixties passed away yesterday afternoon after a long illness.

‘I am so glad I saw him and his wife Lynsey last Friday. Phil, the Collector, Swern will be missed by us all.’

In a message shared on X, PopMaster honoured Swern’s contribution to the show, which read: ‘Sadly today, we said goodbye to Phil Swern, the Collector for many years the driving force behind Popmaster’s content.

‘His wife Lyndsey was at his side. His favourite song was Nat King Coles, What a Wonderful World. We will miss our gentle man.’

Musician and journalist Bob Stanley wrote: ‘Goodbye Phil Swern, who produced hundreds of hours of my favourite radio shows (Sounds Of The 60s, Pick Of The Pops).

‘He also had an eye-wateringly large record collection, so big it was housed in a former church. On top of the that, he wrote this belter,’ as he shared a link to Polly Brown’s 1974 song Up in a Puff of Smoke.

Radio scheduler Luke Davies shared: ‘Extremely Sad News to wake up to this morning.

‘Phil Swern is one of the Hidden Gems of Radio production. Without his Amazing Input, we wouldn’t have heard some Brilliant Radio.

‘This morning Radio, has lost one of the best producers it had. Sleep Tight Phil.’

During an interview with Long Live Vinyl, Swern opened up about his vast record collection, telling the publication: ‘I don’t know if it’s the biggest collection in the world, it’s hard to say as there are so many collectors out there, but it is probably one of the biggest collections in Europe.’

He managed to obtain every Top 40 hit since the charts began in 1952.

‘I remember the last record I needed was Diana Decker’s Poppa Piccolino. I eventually found it at a car-boot fair that my parents had dragged me along to. There was a man with a box of records that I flipped through and there it was – it was amazing. He wanted 90p for it and I offered him 50. I would have paid £90 if he’d asked me,’ he said at the time.

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