Murray Walker OBE, who died on 13 March 2021, aged 97, was the voice of Formula One for a quarter of a century, and his unmistakable style brought the sport to a new TV audience of tens of millions.
What made him different was the affection he generated, earning an almost pop-idol fame which always mystified him. To a world much larger than mere motor-racing enthusiasts, he was just ‘Murray’.
His father, Graham, was a top motorcycle racer in the 1920s and ’30s, went on to edit the magazine Motor Cycling and became a regular radio commentator.
Murray, born Graeme Murray Walker on 10 October 1923, followed in his footsteps, first as a ’bike racer without great success, and then at the microphone.
His first four-wheeled broadcast was at the 1949 British Grand Prix, but through the 1950s he was BBC Radio’s motorcycling expert.
He came to TV via motocross and then autocross, and soon he was being called on to commentate on any motorised sport – touring cars, F3, truck racing, even powerboats – except Formula One, which remained the preserve of the urbane, measured Raymond Baxter and, in any case, was not regularly covered.
