Pioneer DJ Terry Farrugia Dies After Brave Battle With Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
Veteran radio DJ Terry Farrugia died this morning after a three-year battle with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).
This sad news comes just a few months after a massive push by local DJs saw a foundation called TerryTime (named after his first show on Island Sound Radio) raise over €180,000 to help the beloved veteran DJ with his treatment in America. This extra fundraising was required after Terry relapsed from several bouts of chemotherapy and other forms of treatment.
Terry was supported throughout his treatment by his wife, Krista, and two boys aged 10 and six.
“To all those who have helped, who have supported, to the staff of Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology centre and to all those who have kept us in their prayers… thank you”.
One of the many fundraisers organised by colleagues and friends of Terry included a massive party organised last March. Speaking to the press at the time, VIBE FM’s Frank Zammit told Lovin Malta “If Maltese radio had to have a godfather, Terry would be that man.”
“His love for radio and the way he can make the medium work is something I have always been in awe of.”
Earlier in the year, 89.7 Bay’s Daniel and Ylenia were live on air for 26 hours straight to also help raise funds for Terry Time. Farrugia was a DJ and eventually moved into a managerial position at Bay for several years, where he was one of the people who pioneered the Bay Music Awards in the early 2000s. Eventually, he shifted his passion to VIBE FM in 2009.
From marathon runners raising thousands to the X Factor Malta giving the fundraiser a prime-time shout out, the whole island united behind this cause for a man who did so much for local radio.
