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The profile · researched 7 September 2026
Tony Blackburn’s Sounds of the 60s Live keeps the jukebox turning
The first voice ever heard on BBC Radio 1 in 1967, Tony Blackburn has parlayed six decades behind the mic into a touring theatre show fronting a crack band through 1960s hits. In 2026 he’s back on the road across the UK while continuing his Radio 2 duties.
From pirate decks to national breakfast
Tony Blackburn’s path to the stage began at sea. He joined Radio Caroline South in 1964 before a stint at Radio London, then crossed to the BBC in the summer of 1967. At 7am on 30 September 1967 he opened BBC Radio 1, cueing up The Move’s Flowers in the Rain and ushering in Britain’s national pop station. That moment, documented repeatedly by the BBC and radio historians, fixed his public profile as the cheerful ringmaster of mainstream pop and soul.
Blackburn also had a go at the charts himself. So Much Love reached No. 31 in February 1968 on MGM, and Its Only Love peaked at No. 42 in April 1969. The records were modest hits, but they underlined his affinity with polished pop and the Motown sound that would run through his broadcasting. Decades later he would return to that era with Sounds of the 60s on BBC Radio 2 and, eventually, with a live spin-off robust enough to fill theatres in its own right.
The work that endures: on air, every week
Since 4 March 2017 Blackburn has presented Sounds of the 60s on Radio 2 in the early Saturday slot (6–8am), taking over from the late Brian Matthew. In July 2024 the network marked “60 years of Tony on the radio”, building a day’s programming around his first pirate broadcast on 25 July 1964 and flagging a Summer of ’64 special on Sounds of the 60s (27 July 2024) and a Motown‑focused Golden Hour the following evening (28 July 2024).
A further development arrived at the turn of this year. Tony Blackburn’s Sounds of Soul launched as a weekly strand from 1 January 2026, complementing his 60s brief with an hour of classic and feel‑good soul. The show now appears regularly across the schedule – recent listings through August and early September 2026 carry it in the small hours at weekends – while Sounds of the 60s continues in its habitual two‑hour Saturday morning berth. The combination frames his role in the live show: one foot in precisely archived radio curation, one in the communal experience of singing along to the hits.
The 2026 run: dates, rooms and the people who put it there
The current theatre tour is produced by Senbla, who list Sounds of the 60s Live, hosted by Tony Blackburn OBE, running from 9 June to 12 November 2026. Individual dates are placed via local venues and national ticket agents. September’s cluster includes Torquay’s Princess Theatre on Wednesday 2 September 2026 (7.30pm), the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham on Tuesday 22 September 2026 (7.30pm), and York Barbican on Tuesday 29 September 2026 (7.30pm). Listings across major sites show further stops into October and November.
The marketing copy is consistent: Blackburn comperes, the Sounds of the 60s All Star Band & Singers do the heavy lifting, and the repertoire spans British beat and American soul – The Beatles and The Rolling Stones alongside Diana Ross & The Supremes, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. The promoter and venues sell it as a night built around stories and songs rather than a DJ set, which tracks with what’s delivered on the night (see below).
Inside the show: two sets, hits wall‑to‑wall, stories in between
Venues publish unusually specific timings for this tour. Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall lists a first set from 7.30pm to 8.45pm, a 20‑minute interval, and a second set from 9.05pm to 10.15pm. No support act is advertised; the show starts on time and runs to a full two‑and‑a‑bit hours including the break. On stage, Blackburn anchors the evening – introducing numbers, dropping brief anecdotes about the records and artists, and cueing the band. The Sounds of the 60s All Star Band & Singers handle the catalogue authentically and at pace, with lead vocal duties shared between singers while the band switch comfortably from Merseybeat to Motown and back again.
Local write‑ups from recent tours give a sense of the room. A Torbay Weekly piece filed after a sell‑out at the Princess Theatre (6 April 2025) called it “a genuine, joyous celebration”, capturing the show’s atmosphere: a crowd on its feet for the big choruses, light‑touch nostalgia in the inter‑song patter, and the sense of a radio institution made flesh. The format was similar the previous autumn at Ipswich Regent (26 September 2023), where the in‑house review noted Blackburn fronting “a joyous celebration of sixties pop” with the touring band and singers. Customer reviews posted to Manchester’s theatre guide in June 2026 echo the same takeaways – solid live vocals, a set stuffed with 60s staples, and Blackburn’s buoyant presence. Together, the accounts point to a well‑oiled production that knows exactly what its audience came for and lets little get in the way of the songs.
Standing in 2026: recognition, resilience and a full diary
This run goes out with Blackburn newly decorated. He was made an OBE in the King’s New Year Honours list published at the end of December 2023, and received the insignia at Windsor Castle on 20 March 2024. The honour sits alongside his industry accolades, including the Radio Academy’s Pioneer Award (April–May 2023).
There has been jeopardy along the way. In April 2023 he stepped off air on medical advice following an infection, later speaking about a spell in hospital with pneumonia and sepsis; Radio 2 confirmed his return to live shows the following month and Sounds of the 60s resumed. Since then the radio workload has grown rather than shrunk, and the theatre tour has remained a staple. As of early September 2026, the BBC schedules still carry his Saturday morning 60s show and his newer Sounds of Soul, while Senbla and venues continue to add dates through the autumn for Sounds of the 60s Live. The broadcast studio and the theatre stage, the two poles of his working life, look secure.
The show, now
The 2026 theatre show runs to two full sets with a 20‑minute interval – Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall lists 7.30–8.45pm for Set One and 9.05–10.15pm for Set Two. No opener is billed. Blackburn comperes, dropping short stories between numbers while the Sounds of the 60s All Star Band & Singers handle a brisk, high‑hit‑rate repertoire that moves from British beat staples (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones) to Motown classics (Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder). Recent local coverage – including a Torquay review on 6 April 2025 and theatre write‑ups from 2023 – reports a crowd in sing‑along mode and a show that prioritises familiar arrangements and momentum; customer reviews posted in June 2026 say much the same. Expect a prompt start, two well‑paced halves and little in the way of staging gimmicks beyond a tight band, shared lead vocals and Blackburn’s steady hand on the tiller.
Researched from downloads.bbc.co.uk · trch.co.uk · senbla.com · yorkbarbican.co.uk · ticketmaster.co.uk · ticketmaster.co.uk · ticketmaster.co.uk · radiotoday.uk
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