Radio 2 star and PopMaster creator Phil Swern has died aged 76: Tony Blackburn and Ken Bruce lead heartfelt tributes to their ‘great friend’

Radio 2 star and PopMaster creator Phil Swern has died aged 76 after suffering with a ‘long illness’.

Many of his celebrity pals including Tony Blackburn and Ken Bruce were the first to pay tribute to their ‘great friend’ after hearing of his shock death.

Sharing his devastation on X, Ken wrote: ‘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.

‘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.’

Tony also penned: ‘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.’

PopMaster’s official X account announced the news to fans on Sunday morning with an emotional tribute.

It 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.’