Tony Blackburn

Anthony Kenneth Blackburn Template:Postnominals (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years.

Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, initially broadcasting on the BBC Light Programme.

Blackburn was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> at its launch, on 30 September 1967, and has had several stints working for the corporation. He has also worked for Capital London, Classic Gold Digital and BBC Local Radio, and currently BBC Radio 2 and British Forces Broadcasting Service. He has also had a singing career. As a DJ, Blackburn is known for his championing of Motown and soul music as well as his popular presenting style.

In 2002, Blackburn was the first king of the jungle (winner) of the British reality TV series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Early life

Blackburn was born in Guildford, Surrey, on 29 January 1943.<ref>Tony Blackburn, Oxford Reference. Retrieved 27 January 2021</ref> In 1946 the family moved to Poole, Dorset, where his youngest sister, Jacqueline, was born, suffering from polio and unable to walk.<ref name="Woods"/> Blackburn's father, Kenneth Fleming Blackburn,<ref name=":0" /> was a GP and his mother, Pauline Cubitt (née Stone), was a nurse. He was educated at Castle Court School in Corfe Mullen, near Poole in Dorset. He gained entry to Millfield in Somerset on a sports scholarship and captained the school's cricket team.<ref name="Hattenstone">Template:Cite news</ref>

Blackburn left before taking any examinations, but gained O-levels following private tuition, and enrolled for an HND course in business studies at Bournemouth Technical College.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

Early career as disc jockey

After beginning his career as a singer, Blackburn then worked as a DJ for the offshore pirate radio stations Radio Caroline and Radio London (1964–1967), before joining the BBC in the summer of 1967, initially broadcasting on the BBC Light Programme.<ref name="LarkinGE">Template:Cite book</ref>

After a simulcast with BBC Radio 2 hosted by Paul Hollingdale, Blackburn was the first DJ to be heard on BBC Radio 1 when it officially launched at 7 am on 30 September 1967,<ref name="Radio 1 & 2 50th anniversary">Template:Cite news</ref> with his first words on the new station being: "And good morning everyone! Welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1!"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The Move's "Flowers in the Rain" was the first complete record he played.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Blackburn recalled in 2014: "My job was to entertain and tell corny jokes, not have opinions or talk politics. If I wanted to wish the Queen a happy birthday, I had to get clearance from above."<ref name="Woods">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In the early years of his Radio 1 career Blackburn often employed an audio clip of a barking dog, "Arnold", over an extract of Johnny Dankworth's 1964 tune "Beefeaters", which he had previously used at Radio Caroline and Radio London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At first he was associated mainly with mainstream pop, but he later championed soul music. It was largely due to him that "I'm Still Waiting" by Diana Ross, which was initially just an album track, was released as a single in the UK in 1971 and reached number one. He was a regular host of Top of the Pops for more than a decade and he appeared with fellow DJs Noel Edmonds and Kenny Everett on the 500th show special where he performed the spoken part of "Won't Somebody Dance with Me" and then danced with singer Lynsey de Paul.Template:Citation needed

In 1968, he fronted his own show, Time For Blackburn, produced by Southern Television for the ITV network.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> "The Radio 1 DJs were a massive attraction. We were mobbed everywhere we went", Blackburn told Simon Hattenstone,<ref name="Hattenstone"/> referring to personal appearances. "It was all a bit mad, but great fun", he told Judith Woods in 2014. "The DJs were built up to be stars in our own right, and as a result we were as famous as the artists we played."<ref name="Woods"/>

In 1973, when his pantomime performance was interrupted by a power cut, he said the miners should "go back to work". He was admonished by management and taken off-air for two weeks.<ref name="Hattenstone"/> In an interview for the Radio Academy's Radio Talk podcast in 2013, Blackburn said that it is "not advisable" for a broadcaster to reveal their political allegiances. In this interview, he said that he is "not a great lover of the TUC or of unions ... but I keep it to myself now."<ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref>

Singing career

He was in a group called Tony Blackburn and the Rovers which at one point included Al Stewart; they performed in Bournemouth and the surrounding areas. His singing career failed to take off, although three studio albums and fourteen singles were released, of which two, "So Much Love" and "It's Only Love", made the UK Top 40 in 1968 and 1969 respectively.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> "So Much Love" suffered from a shortage of copies because "the pressing plant went on strike, so nobody could get the record", he once recalled. "I don't think the strike was anything to do with the record, though it might have been... quality control or something."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1972, he released a self-titled album on the RCA label. Two of the tracks were released as singles: "Chop Chop", written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and "House of Cards", written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Green.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His version of Doris Troy's "I'll Do Anything" was recorded in 1969 for his second album, Tony Blackburn, which was released on the Polydor label. This version of the Gamble and Huff song was re-discovered by Northern soul fans when it was pressed up as a white label<ref>Keep on Burning - a Northern soul documentary produced by Outta Sight Records on Talking Pictures TV between 12:05pm-2:05pm on 19 October 2021 with Tony Blackburn, Marc Almond and Ian Levine</ref> and became a hit on the scene's dancefloors. The single was re-released as a single under the pseudonym Lenny Gamble on Casino Classics in June 1978, with the pseudonym being a portmanteau of songwriters Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble.Template:Citation needed

All of Blackburn's singles, including "I'll Do Anything" and "House of Cards" were released in 2012 on a CD compilation album The Singles Collection 1965–1980 on the Cherry Red label.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed

In 2007, Blackburn featured on a dance remix of "I Am A Cider Drinker" by English Scrumpy & Western band, The Wurzels. He also appeared in the video.

From 1973 to 1984

In June 1973, he took over Jimmy Young's mid-morning slot when Young moved across to Radio 2, where he introduced "The Golden Hour". The feature was to prove durable, being carried on by Simon Bates, Simon Mayo, and Chris Moyles when they subsequently took over that time slot.

Over several years of the 1970s, Blackburn was a co-presenter on the BBC's summer programme Seaside Special, alongside other well-known names from BBC Radio, such as Dave Lee Travis and David Hamilton.

With Maggie Philbin at a Radio 1 Roadshow in the early 1980s

At the start of 1980 he took over from Ed Stewart as the presenter of Junior Choice, broadcast on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8Template:Nbspam to 10Template:Nbspam, while continuing to present the Sunday chart show until the end of 1981. He was succeeded by Tommy Vance. During 1982, BBC Radio 1 dropped the name Junior Choice and the show became the Tony Blackburn's Saturday Show and Tony Blackburn's Sunday Show. Blackburn hosted both shows until his final show on 23 September 1984.

In addition to his Radio 1 weekend show, he joined BBC Radio London in 1981, where he presented the afternoon show. It was here that he showed his appreciation of soul music. "Soul music is sexy music, raunchy music. I didn't want it to be a niche thing, I wanted to bring it to a mass audience. I wanted cab drivers to listen to it because I think pop soul is fabulous, I do, really", he told Simon Hattenstone.<ref name="Hattenstone"/> He left the station after over 40 years in December 2023.

From the mid to late 1980s, Blackburn presented the show "Soul Station" on BFBS Radio.

Blackburn had a difficult relationship with fellow DJ John Peel, whom he recalled saying: "'People don’t realise how much you’ve done for soul music', and I said: 'I bet you’d never say that publicly', and he said: 'Oh no!'"<ref name="Hattenstone"/>

Having left Radio 1 after seventeen years of broadcasting, he took over Radio London's weekday mid-morning show in 1984, playing a pure soul format.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

Later career

He joined Capital London in 1988,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> and was involved in the launch of Capital Gold London station, presenting programmes such as the Breakfast show, Weekends, Drivetime then the Weekday evening show playing his own choice of music, where he remained until 2002. He hosted similar shows on Jazz FM in London and Smooth FM Smooth, and the Real Radio Network.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1987, Blackburn made an extended appearance on the second ever edition of After Dark on Channel 4. In 1989, Blackburn co-presented the morning TV show Sky by Day on Sky One. The show aired weekdays at 11am and was broadcast live.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1992, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel while broadcasting his Capital Gold radio show at the company's studios in London.Template:Citation needed

In 2002, Blackburn was the winner of the first series of the British reality TV show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2004, Blackburn re-joined BBC Radio London, originally taking over a two-hour timeslot on Monday evening from 8pm to 10pm. Here he would be given free rein on his choice of music. In addition to this he also took over the station's Saturday Lunchtime show, broadcasting from 12noon to 2pm.

Blackburn began presenting the Breakfast show for Bedfordshire-based Classic Gold Digital in late 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was suspended in June 2004 for playing too many Cliff Richard records as the singer was not on the station's playlist. Noel Edmonds, whose company owned a majority shareholding, thought Blackburn would soon return to broadcasting for the station.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The suspension was short-lived. Blackburn won his dispute with management over the playlist a few days later, and Cliff Richard was added to it. "We should be playing him as much as The Beatles," said the station head.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While hosting the breakfast show, he left his Monday evening show on Radio London but continued to present Saturday Lunchtime.Template:Citation needed

"I’m still a part of the disco generation," Blackburn told The Times in December 2004.<ref name="Times2004">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> "There is no pretence there and it never seems to date. I think disco did much more as a contribution to music than Bob Dylan or Neil Young. People get snobbish about music. Disco never takes itself too seriously."<ref name="Times2004"/>

In early 2008, Blackburn took over Weekend Breakfast on Smooth Radio, originally broadcasting to London audiences only, but a couple of months later the show was networked across the Smooth Radio network.

On 6 November 2010, Blackburn replaced Dale Winton as the regular host of BBC Radio 2's Pick of the Pops programme.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One of his remaining ambitions was to present a programme on Radio 2. "I was 37 when I left Radio 1, and 2 seemed a natural progression. So it's only taken 30 years," Blackburn said in 2010.<ref name="Craig">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Blackburn presented the show every Saturday from 1pm to 3pm. He also presented shows on BBC Radio Berkshire from 10pm to 1am on Fridays and Sundays, and BBC London 94.9 on Sundays from 12noon to 3pm.

Between 2 July 2016 and June 2017, Blackburn presented a weekly four-hour soul music show, the Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6pm to 10pm on London's DAB station Thames Radio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 2007 to 2020, he presented a weekly three-hour show, Tony's Blackburn's Playlist every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm on KMFM in Kent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This included a retro chart feature for many years.

Blackburn has won two lifetime achievement awards from the Radio Academy, the second of which was to mark his 50 years of broadcasting.<ref name="Hattenstone"/>

In 2023, Blackburn launched the digital music channel That's 60s, focusing on 1960s music. He chose "Flowers in the Rain" as the first song to be played, similar to Radio 1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2024 he was featured in BBC's Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

BBC dismissal and return

On 24 February 2016, Blackburn was dismissed by the BBC in an announcement from Lord Hall, the corporation's Director General, stating that the contents of documents from the early 1970s were in conflict with evidence Blackburn had given to Dame Janet Smith's inquiry into Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse at BBC premises.<ref name="Foster">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Blackburn said he repeatedly told Smith and the BBC that he had never been interviewed about an alleged incident in the 1970s and that Smith's report made no suggestion that he was guilty of any misconduct whatsoever. Smith found Blackburn's denial that he was interviewed by light entertainment head Bill Cotton and Sir Brian Neill QC unsatisfactory.<ref name="Foster"/><ref name="Burgess260216">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore Template:Subscription required</ref> Neill had been appointed by the BBC to look into unrelated matters concerning Top of the Pops.<ref name="Burgess260216" /> Cotton's colleague, Tony Preston, had written a memo at the time concerning the interviews.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Neill, the only one of the three men still alive, initially declined to comment,<ref name="Burgess270216">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore Template:Subscription required</ref> but later said he had interviewed Blackburn and in 1972, had cleared him of wrongdoing.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Blackburn complained that the BBC was dismissing him and damaging his career based on the discrepancy.<ref name="Rawlinson250216">Template:Cite news</ref> He said that like Smith's report, a coroner's inquest and a police inquiry had made no suggestion that he was guilty of any misconduct, adding that the report was a "whitewash" and that he had been "scapegoated" for giving his best recollections of events 45 years before. He asked: "Given Dame Janet Smith's concerns of a culture of fear in coming forward at the BBC, what whistle-blower at the BBC would ever come forward when they see the way they have hung me out to dry?"<ref name=hungouttodry>Tony Blackburn: 'I've been hung out to dry by BBC' dated 25 February 2016 at bbc.co.uk</ref> He said he intended to take legal action against the BBC.<ref name="Johnston">Template:Cite news</ref>

Nina Myskow commented on Radio 2: "It should be a sad black day for the BBC because of the revelations about the whole Savile episode, but in fact that's been buried very cleverly by the BBC as usual by sacking Tony Blackburn."<ref name=hungouttodry/>

Blackburn continued to present a show on KMFM. A spokesman for the station said, "He is a great asset, a fantastic broadcaster and someone we are proud to work with."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2016, it was reported that Blackburn would again be working for the BBC, presenting an hour-long programme on BBC Radio 2 on Friday evenings, and additionally returning to BBC Local Radio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He returned to BBC Radio 2 on New Year's Eve 2016, and to BBC Local Radio on both New Year's Day and 6 January 2017, opening with Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive".<ref name="back">Template:Cite news</ref>

Blackburn now presents Sounds of the 60s on Radio 2, having taken over on 4 March 2017<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> from Brian Matthew, who hosted it for 27 years. The show is now broadcast live on Saturday mornings between 06:00 and 08:00, and he now also presents his Golden Hour music programme on Sunday nights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 30 September 2017, Blackburn recreated his first Radio 1 breakfast show on BBC Radio 2, playing the songs from vinyl, and he later joined Nick Grimshaw, and guests Mike Read, Simon Mayo and Sara Cox for a special show to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launches of Radio 1 and Radio 2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2020, Blackburn teamed up with Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson to present a new series of podcasts entitled Ricky and Tony's Pop Detectives. The shows centre around Blackburn and Wilson trying to unravel long-held myths and rumours about pop stars' lives and their music. The first episode centred around whether Debbie Harry had really been in a car with serial killer Ted Bundy, as she had previously claimed. The series was released to positive reviews and a further series was released in the summer of 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 2 January 2023, in the month in which he celebrated his 80th birthday, Blackburn presented a two-hour slot, "Your Soul Mate"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for BBC Radio 2, sharing his favourite genre of music and his personal memories associated with the playlist.

Personal life

On 2 March 1972, Blackburn married actress Tessa Wyatt, at Caxton Hall in Westminster.<ref name="PA250216">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The couple had a son,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who was born on 8 April 1973, but they divorced in November 1977 after separating the previous year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his autobiography Blackburn said that he slept with hundreds of women after his divorce. In the early 1980s he suffered from depression.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 13 June 1992, he married Debra "Debbie" Thomson, a theatrical agent, at St Margaret's, Westminster.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They have a daughter, who was born in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> He has two grandsons.<ref name="Woods"/>

Blackburn has been a vegetarian since he was four.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> He lives in Arkley, London Borough of Barnet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2023, Blackburn took a leave of absence from his radio work and other work commitments. Whilst working in Milton Keynes he felt unwell and on returning home, he collapsed and was admitted to hospital with a chest infection; he fully recovered and resumed his radio work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honours

Blackburn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and charity.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

The two tables below only show performances Blackburn has been in as an actor/playing a fictional character. Appearing on television as himself/guest, Blackburn has chronologically been on the following films and shows: Five O'Clock Club, Discs a Go-Go, Juke Box Jury, New Releases, All Systems Freeman, Top of the Pops, Dee Time, The Golden Shot, The Record Star Show, Whislte Stop, Time for Blackburn, Crackerjack!, Des O'Connor on Stage, Election 70, The Roy Castle Show, Man Alive, This Is Your Life, Disco, Lift Off with Ayshea, Family Life, Ask Aspel, 2Gs and the Pop People, The Generation Game, Cilla, Radio Wonderful, Husband of the Year, Celebrity Squares, The Saturday Special, Seaside Special, The Val Doonican Music Show, Radio 1 on the Road, New Faces, Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Star Games, Square One, Family Fortunes, Blankety Blank, Punchlines, Terry and June, Riverside, Cheggers Plays Pop, Saturday Superstore, The Time of Your Life, 8 Days a Week, Wogan, Sky Trax, Oxford Road Show, The Last Resort, Through the Keyhole, After Dark, Black and White Pirate Show, Rory Bremner, A Question of Entertainment, The Media Show, Sky Star Search, A Royal Gala, Style Trial, Without Walls, KYTV, Public Enemy Number One, Parallel 9, Southern Gold, The Brain Drain, Noel's Garden Party, The Music Game, Whale On, The Talking Show, Digging the Dancing Queens, Smashie and Nicey, Incredible Games, The Movie Game, Pebble Mill at One, That's Showbusiness, Just a Minute, Live & Kicking, Tribute to Kenny Everett, The London Programme, The James Whale Show, Esther, Street Party, Top Ten, Bookmark, Six Go Mad, Light Lunch, Auntie's TV Favourites, Computer's Don't Bite, Selection Box, Baby Baby, Radio 1 Night Special, Talking Telephone Numbers, Audience with Freddie Starr, Auntie, Tellystack, H&p@bbc, Animals Do the Funniest Things, Days Like These, Sounds of 69, Gary Glitter Show, Night Fever, Trigger Happy TV, Freak Out, I Love 1970s, Winston's Wonderland, RDA, Happy Hour, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, The Other Half, The Bill, The Real..., I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, The Entertainers, Stars in Their Eyes, V Graham Norton, Car Junkies, Weakest Link, This Morning, Harry Hill, Strictly Come Dancing, The Dan and Dusty Show, The Wright Stuff, Comic Relief Does Fame Academy, Hell's Kitchen, Return of The Goodies, Celebrity Supermarket Sweep, Balls of Steel, Loose Women, The Xtra Factor, Countdown, Children in Need, The Slammer, The One Show, Celebrity Ding Dong, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Dancing on Ice, Donny & Marie: Las Vegas Live, Shooting Stars, Live from Studio Five, The Funny Side of..., The Alan Titchmarsh Show, Celebrity Coach Trip, Eggheads, Daybreak, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, 12 Again, Pointless Celebrities, Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, It Was Alright in the..., Sunday Brunch, Jeremy Vine, The Independent Republic, and The Wheel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Film

Year	Title	Role
1970	Simon, Simon	Fireman
2011	Kill Keith	Tony Burnblack

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Theatre 625	Radio voice	One episode
1969	Fraud Squad	Radio DJ
1971	The Liver Birds		One episode (uncredited)
1972	Softly, Softly: Task Force	Radio 1 DJ
1975	The Goodies	Himself	Two episodes
1985	The Gong Show		Television film
1989	The Little and Large Show		One episode
1991	The Lisa Maxwell Show	Guest
1992—1995	Noel's House Party		Two episodes
1996	The All New Adventures of Mr Blobby	Busker
1996—1999	The Queen's Nose	Presenter	Two episodes
2002	Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures	Disc jockey	One episode
2006	Comedy Lab	Himself
2009	The All Star Impressions Show	Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh
2012	Dead Boss	Himself	One episode
2014	The Life of Rock with Brian Pern	Reggie Yates / Himself	Two episodes
2022	Greatest Pop Videos	Narrator	One episode

External links

• Sounds of the 60s with Tony Blackburn (BBC Radio 2)
• Tony Blackburn's Golden Hour (BBC Radio 2)
• Template:IMDb name
• Audio: Interview with Paul Morley for The Observer, 2010