Tony Blackburn

Blackburn was born in Guildford, Surrey, on 29 January 1943,[https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095509607 Tony Blackburn, Oxford Reference]. Retrieved 27 January 2021 but in 1946 his family moved to Poole, Dorset, where his youngest sister, Jacqueline, was born. His sister was born suffering from polio and was unable to walk from birth. Blackburn's father, Kenneth Fleming Blackburn, 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.{{cite news|last=Hattenstone|first=Simon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/aug/10/-sp-tony-blackburn-john-peel-looked-upon-me-as-the-devil-for-some-reason|title=Tony Blackburn: 'John Peel looked upon me as the devil for some reason'|work=The Guardian|date=10 August 2014|access-date=25 February 2016}}

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.{{cite book |title=Poptastic My Life in Radio |first=Tony |last=Blackburn |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84403-600-4|publisher=Cassell Illustrated}}

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.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=253/4}}

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,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41414837|title=50 facts about Radio 1 & 2 as they turn 50|work=news.bbc.co.uk|date=30 September 2017|access-date=30 September 2017}} with his first words on the new station being: "And good morning everyone! Welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1!"{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01k1vrv|title=History of the BBC: Start of Radio 1 30 September 1967|website=BBC|date=30 September 2013|access-date=25 February 2016}}{{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Gillian |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3668186/The-day-we-woke-up-to-pop-music-on-Radio-1.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3668186/The-day-we-woke-up-to-pop-music-on-Radio-1.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The day we woke up to pop music on Radio 1|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=27 September 2007|access-date=25 February 2016}}{{cbignore}} The Move's "Flowers in the Rain" was the first complete record he played.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6960296.stm|title=Flower power|work=BBC News|date=24 August 2007|access-date=25 February 2016}} In a 2024 interview with Vernon Kay, Blackburn revealed that film of this scene had actually been recorded the previous day.{{cn|date=March 2024}} 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."{{cite news|last=Woods|first=Judith|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10789170/Tony-Blackburn-I-was-relaxed-because-I-was-on-Valium.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10789170/Tony-Blackburn-I-was-relaxed-because-I-was-on-Valium.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Tony Blackburn: 'I was relaxed because I was on Valium'|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=28 April 2014|access-date=25 February 2016}}{{cbignore}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2009/03/12/tony_arnold_feature.shtml|title=Missing Arnold reunited with Tony|website=Bbc.co.uk|date=15 January 2009|access-date=19 September 2017}}

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.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

In 1968, he fronted his own show, Time For Blackburn, produced by Southern Television for the ITV network. "The Radio 1 DJs were a massive attraction. We were mobbed everywhere we went", Blackburn told Simon 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."

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. 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."{{cite podcast|url=http://www.radioacademy.org/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2013-02-07-43217.mp3 |title=RadioTalk: Tony Blackburn at 70|publisher=Radio Academy |host=Tim Davie |date=7 February 2013 |time=23:30–24:30 |access-date=11 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116220102/http://www.radioacademy.org/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2013-02-07-43217.mp3 |archive-date=16 January 2014 }}

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. "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."{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Paul|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/film-and-tv/tony-blackburn-my-lifes-work-has-been-687863|title=Tony Blackburn: My life's work has been about talking nonsense|work=Manchester Evening News|date=10 January 2013|access-date=25 February 2016}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Tony-Blackburn-Tony-Backburn/release/4293251|title=Tony Blackburn – Tony Backburn|year=1972 |publisher=discogs|access-date=24 October 2018}} 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 labelKeep 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 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.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Tony-Blackburn-The-Singles-Collection-1965-1980/release/7999008|title=Tony Blackburn – The Singles Collection 1965–1980|website=Discogs.com|access-date=24 October 2018}}{{better source needed|date=December 2023}}

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. On 16 August 1975 he appeared singing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", with a lion tamer, in a cage of lions.{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/tonyblackburn/status/465267876006735872 |title=Tony Blackburn в Твиттере: Abba + Guests - Seaside Special 1976 BBCTv August 1976 Part 2 Of 2 (here I am with the Lions on Seaside Special) |access-date=29 July 2020 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226190108/https://twitter.com/tonyblackburn/status/465267876006735872 |url-status=dead }}

File:Blackburn & Philbin Radio 1 Roadshow early 1980s.jpg 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 8{{nbsp}}am to 10{{nbsp}}am, 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. 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!'"

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.

He joined Capital London in 1988, 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35658217|title=Profile: Tony Blackburn|work=BBC News|date=25 February 2016|access-date=25 February 2016}}

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 11:00 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

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!{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/66758/im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-of-here-the-past-winners#:~:text=Veteran+DJ+Tony+Blackburn+won,above+the+other+contestants%27+squabbling|title=I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here: the previous winners | The Week UK|website=The Week |date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120195941/https://www.theweek.co.uk/66758/im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-of-here-the-past-winners#:~:text=Veteran+DJ+Tony+Blackburn+won,above+the+other+contestants%27+squabbling|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=20 January 2021}}{{cite book |last=Busk-Cowley |first=Mark |title=I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!: The Inside Story |publisher=Bantam Press |date=2014 |pages=203–204 |isbn=978-0593073483}}

In 2004, Blackburn re-joined BBC Radio London, originally taking over a two-hour timeslot on Monday evening from 20:00 to 22:00. 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 12:00 to 14:00.

Blackburn began presenting the Breakfast show for Bedfordshire-based Classic Gold Digital in late 2003.{{cite news|last= MacDonald|first=Marianne|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/blackburn-is-back-7283073.html|title=Blackburn is Back|work=Evening Standard|date=30 March 2003|access-date=25 February 2016}} 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.{{cite news|last1=Hamilton|first1=Alan|last2=Malvern|first2=Jack|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/overdoing-sir-cliffs-hits-lands-tony-blackburn-a-long-summer-holiday-k8zvv30vw0s|title=Overdoing Sir Cliff's hits lands Tony Blackburn a long summer holiday|work=The Times|date=24 June 2004|access-date=25 February 2016}} {{subscription required}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3835743.stm|title=Blackburn victory over Cliff ban|work=BBC News|date=25 June 2004|access-date=25 February 2016}} Whilst doing the Breakfast show, he left his Monday evening show on Radio London but continued to present Saturday Lunchtime.

"I’m still a part of the disco generation," Blackburn told The Times in December 2004.{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/at-the-smoochy-bit-she-broke-off-and-did-her-own-thing-bqkmc056vs6|title=At the smoochy bit she broke off and did her own thing|work=The Times|date=28 December 2004|access-date=25 February 2016}} {{subscription required}} "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."

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.{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/sep/24/tony-blackburn-pick-pops |title= Tony Blackburn to present Pick of the Pops|work= The Guardian|first= John|last= Plunkett|date= 24 September 2010|access-date= 13 November 2010}} 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.{{cite news|last=Craig|first=Olga|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8038871/Tony-Blackburn-interview-So-what-if-people-call-me-cheesy.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8038871/Tony-Blackburn-interview-So-what-if-people-call-me-cheesy.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Tony Blackburn interview: 'So what if people call me cheesy?'|work=The Sunday Telegraph|date=3 October 2010|access-date=25 February 2016}}{{cbignore}} Blackburn presented the show every Saturday from 13:00 to 15:00. He also presented shows on BBC Radio Berkshire from 22:00 to 01:00 on Fridays and Sundays, and BBC London 94.9 on Sundays from 12:00 to 15:00.

Between 2 July 2016 and June 2017, Blackburn presented a weekly four-hour soul music show, the Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 18:00 to 22:00 on London's DAB station Thames Radio.{{Cite web|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2016/06/tony-blackburn-joins-thames-radio-schedule/|title=Tony Blackburn joins Thames Radio schedule|website=Radiotoday.co.uk|date=27 June 2016|access-date=27 June 2016}}

From 2007 to 2020, he presented a weekly three-hour show, Tony's Blackburn's Playlist every Sunday from 16:00 to 19:00 on KMFM in Kent.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kmfm.co.uk/on-air/tony-blackburns-playlist/|title=Tony Blackburn's Playlist - kmfm|date=4 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404005252/https://www.kmfm.co.uk/on-air/tony-blackburns-playlist/|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=4 April 2020}} 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.

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.freesat.co.uk/news/music-radio/tony-blackburn-thats-60s|website=freesat.co.uk|title=Legendary DJ Tony Blackburn on new music channel That's 60s|date=20 January 2023|accessdate=28 March 2023}}

In October 2024 he was featured in BBC's Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00240yc/mortimer-whitehouse-gone-fishing-series-7-4-river-trent-nottinghamshire-barbel|title=Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing - Series 7: 4. River Trent, Nottinghamshire - Barbel|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}

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.{{cite news|last1=Foster|first1=Patrick|last2=Ward|first2=Victoria|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12172689/Tony-Blackburn-sacked-by-BBC-ahead-of-sex-abuse-report.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12172689/Tony-Blackburn-sacked-by-BBC-ahead-of-sex-abuse-report.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Tony Blackburn sacked by BBC because his evidence to Savile review 'fell short'|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=25 February 2016|access-date=25 February 2016}}{{cbignore}} 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.{{cite news|last=Burgess|first=Kaya|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4699798.ece|title=I'm just a scapegoat, says Tony Blackburn|work=The Times|date=26 February 2016|access-date=27 February 2016}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} {{subscription required}} Neill had been appointed by the BBC to look into unrelated matters concerning Top of the Pops. Cotton's colleague, Tony Preston, had written a memo at the time concerning the interviews.{{cite news|last=Ward|first=Victoria|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12174280/BBC-memos-prove-that-Tony-Blackburn-was-quizzed-over-1971-sex-claim.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12174280/BBC-memos-prove-that-Tony-Blackburn-was-quizzed-over-1971-sex-claim.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=BBC memos 'prove that Tony Blackburn was quizzed over 1971 sex claim'|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=26 February 2016|access-date=26 February 2016}}{{cbignore}} Neill, the only one of the three men still alive, initially declined to comment,{{cite news|last=Burgess|first=Kaya|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4700696.ece|title=Savile inquiry chief shocked that BBC logs went missing|work=The Times|date=27 February 2016|access-date=27 February 2016}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} {{subscription required}} but later said he had interviewed Blackburn and in 1972, had cleared him of wrongdoing.{{cite news|last=Boyle|first=Danny|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12177392/Tony-Blackburn-was-interviewed-over-claims-he-seduced-girl-retired-judge-insists.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12177392/Tony-Blackburn-was-interviewed-over-claims-he-seduced-girl-retired-judge-insists.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Tony Blackburn: I did interview DJ over claims he seduced girl of 15, retired judge insists|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=29 February 2016|access-date=29 February 2016}}{{cbignore}}

Blackburn complained that the BBC was dismissing him and damaging his career based on the discrepancy.{{cite news|last1=Rawlinson|first1=Kevin|last2=Sweney|first2=Mark|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/25/bbc-tony-blackburn-savile-inquiry-evidence-janet-smith|title=BBC 'parted company' with Tony Blackburn over Savile inquiry evidence|work=The Guardian|date=25 February 2016|access-date=25 February 2016}} 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?"[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35662448 Tony Blackburn: 'I've been hung out to dry by BBC'] dated 25 February 2016 at bbc.co.uk He said he intended to take legal action against the BBC.{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=Ian|title=Tony Blackburn: I've been 'sacked by BBC' ahead of Jimmy Savile report|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/tony-blackburn-ive-been-sacked-by-bbc-ahead-of-jimmy-savile-report-a6894616.html|work=The Independent|date=25 February 2016|access-date=25 February 2016}}

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."

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."{{cite web|url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/2016/02/tony-blackburn-to-continue-with-kmfm-radio-show/|title=Tony Blackburn to continue with kmfm radio show|website=Radiotoday.co.uk|date=25 February 2016}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37703509|title=Tony Blackburn to return to the BBC|date=19 October 2016|website=Bbc.co.uk}} 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".{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38482007|title='Good Lord, I'm back': Tony Blackburn returns to BBC|work=BBC News|date=1 January 2017|access-date=16 September 2017}}

Blackburn now presents Sounds of the 60s on Radio 2, having taken over on 4 March 2017{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08fw43f|title=BBC Radio 2 – Sounds of the 60s, 25/02/2017|access-date=1 May 2017}} 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.{{cite web|title=New weekend schedule announced for Radio 2|url=https://www.digitalradiochoice.com/news/new-weekend-schedule-radio-2/|website=Digital Radio Choice|access-date=12 January 2018|date=11 February 2017}}

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.{{cite news|last1=Hepworth|first1=David|title=This week's best radio: Tony Blackburn's Sounds of the 60s|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/sep/30/this-week-best-radio-tony-blackburn-sounds-of-the-60s|access-date=12 January 2018|work=The Guardian|date=30 September 2017|author-link=David Hepworth}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ricky-tony-pop-detectives/id1494927374|title=Ricky & Tony: Pop Detectives on Apple Podcasts|website=Podcasts.apple.com|date=28 July 2020 |access-date=6 February 2021}}

On 2 January 2023, in the month in which he celebrated his 80th birthday, Blackburn presented a two-hour slot, "Your Soul Mate"{{Cite web |title=Tony Blackburn Your Soul Mate |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/01/tony-blackburn-your-soul-mate/ |access-date=11 January 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en}} for BBC Radio 2, sharing his favourite genre of music and his personal memories associated with the playlist.

In 1972, Blackburn married actress Tessa Wyatt.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/25/tony-blackburn-bbc-career-radio-1|title=Tony Blackburn: BBC presenter's career spans six decades|work=The Guardian|agency=Press Association|date=25 February 2016|access-date=25 February 2016}} The couple had a son,{{Cite web |date=8 February 2023 |title=@tonyblackburn |url=https://twitter.com/tonyblackburn/status/1623394097221320707?t=tPWP_yghiD6vbpNPedrE7Q&s=19 |access-date=4 March 2023 |website=Twitter |language=en}} who was born on 8 April 1973, but they divorced in November 1977 after separating the previous year.{{cite news|last=Blackburn|first=Tony|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/hedonism-addiction-and-300-one-nights-stands-the-confessions-of-tony-blackburn-6649391.html|title=Hedonism, addiction and 300 one nights stands – the confessions of Tony Blackburn|work=Evening Standard|date=28 September 2007|access-date=26 February 2016}} In June 1992, he married Debbie, a theatrical agent. They have a daughter, who was born in 1997.{{cite tweet|number=30891794682089474|user=tonyblackburn|title=Happy 14th Birthday to my wonderful Daughter Victoria.....have a lovely day Tori xxxxxx|date=28 January 2011}} He has two grandsons.

Blackburn has been a vegetarian since he was four.{{cite web|url=http://www.ivu.org/people/radio/blackburn.html |title=International Vegetarian Union – Tony Blackburn (1943– ) |website=International Vegetarian Union |year=2007 |access-date=10 November 2011}} He lives in Arkley, London Borough of Barnet.{{Cite web|url=https://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/where-does-tony-blackburn-live-in-hertfordshire-5656442|title=Tony Blackburn thanks Potters Bar pharmacy for being the best|first=Charlotte|last=Mclaughlin|date=3 May 2020|website=Welwyn Hatfield Times}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Delaney |first=Zoe |date=2023-12-30 |title=Tony Blackburn's health battles and Radio 2 absence explained as he's handed OBE |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/tony-blackburns-brave-health-battles-31768602 |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/tony-blackburn-bbc-health-update-b2398794.html | title=BBC Radio 2's Tony Blackburn reveals he had sepsis and pneumonia in health update | website=Independent.co.uk |first=Ellie |last=Muir| date=24 August 2023 }}

Blackburn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and charity.{{London Gazette|issue=64269|supp=y|page=N12|date=30 December 2023}}{{cite web |title=Awards for New Year 2024 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/658daadd80a3bb000d9d05bd/NY24_-_GOV.UK_New_Year_Honours_List_2024.pdf |website=www.gov.uk |access-date=30 December 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wqlv Sounds of the 60s with Tony Blackburn] (BBC Radio 2)
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b087nxg0 Tony Blackburn's Golden Hour] (BBC Radio 2)
• {{IMDb name|id=0085650|name=Tony Blackburn}}
• [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/may/28/tony-blackburn Audio: Interview with Paul Morley] for The Observer, 2010

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Category:1943 births

Category:Living people

Category:BBC Radio 1 presenters

Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters

Category:Capital (radio network) presenters

Category:English pop singers

Category:English radio DJs

Category:English television presenters

Category:I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) winners

Category:Musicians from Guildford

Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:Offshore radio broadcasters

Category:People educated at Millfield

Category:Pirate radio personalities

Category:Television presenters from Guildford