DJ, first ever winner of I’m A Celebrity… and all-round nice guy Tony Blackburn, 81, is taking his show on the road, turning his Sounds Of The 60s (BBC Sounds’ most popular programme) into a live extravaganza with musicians, singers and that trademark Blackburn wit.
In this weekend’s 60 Seconds, he reflects on sharing too much over the airwaves, the truth about Motown greats and why he’s not retiring…
So, you’re back on the road with Sounds Of The 60s. Is it all groupies, late nights and riders?
No groupies. My audience are slightly older now. We get people coming up wanting selfies, which is lovely, but it’s designed for an older audience, 45 and over.
What happens in the show?
We have a seven-piece band, a couple of singers and we start in the early 60s and, during the course of the evening, you hear a hundred hits in medleys. We’re selling out everywhere. We sold 15,000 in a week! And they’re cheaper than Oasis tickets.
A lot of people think I’m going to come on stage and play records but none of that. In between the medleys, I’ll come out and talk about pirate radio and Radio 1, tell a few jokes… I do sing Summer Holiday but it’s taken me four years to learn the words.
You were there at the birth of pop music in this country, weren’t you?
Radio Caroline was 60 years ago, 1964. We lived on the ship. We sailed under the Panamanian flag and so they couldn’t come on board because it would be like declaring war on Panama.
And you were responsible for bringing Motown to the UK…
I did the very first soul programme and toured with Diana Ross and got to know Stevie Wonder, people like Jackie Wilson and Luther Vandross. Diana Ross was very shy. Stevie Wonder was great.
Do you keep up with contemporary music?
Very much so! I love Alicia Keys and the new Tears For Fears record. I listen to all the new records every week. I do The Golden Hour on Radio 2 on Sunday evenings. Predominantly it’s a dance show and I like to promote new people if I can. I’m very lucky in that I’m one of very few DJs in the country that gets to choose my own music.
On stage, all the songs we’re doing are 60 years old or thereabouts and I do think that some of the modern songs that are coming out now are not going to last 60 years.
I think Abba and Madonna will last. Dancing Queen will last forever. But I think a lot of modern music is overproduced and you can’t hear the words.
How do you feel about being a national treasure?
Treasure should be buried!
Back in the 60s you were like a pop star.
When we opened Radio 1, the DJs were built up like pop stars so wherever we went, we were mobbed. It was amazing. With Radio 1, I was having 21, 22 million people [listening] every day, with that and Top Of The Pops…
Did you like it or was it scary?
Yeah. I loved being mobbed. I haven’t had a good mobbing for years.
Back in the day, you were the first famous person who had to deal with his private life being out there…
It was an interesting time. My marriage went wrong and I went on about it too much on the radio. It was stupid. Now, if it happened again… well, it won’t happen again, we’ve been married 32 years and are very happy but if it did I wouldn’t go on the radio about it. People did enjoy hearing about it – particularly men who were going through a divorce – but it was a bit boring and silly.
You won I’m A Celebrity… Would you say yes to Strictly?
I couldn’t because I’m no good at dancing. My wife was an actress and a dancer and she tried to teach me and gave up. She said, ‘You’ve got no rhythm in your body.’
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I have rhythm but it doesn’t seem to go into the rest of my body. I can give no hip action. And they’ve never asked.
So, no idea of retirement?
No, I hate the idea of retirement. I said to my wife and to the head of Radio 2, I won’t be an embarrassment to you: if I can’t do it as well as – hopefully! – I’m doing it at the moment, I’ll pack it in. I’m doing it now because I want to, not because I have to. And Sounds Of The 60s is Radio 2’s number one show on Sounds.
You’re in great shape…
Am I? I don’t think so. Just lucky. My dad, who was a doctor, said don’t do too much exercise because it’s bad for you. I do quite a lot of walking but I’d rather sit down in front of Coronation Street with a nice cup of tea.
Tony Blackburn’s Sounds Of The 60s Live Tour 2025 will begin in March and run throughout the year, tickets available at Ticketmaster.
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