Tony Blackburn

Born in the town of Guildford, Surrey in 1943, Tony was educated at Millfield Public School in Somerset and Bournemouth College. The son of a doctor from Lilliput near Poole, Dorset, he made his first appearance in public with the Jan Ralfini Dance Orchestra at the Bournemouth Pavilion while still at College. In 1964, Tony joined pirate broadcaster Radio Caroline as a DJ. He rapidly became successful on the basis of his informal, American influenced presentation in the face of the much more staid style of his contemporaries. After a spell on Radio London, where he really made his name, Tony was hired as the first of a new generation of DJs for the BBC's newly established pop station, Radio One in 1967. The first DJ heard on the new station that was to change the face of British music, his "Breakfast Show" programme soon became popular, ensuring that he rapidly became a household name (who can forget Arnold the dog!) and ran for 10 years. Also in 1967, Tony started a 17 year run as one