Tottenham have paid tribute to Danny Kelly, the broadcaster and lifelong Spurs supporter, who has died aged 69, calling him “one of our own”.
Kelly spent close to two decades at talkSPORT, where he hosted Trans-Europe Express, after joining the station in 2007. He had stepped back from his role there after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. talkSPORT announced his death on Wednesday.
Before that he presented a sports show on BBC London, worked alongside Danny Baker on BBC radio in the 1990s, and edited both the New Musical Express and Q magazine.
What did Tottenham say about Danny Kelly?
The club’s statement read: “The entire Tottenham family mourns the loss of one of our own, broadcasting legend Danny Kelly. Our thoughts and love are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time. Rest in peace, Danny.”
Kelly was a lifelong Spurs fan, and his colleagues remembered it. Reporter Alex Crook, a talkSPORT colleague, recalled that he had “a wonderful day with him watching Spurs’ last game at White Hart Lane”, the ground we looked back on in our history of Tottenham through the ages.
“I love football, Stan. I love it”
talkSPORT’s statement ended with one of his own lines: “‘I love football, Stan. I love it.’ We loved you, Danny. We’ll miss you dearly.” The station also described him as someone who “brought extraordinary wit, warmth and knowledge to our airwaves”.
Baker, his long-time partner on air, wrote: “My great friend, supreme broadcaster and funniest man I ever knew, Danny Kelly, died yesterday afternoon. I cannot believe I will never hear his voice again.”
George Cummins of BBC Radio 5 Live, a friend and former colleague, said: “Danny had an extraordinary knowledge of music and football. His ability to combine the two on air made him an incredible broadcaster.”
The message he left listeners
Kelly spoke openly about his illness on Trans-Europe Express in June, when he told listeners he had cancer of the oesophagus and faced a long programme of treatment. He used that moment to urge others to act early.
“If you know something is not quite right in your body, for God’s sake, go to the doctor. Get yourself checked out,” he said. “99 per cent of the time, it will be nothing. But if it is something, the sooner it’s caught, the better the chance of getting it sorted out.”
A sad week for the Tottenham family
It’s the second loss for Tottenham in a matter of days, after the death of Barry Daines, the goalkeeper who replaced Pat Jennings. Kelly never played for Spurs, but he was one of their own all the same. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
