It has been nearly two years since the untimely death of John Peel, undoubtedly one of the greatest DJs of all time. Peel was certainly my first exposure to freeform radio, growing up in Germany, where I discovered his weekly two-hour show on BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) radio. It was so different from everything else on the radio, and even though I didn't always understand what he was saying, he seemed to be the nicest guy on the airwaves. I still remember how he introduced a new Napalm Death album, telling how he and his family listened to it while they drove south to Italy for the holidays. He liked the album but criticized that one could actually make out the individual instruments. And he didn't talk over the music, so I could tape it and make my own mixtapes.
When I moved to Berlin for college, I couldn't get BFBS anymore, and the BBC only had short 30-minute segments of John Peel at inconvenient times, so I didn't follow his show anymore. Eventually some Berlin radio station picked up the full two-hour weekly show for rebroadcasting, and hearing his voice and new musical picks always made me happy. One of the last occasions when I heard him live on the radio was a few years ago in England, where I turned on the radio to hear this familiar voice hosting an utterly stupid and boring talk show, Home Truths. But somehow his presence made even that show bearable.
Of course, eventually I discovered that John Peel was not the only person doing adventurous radio, and over the years I have found other shows and DJs which blew my mind, but I will always remember John Peel as the guy who turned me on to weird music and made me expect more of radio than hit parades and sports. And he certainly had a worldwide reach and influence, long before the explosion of the World Wide Web and streaming audio. He even twisted minds of listeners in small German villages, and probably in provincial towns all over the world. Nowadays my approach to radio is that if it doesn't blow your mind, it isn't worth listening. Blame John Peel for it.
There is only one way to close this post, namely with a version of his favorite song, Teenage Kicks by The Undertones, as performed by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. I have never heard him play this one, but I am sure he would have liked it. Judge for yourself: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Teenage Kicks (MP3).
He was THE greatest DJ of all time. I still very much miss him.
Posted by: Rufus | October 23, 2006 at 01:53 AM
I listened to Peelie on the BBC World Service for more than 25 years. He opened my ears more than anyone else I've ever heard. Without his influence, I probably wouldn't be the big fan of WFMU that I am. I was heartbroken when he died. I still am.
Posted by: ralph | October 23, 2006 at 04:07 PM
As lame as I feel for admitting this, I did not know that he co-hosted Top of the Pops for a stretch in the 80s. Even lamer - I found out via VH1 Classic's airing of the TOTP special last night. They showed some clips of him on the show, and he looked completely out of place. Really funny, actually. Doing a little research, I see he pulled his fair share of stunts while he was on the show...
(from wiki:)
'John Peel was once given 15 seconds to interview Debbie Harry about her new single. Annoyed by this ridiculous time constraint, he deliberately asked an overlong question so that she would not have time to answer. This was done with the full co-operation of Harry who, apparently, was amused by it.'
RIP.
Posted by: Steve PMX | October 23, 2006 at 04:39 PM
I hardly knew him outside of the Peel Sessions series but boy are those some great records by somme great bands. Clearly he had good taste and helped foster some great bands in their formative years. I'm looking forward to the PJ Harvey sessions to be released this Halloween.
Posted by: gropingdentist | October 24, 2006 at 07:43 PM
I liked home truths, though I admit it took a few listens to 'get'. It was just another side to the same man. In that show he explored everyday people's lives with the same open, wide-ranging and humane curiosity as he did with music.
Posted by: hmmm | October 26, 2006 at 12:55 AM
I have some of his shows available for download from my blog.
Posted by: Entrailicus | June 02, 2007 at 11:03 AM