Sadly John Peel died a few days ago. For those that don’t know him he was a DJ who’s career spanned 40 years and the UK’s best known DJ. He championed young bands for all that time and although he was 65 never lost his edge, constantly playing difficult music on the fringes of society.
He was responsable for the launch/promotion of 1000’s of band below are just a few famous ones that you need to thank him for.
David Bowie (paid for Bowie to record out of his own pocket)
Radio Head
Undertones (‘Teenage Kicks’ was his favorite song)
The Orb
The Faces
Joy Division
Orbital
Jimi Hendrix
The Smiths
Pulp
T-Rex
Nirvana
Pixies
The White Stripes
Sonic Youth
the Cure
Elton John
Black Sabbath
New Order
Kraftwerk
… and a vast well of alternative tallent headed up by his favorite band “The Fall”
He was the only DJ to play punk music in the late seventies, he introduced Rave, Techno Trance to the UK and brought Reggae to the mainstream. He had a soft spot for speed/death metal and would play bands like Napalm Death just after a 1930’s skiffel rare vinyal.
We are asking for 1 minuite of extream noise (as oppose to slience) maximum volume at work or home, no dross, best if you can dig out something obscure. Today 29th Oct, 12 noon (GMT)
Peel Sessions listings of bands Peel has given air time to and broken in the music industry vheissu.freeserve.co.uk/
John Peels website from BBC radio1 bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/johnpeel/ you can listen again to his programs
Listen to home truths on BBC radio4 recorded here bbc.co.uk/radio4/presenters/peel_biog.shtml
bbc.tv/radio1/alt/johnpeel/peelenium.shtml The Peelenium took four tracks taken from each year of the last century and was introduced by The Voice, usually on tape but with a live performance on a Thursday night from Peel Acres. Thus stretching from 1900 to the Millennium, it was broadcast during the last hundred shows of 1999.