Tony Blackburn: ‘I never wanted to rebel. I had nothing to rebel against’

I don’t have a hard-luck story because I had a wonderful upbringing by the sea in Poole, Dorset with my parents, Pauline and Kenneth, and younger sister Jackie. My parents were good, decent people and brought me up to be kind to others. They weren’t strict and I never wanted to rebel because I had nothing to rebel against. They instilled strong moral values in me.

My father was a GP with a wonderful sense of humour. His patients would say, “What a great doctor your father is.” He was one of those old-fashioned doctors who would come out to see you if you rang him in the middle of the night. He’d even perform minor operations such as for an in-growing toenail. He was a big soul music fan and he introduced me to it – in particular Jackie Wilson’s Reet Petite, which was the only soul record he had. We played it non-stop. He could also be serious and he followed news of what was happening in the world, which affected him because he served in the merchant navy during the second world war.

My parents met at the hospital where my mother worked as a nurse. She gave up work to look after us. She was always there when I got home from school and she was a mother to us.

I went to a good boarding school, which I didn’t like and left after three years. Dad sent me there because he attended Rugby school and he thought he was doing me a favour. Many years later, I told him how much I’d disliked it. He said it was a shame and that I should have told him at the time because he never intended to send me away. I just wanted to spend that time with my family.

I didn’t want to go into medicine, because I can’t stand the sight of blood. But my parents supported me from the word go when I wanted to go into broadcasting. They said: “Great – as long as you’re happy.” My father even erected a massive great mast in the garden so they could hear my show on Radio Caroline because the reception in Poole was awful.

Jackie was born with infantile paralysis and she’s always been in a wheelchair. When my parents were alive, I said to them: “I’ll always look after Jackie.” My father built her a bungalow in the garden so she could get to everything. She’s got an electric wheelchair and she’s fine – except her eyesight isn’t too good. When my parents died, I asked Jackie to come and live with my wife, Debbie, and myself, but she chose to remain in Poole where she has lots of friends. Jackie never complains. Her attitude to her life has altered my outlook on life. I have so much admiration for Jackie and I’m very close to her.

It was great becoming a father. My daughter, Victoria, 20, is an actress and dancer and she’s been with me all the way through life; Simon, 44, who works in advertising, was three when his mother and I divorced. He lived with her and I saw him every weekend. It was tough taking Simon back on Sundays and I always put him first for the 17 years between my two marriages. Victoria and Simon are both good and thoughtful people. I never caused my parents any problems and my children have been the same with me. I’ve passed on the values my parents gave me to them. All I said was try to get a job where you’re happy, don’t get involved with drugs, avoid smoking and don’t get a tattoo! I love my children.

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My father died before he was 70 of a heart attack and my mother got cancer, which was tough because she hung on for over a year. I was broadcasting from Dunstable and I’d travel down to Bournemouth to see her every day after my show. It was horrible watching my mother go downhill and not being able to help her. I was there when she died, aged 81, and it was a relief in a strange sort of way because I didn’t want to see her suffer.

Being a grandfather makes me feel old. It’s exhausting, but nice. Simon has two children: Harry, five, and George, one. It’s boom, boom, boom when they come round – especially with Harry, who for some reason thinks I’m a funny grandad because I’m always coming up with silly things to do with him. That puts me under enormous pressure to come up with even more silly things to do for next time!