Absolute Radio's Rocktober is here!🤘
Featuring special shows, competitions and more
Last updated 1st Oct 2025
Following the gargantuan success of Britpop Summer, Absolute Radio has turned the volume dials to 11 this month with Rocktober.
A 31-day celebration of all things rock music, Rocktober boasts more heavy songs on the playlist, a series of special shows, exclusive competitions, documentaries, archive live performances and much more.
Rocktober highlights include:
- One lucky Absolute Radio listener will win a once in a lifetime trip to see the Foo Fighters in Mexico City thanks to the Dave Berry Breakfast Show.
You don't want to miss this - so make sure you keep listening to the Dave Berry Breakfast Show to find out how you can win this incredible prize to see one of the biggest bands - Foo Fighters - live in Mexico City.
- Skin from Skunk Anansie returns to the station to host another series of The Skin Show where she plays her current favourite tracks alongside the songs which have soundtracked her life.
- Rocktober also sees the premiere of not one but two special documentaries - celebrating rock legends Bruce Springsteen and ACDC’s Brian Johnson
- We've got 30 minutes of non-stop Rock Anthems every day at 1pm, 7pm and 10pm.
- Thursdays will see a dip into the archives for some classic live rock performances including Royal Blood and Smashing Pumpkins.
- For one month only - exclusively for Rayo Premium listeners - Absolute Radio Halloween will be back for some music from the dark side.
- Dave Berry’s Album Clash will return to YouTube as two huge rock albums go head-to-head
Dave Berry said: “Along with the rest of the country we’ve spent the summer revelling in all things Britpop but as autumn draws in and the days get darker it’s time to focus on another favourite genre – rock.
“It’s a thrill to have the awesome Skin back on the station and I can’t wait to give away a trip to see the ultimate Rock Gods – The Foo Fighters.”
Stay tuned to Absolute Radio all this month for Rocktober!
25 rock stars when they were young:
Mick Jagger
A school photo of a 9-year-old Mick Jagger in 1951 at Wentworth Junior County Primary School in his home town Dartford
Rod Stewart
Roderick David Stewart aged 8 in 1953.
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts – Rolling Stones legend Charlie Watts - aged 2 with his mother Lillian and father Charles in Trafalgar Square in 1943.
Sting
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner – aka Sting – aged 10 at his home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1961.
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (Ronnie Wood) aged 4 in 1951, taken at his home in Whitehorn Avenue, Yiewsley, West London.
Bob Dylan
A childhood photo of Robert Allen Zimmerman – Bob Dylan – aged 2 in 1943.
Iggy Pop
Punk legend James Newell Osterberg Jr. – Iggy Pop – aged 18 months in 1948.
Paul McCartney
Future Beatles icon James Paul McCartney, nowadays known as Paul, aged 8 in Liverpool in 1950.
Janis Joplin
Late-great rock icon Janis Joplin aged 9 in 1952. She died just 18 years later.
David Bowie
A seven-year-old David Jones, soon to be known as David Bowie, in Bromley, London in 1954.
Neil Young
Feted rocker Neil Young as a young boy, aged 11 in 1956.
Jim Morrison
The Doors' Jim Morrison, aged 15, in his high school yearbook photo in 1958.
Bono
A one-year-old Paul David Hewson – future U2 frontman Bono – at his home in Dublin in 1961.
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad – aka Billy Idol – aged 10 in 1965.
Bruce Springsteen
16-year-old Bruce Springsteen in his high school yearbook photo in 1965.
Chrissie Hynde
The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde aged 17 in her high school yearbook in 1968.
Larry Mullen Jr
U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr aged 13 in 1974.
Freddie Mercury
An eight-month-old Farrokh Bulsara – future Queen frontman Freddie Mercury – at his home in Zanzibar.
Debbie Harry
Blondie's Debbie Harry aged 17 in her high school yearbook photo in 1962.
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich, the son of Danish tennis player Torben Ulrich, accompanies his father to Wimbledon in June 1966. Lars was two-and-a-half at the time.
Tina Turner
17-year-old Anna Mae Bullock, rock icon Tina Turner, in her high school yearbook photo in 1956.
Jack Black
Tenacious D rocker and acting legend, Jack Black, aged 16 in 1985.
Tom Petty
17-year-old Tom Petty as seen in his 1967 Gainesville High School yearbook photo. © Alamy
Elvis Presley
The King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, aged 5 in 1940.
Jimi Hendrix
A three-year-old Johnny Allen Hendrix with his dad Al in late 1945. When he was four in 1946 – a year after the above photo was taken – Johnny was renamed James 'Jimmy' Marshall Hendrix after his dad and Al's late brother Leon Marshall Hendrix.
John Lydon
The Sex Pistols' John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – aged 7 in 1964.
Sid Vicious
Simon John Ritchie - aka future Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious - aged 12 in 1969.
Ian Curtis
A five-year-old Ian Curtis in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1961.