Sometimes works of art take several years to be fully appreciated. So it’s proved with Poptastic, legendary radio disc jockey Tony Blackburn’s 2007 autobiography. Six years on, a digested version has become a cult hit on Twitter.


“I’m reading Tony Blackburn’s autobiography,” music journalist Eamonn Forde tweeted on Friday. “There is an amazing paragraph every other page.”

Forde proved his point across the Bank Holiday weekend, tweeting snaps of such Partridgean gems as Blackburn’s clarfication that his son Simon was NOT named after Simon Bates:

Tony Blackburn on the birth of his son. "I don't know why we called him Simon." pic.twitter.com/lXO9ROI7M6 — Eamonn Forde (@Eamonn_Forde) May 4, 2013

Blackburn Jnr provided another classic, with Blackburn’s explanation of how he effortlessly ended his son’s awkward teenage phase:

Tony Blackburn on dealing with his son's "difficult teenage years". pic.twitter.com/RtocEton7N — Eamonn Forde (@Eamonn_Forde) May 4, 2013

Encounters with rock stars are of course Tony’s bread and butter. Here, he tells Brian May exactly what he thinks of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Tony Blackburn discusses 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with Brian May. pic.twitter.com/lvP1AuvzX1 — Eamonn Forde (@Eamonn_Forde) May 4, 2013

And Tony can, reluctantly, see the parallels between himself and one of rock’s ultimate greats…

Tony Blackburn on John Lennon's "lost weekend". pic.twitter.com/4x1kifz8jS — Eamonn Forde (@Eamonn_Forde) May 4, 2013


There’s so much more where this came from. Helpfully, Forde has Storified all his chosen highlights, creating a must-read digest of this seminal book.