Who was John Peel?

[laptop]

his weekend radio 4 show at the end was seriously irritating.

Whereas the World Service show remained

I certainly never saw any sign of him being a self-publicist. When I hear someone lump Peel together with Diana without presenting any reason, apparently on the grounds that they were both on the telly sometimes, I can't but suspect that what he have here is not some high-minded commitment to a bizarre form of egalitarianism - no-one shall be famous, no-one shall have heard of anyone - but rather tooth-grinding bowel-loosening jealousy.

Peel had a rather precarious working existence on the edges of the BBC as a sort of licensed jester - backed up by the threat of a moderately-sized crowd with burning firebrands assembling in Langham Place if he were fired. Which, as noted, would have been an interesting crowd: for yea verily Gong and Hawkwind fan shall line up with Rudimentary Penii fan, if they don't forget where Regent Street is on the way...

I never met him. People I trust who did know him say he was one of the more utterly geniune people they had the pleasure to meet - and that his enthusiasms for music that was new and challenging (before its time) were completely sincere.

He had a barn full of demo tapes and spent hours actually listening to them. Last I heard there were negotiations over donating his record collection to the nation - all half a shelf-mile or whatever of it...

 

[Dhimmi]

How can I find out about the stuff he used to play?

Do a google for "Festive Fifty" the lists are out there somewhere that'll give you an idea of the stuff he played which was most appreciated.

I guess, I'm asking if anyone has taken his place. I don't even know if that make f*ing sense.

They broke the mold, etc...

Eclectic wasn't he

Yep.

 

[118118]

I mean, I've heard of him.

Nah, like, I mean I never formed my own opinion of what sort of DJ he was, I tuned in occasionally and had heard him DJ before. I thought I was communicing with his spirit for a while . He didn't like me

 

[twister]

http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/gsteel/radioplus/

"Here are some free and legal mp3 downloads of songs that John Peel has featured on his Radio 1"

 

[118118]

Anyway, cheers, I found a list for the festive 50's, and am downloading some of the artists I don't think I've know

 

[Maggot]

Express readers would be more inclined to agree with you rather than me. I'm sure he loved a bit of classical too but would have lost his job on radio 1 had he insisted on playing it to maintain his integrity.

What bollocks!

He played the most diverse music anywhere on national radio, he played stuff cos he loved it and spent most of his spare time listening to demos sent in by bands. If Mozart and Beethoven were were making music in the late 20th Century, he'd have played them.

 

[danny la rouge]

He wasn't beyond criticism or anything, and he certainly wasn't a god, but thst context free 'comment' is totally ..

It's a t-shirt he used to wear himself. Pig hated it, but he thought it was funny.

 

[danny la rouge]

The man said so himself

I should have read on.

 

[twistedAM]

What bollocks!

He played the most diverse music anywhere on national radio, he played stuff cos he loved it and spent most of his spare time listening to demos sent in by bands. If Mozart and Beethoven were were making music in the late 20th Century, he'd have played them.

His SHOW played the most diverse music anywhere on national radio.

Give the producers some credit!!!

A LOT of credit in fact.

 

[William of Walworth]

It's a t-shirt he used to wear himself. Pig hated it, but he thought it was funny.

Fair enough, they've posted that picture now, but if I'd ever known the story before, I'd forgotten it

 

[William of Walworth]

His SHOW played the most diverse music anywhere on national radio.

Give the producers some credit!!!

A LOT of credit in fact.

To be fair John Peel himself always gave his producers a lot of credit ...

 

[William of Walworth]

As for mpython's ludicrous Peel/Diana comparison, I'm pretty sure he's only posting it to be faux-'controversial' -- adopting a thoroughly daft position just to be 'edgy and different' is perilously close to trolling in my book. No one can be so stupid as to really believe that nonsense

and no,. I don't think 'anyone who disagrees with me is a troll' -- it's just that IMO his posts actually were full of shit and that they were posted purely to get a reaction

 

[Lisarocket]

I thought I was communicing with his spirit for a while . He didn't like me

 

[twistedAM]

excuse me if someone has laready mentioned it before but he was at one time best known for TV commercial voiceovers...I went off him a lot after hearing his voice in every ad break for a couple of years

 

[phildwyer]

As for mpython's ludicrous Peel/Diana comparison, I'm pretty sure he's only posting it to be faux-'controversial' -- adopting a thoroughly daft position just to be 'edgy and different' is perilously close to trolling in my book. No one can be so stupid as to really believe that nonsense

and no,. I don't think 'anyone who disagrees with me is a troll' -- it's just that IMO his posts actually were full of shit and that they were posted purely to get a reaction

Oh for God's sake William, you see "trolls" everywhere. Mpython's point shouldn't surprise anyone, its a comparison that's been made a hundred times before. This famous piece by Jule Burchill makes an even more apt analogy with the Queen Mum:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,321755,00.html

 

[danny la rouge]

I listened to Peel's show(s) for about 30 years. He undoubtedly shaped my musical taste. But I also loved his delivery, his presenting style, and his warmth. There is therefore now a huge hole in my listening. There is no radio programme that delivers to me enough of what I got out of listening to Peel's shows, and that wasn't just the music.

So yeah, I miss him, and his programme. But I'm not weeping, strewing flowers in public places, or likening him to Mother Teresa. Nor do I require pictures of him on the front page of the Daily Express every day, along with bizarre and obsessional theories about the manner of his death.

I don't think my affection for Peel in any way resembles Diana worship. And I don't think Burchill is somebody I need to pay any attention to.

 

[Balbi]

He was a cunt?

it's in his biography, a whole festival crowd of so many thousand being encouraged by the man himself to shout "JOHN PEEL IS A CUNT"



all youse taking it seriously....tch

 

[fruity bob]

He was a disc jockey on radio one.

 

[William of Walworth]

I listened to Peel's show(s) for about 30 years. He undoubtedly shaped my musical taste. But I also loved his delivery, his presenting style, and his warmth. There is therefore now a huge hole in my listening. There is no radio programme that delivers to me enough of what I got out of listening to Peel's shows, and that wasn't just the music.

So yeah, I miss him, and his programme. But I'm not weeping, strewing flowers in public places, or likening him to Mother Teresa. Nor do I require pictures of him on the front page of the Daily Express every day, along with bizarre and obsessional theories about the manner of his death.

I don't think my affection for Peel in any way resembles Diana worship. And I don't think Burchill is somebody I need to pay any attention to.

Spot on

Balbi -- I've picked up on that now, apologies, I thought yesterday it was you being a bit of a cunt, but clearly not

 

[118118]

I don't know if I'll ever be into a DJ enough to actually miss them. Like for real, not just saying so?

 

[Johnny Vodka]

I listen to quite alot of radio 1, have done for a couple of years.

Does anyone ever listen to the blue room. I used to think that it was the cleverest thing ever (not as good as Peel, obviously ). Its finishing next week. I thought it had gone a bit shit, but I couldn't tell. But I fell in love with cheesy and Blaric, cos it was like, cheesy songs are nearly really good, but just fail, and are complete cheese.

Easy listening, mmmm (lol at self). It was part of the reason why I started staying up till 6 whether having gone out or not! Guess I'll have to start downlaoding breakcore, instead. Sigh.

I love The Blue Room (in fact listening to it on listen again right now). I've been a fan since the start and I reckon it's much easier on the ears than Peel was. They play popular stuff (or stuff that's going to be popular) as well as obscure. It's introduced me to some great bands/artists and I'm gutted it's coming to an end.

 

[Sunray]

The blue room is one of R1's best shows which you are never going to be in to listen to live at 4am but does only play more down beat music.

John Peel shows were nothing but masterpieces of radio. He geniunely loved what he was doing and that really showed.

As for playing only up and coming music, well thats coming from someone who never listened to his shows. I remember once tuning in to hears some Country followed by a rather amazing 10 minutes of pounding german gabba.

 

[chico enrico]

When I was nine or ten me and my mates formed a punk band. think we were called TOXIC NOISE. anyway, we sent peel a tape and he said he couldnt play any of the songs because they all had the sort of language that "when he was our ages his mother would have sent him to bed with no supper for using" or something similar.

i think he was just being charitable. i found the original tape not that long ago. we were shit.

Peel - cool guy. played everything from throbbing gristle to phuture's acid trax. all other djs are just shit in comparison.

 

[dirtysanta]

is anyone doing the peel thing these days?

When I was in a band when I was younger he played one of our records on the radio and said it was "not bad".

Well no one can get it right all the time can they !

 

[rich!]

Which, as noted, would have been an interesting crowd: for yea verily Gong and Hawkwind fan shall line up with Rudimentary Penii fan,

Gong: check
Hawkwind: check
Rudimentary Penii: check

crowd of one, me.

*buffs nails*

 

[tim]

Huge amount of idolatry associated with John Peel. He played what was up and coming at the time. Clever in the sense that Madonna is clever. Well done to him but all he was at the end of the day was a successful player. Let's all now worship Princess Diana for a bit...

Diana is so last millenium. That Australian crocy-fiddler is the current holy celebrity corpse.

 

[King Mob]

excuse me if someone has laready mentioned it before but he was at one time best known for TV commercial voiceovers...I went off him a lot after hearing his voice in every ad break for a couple of years

It never bothered me as it was clearly just something he was doing to pay the bills so he could carry on doing the show.

 

[King Mob]

Oh for God's sake William, you see "trolls" everywhere. Mpython's point shouldn't surprise anyone, its a comparison that's been made a hundred times before. This famous piece by Jule Burchill makes an even more apt analogy with the Queen Mum:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,321755,00.html

I've not read that Burchill piece in a while. Although she does make some points and Peel did go through a schoolgirl phase, (i remember a old Melody Maker with Peel dressed in full St. Trinians outfit. Very disturbing) she paints Peel as a total and utter cunt, which is very much a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Peel was by no means perfect, he did fall into self-indulgence a hell of a lot, but his cultural impact is a hell of a lot more than Burchill who has spent the last 20 odd years spouting out bitter and twisted articles like that.

So lets see, Peel discovered dozens upon dozens of acts that helped change the face of music. Burchill wrote Sugar Rush. Nuff said.

 

[mpython]

Just back from a weekend away and have read the responses I got from suggesting that there was an element of idolatry associated with him. Unless you are all personal friends of John Peel then this largely backs up what I was saying... a little like what happens when the Diana Worshippers came out fighting when someone suggests that, lovely though she was, she was also a bit of a fruitcake!

Laptop - Not sure how you extrapolated your theory of jealousy.

Phildwyer - Thanks for pointing out how unoriginal my thoughts were anyway.

WOW - Bit patronising to say that I was trying to appear "edgy and different." I quickly worked out in my teens that I was really very bland, although at that time when John Peel's show was on, I was out chasing teenage kicks rather than home listening to him play the Undertones.

I still stand by my original point which was really quite valid... I thought this was a thread about who people thought he was not, "let's all say nice things about John Peel."

 

[mpython]

What bollocks!

He played the most diverse music anywhere on national radio, he played stuff cos he loved it and spent most of his spare time listening to demos sent in by bands. If Mozart and Beethoven were were making music in the late 20th Century, he'd have played them.

And that backs my point that he was paid to play what was up and coming at the time to suggest that he'd have played Mozart if they'd been new at the time. Maybe he had a genuine passion for whatever was new but I prefer the thought that he'd come home from work, pour a sweet sherry and do a bit of 'Dad dancing' around the living room to Kenny G!