An interview with Mr. John Peel

New music, bands, and shows
marky
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Post by marky »

Well I put on the Steve Lamacq tribute show on the BBC website and all it took was him putting on a Peel Session version of The Fall's Rebellious Jukebox and the tears finally came fast and furious. Yes there would have been a Fall without Peel, but...the two were pretty inextricably linked.

My problem is I just want to hear his voice and so far I haven't figured out how to accomplish this online.

I have this one clip of this old early 80's song that he starts out playing at the wrong (slower) speed and it's so funny because back then there was all this slow dirgelike goth stuff going on so you could see how he could make the mistake. I wouldn't have been able to tell until the vocals came on, either. He pleads "Come on boys, don't mess me about okay?" and puts it on at the right speed.
marky
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Post by marky »

Okay wait a minute I have to figure out what time it is in London because I think there's gonna be a show coming up that might have his voice in it.
marky
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Post by marky »

5:41 AM in London. That means 3 more hours til it comes on.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/

McC did you know Orbital did one of their last ever performances with John Peel in the studio? Orbital called it quits a few months ago I'm not even sure if you knew that. No more Orbital, the brothers are going solo.
I heard Orbital for the FIRST TIME on John Peel. I heard Liverpool band Dr. Phibes & The House of Wax Equations on Peel.

I saw some young girl across the street today with "Manchester, England" in white letters on the back of her shiny light pink jacket. It was most unusual. I couldn't believe my eyes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/johnpeel/index.shtml

But this one is the kicker:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainmen ... 955369.stm
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Post by Guest »

mark,

Best listen into Home Truths for hearing some witty Peelisms.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/

cheers, anon.
marky
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Post by marky »

:D Thanks for saying so. Yes that's the one I listened to. It was great, but I would have rather heard him DJ. I wonder why they don't just put up one of his recent shows or something. I felt worse about it today than yesterday. A lot of mixed feelings. Even when I don't feel emotional about it I find myself just trying to get my head around it, just this idea of there being a world without him. And I don't want it to come off like hero worship - it's not that he was someone I thought of in connection to my own DJing, it's not like I aspired to be LIKE him. And it's not as if I don't know he was just human. It's just that it occured to me today the loss of him is so much greater than the loss of any one musician would be because he was the backbone of the whole thing. He was the one who brought all that music TO us for so many years. That's what I meant about the grass and the sun and all that crap.
Last edited by marky on Sun Oct 31, 2004 12:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
marky
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Post by marky »

Also, the Slate article is good, Tommy.
marky
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Post by marky »

marky
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What will become of his record collection?

Post by marky »

Peel wanted to leave collection to nation
By Anthony Barnes, Arts and Media Correspondent
31 October 2004


The broadcaster John Peel held discussions with the British Library about leaving his extraordinary record collection to the nation prior to his death last week.

The Radio 1 DJ, one of the most influential figures in music over the past four decades, amassed an unrivalled array of vinyl, CDs and tapes from around the world. His exhaustive collection, made up of many of the bands he loved such as the Fall, the Undertones and obscure African acts as well as early demos from bands that went on to make it big, ran to hundreds of thousands, all carefully stored in alphabetical order.

It would be the biggest and most important batch of material ever deposited with the national Sound Archive, which is held by the British Library. It is not clear what will happen to Peel's collection because his will has not yet been made public, if indeed he made one.

Peel's widow, Sheila, and other members of the family are still in Peru, where he died of a heart attack on Monday while on a working holiday. They are arranging the return of his body and are expected back in the UK early this week.

The archive's curator for popular music, Andy Linehan, visited the DJ at his home in Suffolk to examine the stack of music which had to be housed in a purpose-built extension owing to its size. "It's a fantastic collection. The nature of the material that was sent to him was the kind of stuff that we couldn't possibly get hold of," he said.

The Sound Archive, largely housed at the library in St Pancras, London, runs to around 2.5 million important recordings. Unlike the library of print publications, there is no legal requirement to deposit material, so it relies on donations and acquisitions.

Peel had been a tireless champion of new music from the days of mid-1960s psychedelia when he first began broadcasting in the UK as a pirate DJ. His enthusiasm helped many of the world's biggest bands find an audience, including Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and the White Stripes, during his 37 years at Radio 1.

His death at 65 left the music world in mourning and prompted glowing eulogies from those who are indebted to his patronage such as Elvis Costello, Feargal Sharkey and Jarvis Cocker. His friend Roger McGough yesterday presented a special edition of Home Truths, the Radio 4 series Peel created looking at the quirks and strains of family life. It featured some of the most memorable moments from the show.

Peel's long-time manager, Clive Selwood, confirmed the discussions with the British Library. "The idea certainly had favour with him, but we'll just have to see what happens. We would have to act in the best interests of the family. It should stay in England, but I've got to try to look after the interests of the family. This was his great asset. He was never a great saver of money."
1 November 2004 14:56
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