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Influential BBC Radio DJ John Peel Dies
Tue Oct 26, 1:34 PM ET
By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer
LONDON - John Peel, a longtime British Broadcasting Corp. disc jockey whose enthusiasm for the offbeat, the eclectic and the obscure launched the
careers of dozens of bands, has died, the BBC said Tuesday. He was 65.
The broadcaster said Peel suffered a heart attack Monday while vacationing in Peru with his wife, Sheila.
Dr. Alcides Vargas, who worked to revive Peel, told Peru's Radioprogramas radio that the DJ suffered a heart attack in a hotel in Cuzco, 350 miles
southeast of the Peruvian capital, Lima. He was pronounced dead on the way to a clinic.
Peel's program on Radio 1, the BBC's flagship pop music station, exerted a huge influence for more than 30 years. He was often the first to play demo
tapes by little-known bands, and his enthusiasm propelled some to fame.
Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s official spokesman said Blair ? who once played guitar in a college band called Ugly Rumours ? was
"genuinely saddened" by the news.
He said Peel "was a unique voice in British broadcasting who used that voice to unearth new talent and different subjects and bring them to the
awareness and make them accessible to a much wider audience."
Peel promoted reggae, hip-hop and punk on the sometimes conservative BBC, and championed acts ranging from Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie (news) to The
Smiths, The Fall, Pulp and Northern Irish punks The Undertones, whose "Teenage Kicks" Peel rated his favorite song.
His live studio sessions were coveted by bands, and many were released on record as the "Peel Sessions."
"Over the years we've had almost everybody, except The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, of the kind of big bands of the past," Peel once told an
interviewer. "More recently Oasis ? I never really thought Oasis were much good, to be honest, so they didn't do one."
Bands Peel did like, such as post-punk outfit Joy Division and its successor, New Order, often remained deeply grateful
"If it wasn't for John Peel, there would be no Joy Division and no New Order," band member Bernard Sumner said. "He was one of the few people to give
bands that played alternative music a chance to get heard, and he continued to be a champion of cutting-edge music throughout his life."
Blur frontman Damon Albarn (news) said, "John Peel's patronage was for me, like countless other musicians, one of the most significant things that
happened to us in our careers."
Pulp's Jarvis Cocker said Peel "was one of those few people about whom you could truly say that the world would have been a much different place
without him. For many years he almost single-handedly championed new and challenging music in the U.K."
Elvis Costello (news) called Peel "a great man, a fabulous curmudgeon ? he was as rare as the music that he loved."
Guy Garvey, frontman of Manchester band Elbow, said: "We owe him everything.
"He was the first person to ever play us on the radio, which I am sure lots of people can say."
Peel was born John Ravenscroft near Liverpool in 1939. As a teenager, he later said, his life was changed by hearing Elvis Presley singing "Heartbreak
Hotel." He later joined the British army and worked in a cotton mill.
In the early 1960s he moved to Dallas, where his roots in Liverpool ? newly famous as home of The Beatles ? enabled him to get a job on WRR radio,
hosting a program called "Kat's Karavan." He then worked at stations in Oklahoma City and San Bernardino, Calif.
Returning to Britain, he worked on the pirate station Radio London, broadcasting from a boat off the English coast, where he adopted the name John
Peel.
He joined the BBC in 1967, broadcasting on Radio 1 and internationally on the World Service. Since 1998, he also presented "Home Truths," a whimsical
show about the travails of family life, on the BBC's talk-based Radio 4.
He is survived by his wife and four children. Funeral details were not immediately announced.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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moron
Posting Freak
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Registered: 5-28-2003
Location: CT
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I cant say I really know who he was, but I guess it sucks that he died?
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John Peel ruled. He was a DJ on the BBC in England, and he pretty much played what he wanted, when he wanted. His live in-studio recordings were
always awesome, and he did a lot to get obscure bands in the spotlight.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/johnpeel/
A lot of the bands you'll read about on the BBC site are pretty "alternative", but hey, they gotta push names people know. But lets talk about the
Buzzcocks Peel Sessions from 1977, or The Damned from 76. Nirvana, Bolt Thrower, Jawbox, Fugazi, all did Peel Sessions, and they're all awesome
recordings, if you can find them. He also had awesome DJs and reggae acts on his show.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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Do you have any Peel Sessions recording?
the boltthrower peel sessions cd fucking rules. also have nirvana, fugazi, dj food, kemistry and storm, laurent garnier, carl cox, and a few other dj
sets.
A "peel session" search on Amazon yields over 113 results.
here's a partial list of recordings from 1992-2002. keep in mind he had his show for (i believe) 30 years, so there are a ton more. http://www.vheissu.freeserve.co.uk/sessions.html
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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Big Ugly
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The Peel Sessions with Carcass were fuckin amazing.
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tireironsaint
* BANNED *
Posts: 4299
Registered: 5-14-2003
Location: Colorado
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Mood: Beltones
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Damn, he will be missed. I have the Peel Sessions for The Damned and Extreme Noise Terror. Why is it people like this are dying all the time and yet
people like Paul McCartney are still torturing us all by continuing to live?
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DAN SMASH
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The list of punk bands John helped along the way was endless, he also,via his peel sessions, showcased acts like the stupids, unseen terror, stiff
little fingers, hellbastard and napalm death.
I started listening to his shows back in the early 80's and loved his real funny sense of dry wit and humour.
I remember him once introducing a track from a hellbastard demo by saying something like " and next up is hellbastard with the track rise of crust, i
often threaten the children that if they dont eat their greens, i'm going to invite hellbastard round for tea".
he was the best dj/broadcaster we ever had in england and there will never be another one like him.
He will be missed greatly by all whose lives he touched in whatever way, me included.
Rest in Peace John.
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RomanticViolence
* Jennytailya *
Posts: 1547
Registered: 3-26-2004
Location: Baltimore MD
Member Is Offline
Mood: Fuck U All
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OMG thats horrible. RIP
Have you ever noticed how crayons are a lot like M&M's? All the colors tend to taste the same.
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Thousands mourn Peel at funeral
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4005023.stm
The funeral of legendary DJ John Peel has taken place, attended by thousands of mourners from around the world.
Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey and The White Stripes were among mourners, while Sir Elton John left a wreath of yellow roses.
Applause greeted Peel's coffin as it departed St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, to his favourite song, Teenage Kicks by the
Undertones.
Peel died last month after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Peru.
His wife, Sheila, was with him when he died.
With Sir Elton's wreath was a card reading: "Thank you for all the great music. You were a hero for so many. Much love, Elton."
Fellow DJs Mark Radcliffe, Annie Nightingale and Paul Gambaccini - who gave a tribute - were also at the service, along with singer Billy Bragg.
BBC Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt was also there, along with the BBC's deputy director general, Mark Byford.
Some 1,000 people were inside the cathedral, while 2,000 others listened to the service outside via loudspeakers.
Peel's real name of John Ravenscroft was given on the order of service, which contained a quote from the reggae band Misty in Roots.
It read: "When we trod this land, we walk for one reason... to try to help another man think for himself.
"The music of our hearts is roots music, which recalls history, because without the knowledge of your history, you cannot determine your destiny: the
music about the present, because if you are not conscious about the present, you're like a cabbage in this society."
'You are with Walters'
Gambaccini started his tribute by talking about Peel's producer and friend, John Walters, who died in 2001.
"Sheila told me that just half an hour before you passed away, you said, I miss John Walters, I wish I'd spent more time with him when he was alive.
"And now you are with him, probably talking about us, talking about the time I got up off the table at Ronnie Scott's, taking the tablecloth with me."
He added: "You broke more artists then any broadcaster in this history of radio.
"Every artist once needed a John Peel - some of the people who paid tributes to you were Pink Floyd, Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin and Elton John."
'Fabulously lucky'
The service ended with clips of Peel talking about his life - before the Liverpool FC anthem You'll Never Walk Alone faded into Teenage Kicks.
Peel could be heard saying: "I'm fabulously lucky, I've got everything I wanted as a kid, a house in the country, an astounding wife, and a job on the
radio. I don't know what could be done to improve it.
"If I drop dead tomorrow, I'll have nothing to complain about - except that there'll be another Fall album out next year."
A private family service is following the funeral.
Music champion
Tributes poured in from thousands of listeners as well as musicians and fellow broadcasters when Peel died.
Born in Heswall, near Liverpool, Peel joined Radio 1 upon its launch in 1967, establishing himself with the late night programme Top Gear.
He became one of the first DJs to give exposure to punk, reggae and hip-hop, before they crossed over into the mainstream.
Peel championed the careers of countless up-and-coming acts, gaining a global reputation through his work on the BBC's World Service.
Bands even played for Peel at his home near Great Finborough, near Stowmarket.
In later years he also worked on Radio 4's Home Truths programme, swapping tales of family life with his listeners.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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