Jeremy Vine's helmet camera captured the moment he was nearly crushed by a lorry in a cycle lane this week, but the Radio 2 presenter also narrowly avoided another close shave: reuniting with his old punk band for a spot at BBC Radio 2 In the Park this weekend. The 58-year-old had asked his comedian brother Tim Vine to reform their 1980s band The Flared Generation for the two-day festival in Leicester, but Tim is on a stand-up tour instead.
Smash Hits once called the group "the most unfashionable punk band in the UK", a label Jeremy admits was probably accurate. "I had hoped to get the band together but it was not meant to be," he said. "It's probably a good thing for the audience as they will be spared my singing." The band, inspired by his idol Kenny Everett, thought they had made it after the Smash Hits mention, but later realised they would never make a living from music.
Jeremy went into journalism after the band fizzled out, eventually joining the Today programme. He now hosts a mid-morning show on Radio 2, following Vernon Kay, with whom he has developed a bromance. The pair share parenting tips over lunch, with Jeremy advising Vernon to accept being the clown for their teenage daughters. "You have teenage girls, and your role is just to have the mickey taken of you the whole time," he said.
Jeremy will be in Leicester alongside Vernon, Zoe Ball, Sara Cox and other Radio 2 DJs. He hopes to give Radio 1's Big Weekend a run for its money. "We'll try to give Radio 1 lot a run for their money," he said. "It's time for Tony Blackburn and all of us to get our dancing shoes on."
