Andy Kershaw, the veteran British broadcaster celebrated for championing world music and non-mainstream sounds on BBC Radio 1 for 15 years, has died at the age of 66 following a battle with spinal cancer diagnosed last August. Born in Rochdale and a graduate of the University of Leeds, Kershaw began his career at local radio before rising to national prominence on BBC Two's The Old Grey Whistle Test and later Radio 1, where he was widely regarded as a spiritual successor to the legendary DJ John Peel. His death marks the loss of a distinctive voice in British broadcasting, one who brought the music of Malawi, the Congo and South Africa to mainstream audiences and reported from conflict zones including the 1994 Rwandan genocide and post-civil war Sierra Leone.