Artists have been paying tribute to Dave Kilner, a presenter with Bauer-owned Sheffield-based radio station Hallam FM, and its sister stations, for quite some years, and something of a mover and shaker in the Sheffield music scene. Kilner died earlier this week, aged 48, after a short illness.
Paying tribute to the late DJ, singer Tony Christie, a close friend of Kilner, told reporters: "He helped a great number of bands get started, and championed many that became very big - like Def Leppard, Human League and Heaven 17. He loved to talk about music - it was his life - and when you talked to him about the music business, he could just reel off these names - his knowledge of the business was staggering. He had time for everyone and was such a genuinely nice man".
The lead singer of one of the groups mentioned there, Def Leppard, so that's Rick Savage, also paid tribute, telling reporters: "He was always very close to the band and helped us tremendously in the early days. It's hard to put into words what a loss he will be because he was a great man - a great man who did so many things for so many people. I never for one second got the idea that he was doing something for himself - it was always for someone else".
Hallam FM have been paying tribute to Kilner since his death - both on air and via their website - and have announced they will launch a new award in his honour at the station's Night Of Honour Awards event. Dee Ford of parent company Bauer Media told reporters: "Having known and worked with Dave for many years at Hallam FM, I will always remember him as a real character in the office! Full of enthusiasm for the station, and with a real undeterred passion for the city of Sheffield as a whole. He will be sadly missed by many".