‘World Most Durable DJ’ Dies Aged 98
Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro, better known to his listeners as “Uncle Ray” has lost his life at the age of 98 after more than seven decades on the air.
A constant on Hong Kong’s airwaves for 70 years, “The World’s Most Durable DJ”, an accolade awarded to him by Guinness World Record, was a warm voice in the late night hours for generations of listeners, and instantly recognisable with his flat cap, beard and glasses.
He helped bring popular music to teenage audiences in the 1960s and provided a launch pad for a number of Hong Kong bands. While Elvis Presley eluded him, Cordeiro met most of the great singers, both local and international, from the 1950s onwards.
Cordeiro passed away on Friday in Hong Kong surrounded by family and friends, who sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as a farewell, a committee organising his funeral said.
The veteran DJ was “a prominent figure in Hong Kong popular culture” who made “considerable contributions to the Hong Kong music scene”, the city’s culture minister Kevin Yeung made this known on Saturday.
