Baxter Dury lost his driving license due to Jeremy Vine catching him on his phone
Baxter Dury has revealed that BBC Radio 2 host Jeremy Vine filmed him using his phone while in a traffic jam, which led to him losing his license.
Dury made the revelation on BBC 6 Music’s Roundtable on May 8th after being asked about working with producer Paul Epworth on his new album, Allbarone. He positively said of the experience, “It was brilliant, we’re buddies anyway,” and praised Epworth’s “big palatial studio in North London.” Dury continued, “It was amazing. I loved it. I don’t usually say that after making an album, but I really enjoyed every second of it.”
Presenter Huw Stephens then probed Dury about making the venture from his West London surroundings to Epworth’s studio, which led the musician to reveal, “Do you know what? This is a tragic story, but I drove there for the first half (of making the record) and then lost my license.”
Explaining the reasoning behind his driving ban, Dury admitted, “I got caught in a traffic jam, and Jeremy Vine took a film of me looking at Instagram, which he deserves to, I’m not arguing about (it). Shouldn’t probably say that publicly, he’s probably in the other room, isn’t he?”
Vine is a keen cyclist who, until recently, filmed his daily commute to work and shared footage of drivers using their phones while at the wheel or driving in a manner that he deemed unsafe to cyclists.
However, last month, Vine announced he would no longer continue with his cycling-related social media videos due to online abuse. The broadcaster shared: “I’m stopping my cycling videos. The trolling just got too bad. They have had well over 100m views but in the end the anger they generate has genuinely upset me.”
Vine, whose bike was recently stolen, continued: “I enjoy debates but not abuse. It’s strange that getting interested in road safety can actually endanger a person. I see other cyclists facing the same and wonder how they deal with it. So when I get my new bike I’ll stay vigilant but won’t share my adventures.”
Dury’s new album, Allbarone, is set to be released on September 12th, 2025, and he’ll also take to the road later this year for his UK and Ireland tour, including the biggest headline date of his career at London’s Eventim Apollo in November.
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