In memory of John Burns, a gentle, funny man with music in his heart – Hayley Matthews

I received the terribly sad news recently that John Burns, my ex-partner of six years, had passed. It doesn’t feel real and it doesn’t seem fair.

He’d been very unwell for the last few years but I only recently found out. It has been such sad news to take in and I feel truly devastated. I’ve cried hard about the loss of John’s life, which he didn’t deserve, I cry for his sisters losing their “wee John”, I cry at the thought of his mum losing her son and I cry for the passing of someone loved by so so many.

I’m finding it hard to put into words but I’m trying. I’m trying because there are so many people who knew John and are shocked by the awful news. People we worked with him at Kingdom FM, Real Radio and many other radio stations have been in touch to express their sympathies. He was well known and a regular voice on local radio stations when we worked together and he was always reading the traffic and travel all over the country. His deep, soft voice filled the airwaves with reassurance and was known by so many.

But he was a DJ at heart and disco was his thing. Do you know what I mean when I say there’s always a song that takes you to someone? For me it’s Jimmy “Bo” Horne’s Spank. We would be driving home along a grey M8 listening to that but feeling like we were driving past Studio 54 in the late-70s.

I think that’s what music did for John, it lifted him, made him feel good and was an escapism.

Many a time I’d arrive home to be greeted with Whitney Houston blaring from our flat. A Wednesday afternoon at ours could easily have been mistaken for a Saturday night in The Street bar and he’d easily give Trendy Wendy a run for her money.

He loved music and that’s what I’ll always be grateful to him for; introducing me to disco, soul, funk and 80s pop.

He knew it all and his knowledge was phenomenal, and he was happy to take on new music, so much so that he even presented on Rock Radio. There was nothing that he couldn’t tackle with his musical knowledge.

I don’t want this to sound like an obituary but he was so well known in the radio industry that he deserves the recognition that he worked so very hard to achieve.

I was always amazed at his ability to graft so hard, even with little sleep. He could get up at 4am and go present a breakfast show bright as a button after finishing late.

I’ll always be grateful for a very happy six years together. He gave me peace, love and happiness in some very difficult times in my life. I’m very thankful to our friend Jim and to John’s sister Jac for giving me the chance to say goodbye to John in a letter and to thank him for all the happy memories. I’m also very grateful for getting to say goodbye. For John’s mum, the lovely Beth, who was like a mum to me when we were together, I’m sending so much love to you and John’s sisters Jaqueline, Linda and Angela. John didn’t deserve to die, he was one of the softest, funniest, gentlest giants there ever will be and every inch of his 6ft 4in frame will be truly missed.

For those not able to attend John’s funeral today please play a song that makes you think of him, one that gives you fond memories. I hope you’re up there John, free of pain now, filling the clouds above us with a rainbow of tunes. Night, from Wee Hayley X.