Veteran British disc jockey John Peel has died in Peru while on holiday in the ancient Inca city of Cuzco.
His employer, the BBC and the British embassy confirmed the news.
The 65-year-old suffered a heart attack shortly after being taken ill during the working holiday with his wife Sheila.
Peel, born in 1939, was one of Britain's original pirate radio disc jockeys in the 1960s, broadcasting from ships anchored just outside British waters that won huge followings.
In the late 1970s he championed punk rock to the consternation of many of his radio contemporaries, who were still playing rock supergroups and were convinced the new music fad would never had any real impact.
BBC Director of Radio & Music Ms Jenny Abramsky said Peel was "a unique broadcaster whose influence on Radio 1 could be felt from its very first days."
"He nurtured musicians and listeners alike introducing them to new sounds.
"He had a remarkable rapport with all his listeners. Everyone at BBC Radio is devasted by the news. John is simply irreplaceable. Our hearts go out to Sheila and his children."