(born January 1943)

Tony Blackburn's first ambition was to be a singer - indeed he was later to have modest hits with 'So Much Love' (1968) and 'It's Only Love' (1969) - but when the 'pirate' Caroline South revolutionised UK pop radio in 1964, he successfully applied to be a disc jockey and first broadcast in July that year. In 1965 the rival Radio London invited him to jump ship, on condition that he changed his name to Mark Roman, but Blackburn resisted, joining under his own name the following year.

His breezy banter, punctuated by the recorded barks of his canine sidekick Arnold, quickly made him a listeners' favourite, and he was brought ashore by the BBC as part of the advance party that would helm Radio 1 when the new network was launched in September 1967. After a stint on the Light Programme's 'Midday Spin', his was the first voice heard on Radio 1, when he introduced The Move's 'Flowers In The Rain' on his breakfast show. Over the years he moved backwards through the daytime schedule, from early to mid-morning, then midday, and finally mid-afternoon.

In 1980 he took over Saturday morning's children's request show 'Junior Choice', and in 1984 moved to BBC Radio London, where he hosted a morning show that mixed soul music with bawdy innuendo. In 1988 he switched to the commercial station Capital Gold, where he remained for fifteen years, his career completing a circular course with his return to breakfast show presentation on Classic Gold in March 2003 (via a stint as King of the I'm a Celebrity jungle).

That career of nearly 40 years was enough to see Blackburn inducted in the inaugural UK Radio Hall of Fame in 2003 - but he has carried on, and shows no signs of stopping. In 2004 he rejoined BBC Radio London, in 2008 he took over Weekend Breakfast on Smooth Radio, and in 2010 was back at the BBC with Radio 2's Pick of the Pops.

Seemingly never content with broadcasting on just one station, he is now approaching 80 and broadcasting on BBC Radio 2 (Sounds of the 60s, and The Golden Hour), BBC Radio London (Sunday Soul Show), and his local commercial station KMFM on Sunday afternoons.