John Peel, 1939-2004
I learned late yesterday that legendary DJ John Peel had died on Monday whilst on a working holiday in Peru. I could not really believe what I was reading. The man was meant to be around a lot longer than this, like a musical grandparent he and fellow oldtimer Annie Nightingale are/were my favourites. Whilst John was one of the older broadcasters - he tended to keep the music on radio more fresh than any of the funky DJs that find fame in Ibiza.
Peel seemed to have radio immunity, he could play what ever he liked and he always insisted on doing so, and I always appreciated this. Radio 1 is sometimes guilty of churning out bland pop during the day and whatever the current flavour of dance might be in the evening. Well Peel, he just played what he thought sounded good, from fantastic cutting edge drum and bass to equally great guitar rock.
I did not listen to his show as much as I wanted to, I was busy in the pub or shamefully watching another soap on TV. However, when I did catch his show in the car on the way home from the pub I would always say to myself; I need to listen to more of this man. I always thought I would find time to listen to his show more often, and now sadly I have been proven wrong.
It is testament to Peel that so many people miss him, my friend in Seattle sent me an email with his condolences to me, a fellow Englishman. I was kind of surprised that my American friends knew who Peel was, I don’t know why I was surprised, anyone who loves music is bound to miss John Peel. Normal people actually knew Peel personally, he often took the time to meet his fans, even invite them to his house to play some records or to the pub for a pint.
The last time I remember this much talk about someone who had recently passed away was when Lady Di hit the wall - this time I think the public grievance is much more heartfelt somehow.
A lot of people complain that vinyl has surface noise but I think life is surface noise.John Peel
October 27th, 2004
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