The king of radio DJs Tony Blackburn returned to the breakfast slot last week, as he began his new job at Smooth Radio in London.
Initially standing in for another radio veteran, Graham Dene, Tony was back on the airwaves at 6am last Thursday, before broadcasting in his own new slot on the weekend breakfast show.
It was quite interesting listening to him broadcast, because I can hardly remember from his good old days at Radio 1. Is he really as cheesy as everyone makes out?
Well, clearly on his first day, he was actually very nervous. I heard him effectively say the same sentence three times in a row, when telling everyone that he was sitting in for Graham Dene and then starting his breakfast show on the Saturday.
However, by the weekend, he was well into his stride talking about broadcasting from a rowing boat with a loudhailer off Frinton-on-Sea, and advising a caller on the differences between holidaying in Aruba or Antigua.
The thing about Tony Blackburn is that he clearly loves what he does as a job. Not only that, but he’s pretty darned good at it. You have to be to maintain a successful career for more than 40 years.
Tony, you might not be my preferred choice of DJ, but long may you continue to broadcast.
I felt the same way when Noel Edmonds did a few weeks on Radio 2 drivetime when Johnny Walker was ill. He sounded so good, especially when he told a funny (but of course, I can’t remember it) story about a goat, which was wonderful. I used to find Chris Evans unbearable,but as he’s got older, and less reliant on the ‘zoo radio’ format and more on his own skills, he really is terrific. He plays top tunes, and is really, really excellent with callers. He’s grown up at last!