Vernon Kay on DJ set, Wanderers, and Bolton Radio 2 invasion

Brought up in Horwich, Kay is one of many Boltonians who can be heard taking over Radio 2 – with colleagues Sara Cox, Mark Radcliffe, and Paddy McGuinness all also hailing from the borough

We chatted with the Radio 2 DJ about his thoughts on returning home, how his Radio 2 show is going, and whether Wanderers could be promoted.

Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.

Can you tell us about your upcoming Radio 2 tour?

“Yeah! I do Dance Sounds of the 90s on Radio 2, and because the reaction to that radio programme is massive, and because the 90s is kind of pretty much synonymous with being the best decade ever – since our parents had a great time in the 60s, my generation I’m talking about, we thought we’d do all the great dance hits that people were moving and shaking to back in the day.

“It’s been quite a journey putting together a set, rediscovering all the music that was prevalent on the dancefloors back in the day.

“If you look at where Bolton is, sat between Manchester and Liverpool, the majority of people my age either went to Manchester on a Saturday night or Liverpool.

“During the week we danced to all these tunes from the 90s in either Ritzy on a Thursday and then on a Sunday after visiting Manchester or Liverpool we’d go up to the Tavern on the Hill – a pub which was was mega on a Sunday.

“We just thought, why don’t we try to recreate some of that nostalgia, some of that energy, and recreate what would have been great times back then.”

Jason Donovan at Ritzy's nightclub in 1989

Follow The Bolton News on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok.

Why is it so special to bring your show to Bolton?

“I’ll be honest with you, because I live in London I don’t get to see my mates that often, so I said, look: if we’re going to start a tour if we’re going to do a tour let’s see what the reaction is like in Bolton first, because I’ll have loads of my mates with me, it’ll be a familiar audience, lots of familiar faces, and we can take it from there.

“I just thought it would be the perfect place to start something like this, because we all know everyone in the North West loves a good time, and in particular Boltonians.

“I just thought, taking it to the Albert Hall, we’ve all seen the kind of devolution of our town centres, and Bolton’s no exception, it’d be nice to just get everyone in Bolton town centre for a good time.”

Vernon remembered visiting the Tavern on the Hill on Sundays, after a night out in Manchester or Liverpool the previous day (Image: Newsquest)

What are you most looking forward to?

“I’m just looking forward to the atmosphere – I know that’s a really basic, simple answer, but we live in a world where bad news is always hitting the headlines, it’s everywhere – it floods us on a daily basis with negativity, and I just think something like this: a nostalgic 90s dance tour, is just going to take people out of our real-world moment for an hour-and-a-half, maybe two hours, to just have a good time.”

Vernon Kay

Radio 2 has become a Bolton hotspot with you, Paddy, Mark Radcliffe, and Sara Cox – what’s so special about Bolton?

“As everyone knows, Boltonians, in particular, don’t suffer fools and in radio, you’ve just got to tell the truth, you’ve got to be honest, and I think that’s what makes broadcasters from the North West either easy to listen to or easy to watch, because we can just chat, to be honest with you.

“We can be honest without feeling paranoid that we’re saying too much – that’s the only reason why. If you look at what Peter [Kay]’s done, Mark Radcliffe, there’s quite a stable of Boltonians who are connecting with people because… I don’t know, we just like chatting, don’t we?

“All of us in that list have had proper jobs, so we’ve not been handed down… whatever people might call it. We’ve all grafted, we’ve all got stuck in, and we’ve all done the hard yards, so to speak.”

How is the Radio 2 show going after taking over from Ken Bruce?

In April 2023, Kay took over from veteran broadcaster Ken Bruce to present the station’s morning show.

The changeover from Ken Bruce was not without controversy – with listeners dropping off and the veteran broadcaster’s contract cut short.

However, the Boltonian broadcaster says things are now going smoothly.

Vernon said: “I’m loving it, absolutely loving it – I’m having the best time. I actually look forward to getting in the studio and putting the microphone up.

“I can’t ask for anything else or anything better, I’m having a great time.

“It seems to be well received, obviously there’s going to be an initial drop-off of Ken fans, but that’s stopped now – we’ve levelled out for about eight months now, so everything’s rocking.”

Is the first of many Bolton homecomings, or is it more of a one-off?

“No, my mum and dad live up there – I can’t speak to my mum without the old ‘when are you coming home, I haven’t seen you for a while?’

“Whenever she says that I always come up and pay her a visit.

“I was up recently doing the Olympic homecoming and I stayed at my mum and dad’s and went to the gym at the Reebok – or the Toughsheet as it’s known now – which was quite cool.”

Finally, could Wanderers be promoted at the end of the season?

A lifelong Bolton Wanderers fan, the Radio 2 DJ raised a whopping £4 million last year as he completed an ‘ultra ultramarathon’ from Leicester’s Victoria Park to the Wanderers’ Toughsheet Stadium.

We asked him whether he thought the club could be promoted this season, with fans left devastated after the club lost out to Oxford United in May – meaning a fourth successive season in League One.

Vernon said: “Well, every Wanderers fan thinks they could be promoted at the end of every season, when we were in the Premier League we thought we’d win the Premier League.

“I think the best thing that’s happened to Bolton recently is Sharon Brittan taking over and turning the football club back into something that can be respected – she’s done a fabulous job, and I think the whole team with Ian [Evatt] as the manager have enabled Boltonians to once again be proud of the Wanderers.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.