Blackburn was born in Guildford, Surrey, but in 1946 his family moved to Bournemouth, then in Hampshire, where his sister, Jacqueline, was born. His sister was born suffering from polio and has been unable to walk since birth. Blackburn's mother, Pauline Cubitt (nee Stone), was a nurse, and his father, Kenneth Fleming Blackburn, was a GP. He was educated at Castle Court School in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset.
Blackburn began presenting the Breakfast show for Classic Gold Digital, a station based in Bedfordshire, in 2003. He was suspended in late June 2004 for featuring too many Cliff Richard records. 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. 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. "I'm still a part of the disco generation", Blackburn told The Times in December 2004. "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." On Saturday 6 November 2010, Blackburn replaced Dale Winton as the regular host of BBC Radio 2's Pick of the Pops programme. 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. Blackburn presented the show every Saturday from 1 pm to 3 pm. He also presented shows on BBC Three Counties Radio and BBC Radio Berkshire from 9 to 11 am on Sundays, BBC London 94.9 on Sundays from 12 to 3 pm. Commencing 2 July 2016, Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm, on London's DAB station Thames Radio on 2 July 2016. He also presents a weekly three-hour show, Tony's Blackburn's Playlist every Sunday from 4 pm to 7 pm on KMFM Radio, Kent. Blackburn has won two lifetime achievement awards from the Radio Academy, the second of which was to mark his fifty years of broadcasting.
What was his last or current job?
Commencing 2 July 2016, Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, Commencing 2 July 2016, Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm, Commencing 2 July 2016, Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm, Commencing 2 July 2016, Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm, Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm,
Blackburn presents a weekly four-hour soul music show, Soul and Motown Show, every Saturday from 6 pm to 10 pm,