Andy Kershaw

Andrew "Andy" J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is an English broadcaster, known for his interest in world music.

Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, spoken word performance from the likes of Ivor Cutler and other music from around the world.

Early life and education

Kershaw was born in Littleborough, Lancashire, on 9 November 1959. His sister is fellow broadcaster Liz Kershaw. The son of a headmaster and headmistress, Kershaw's parents instilled in him the ethics of education and self-improvement at an early age. As a party trick aged two, he would name the whiskered military men in his father's history books of the Great War, but he never felt the love or pride from them that he did get from his grandparents, who provided a home from home. Watching the first American space walk on TV in 1965 made a strong impression of adventure, possibility and achievement on the young Kershaw, as did his education at the hands of the German ex-refugee nuns at Rochdale Convent.