Thanks to Jo for letting me know that John Peel died today.
This is a very sad day for music lovers everywhere. John’s commitment to exposing new talent and filling the massive gap left by mainstream radio resulted in the unearthing of countless British acts, who would otherwise quite possibly have gone undiscovered.
John would frequently play demo tapes, sent in by bands looking for some exposure and dreaming of a record deal. Thanks to him, the Cocteau Twins hooked up with 4AD. Can you imagine what the world would have been like without the Cocteau Twins?
Often, John would invite bands into the BBC studio to record three or four tracks for broadcast on his evening show. Taped recordings of these shows were a favourite with fans and bootleggers alike. Many an album of the so-called Peel Sessions made its way onto the markets of Portobello Road and Camden Town.
In the late eighties, Strange Fruit started to officially release these sessions on vinyl and CD. Some of my favourite bands to feature on the Peel Sessions were The Sisters of Mercy, The Stranglers, That Petrol Emotion, Cocteau Twins, X-Mal Deutschland, Joy Division, New Order, Dead Can Dance, Inspiral Carpets, The Smiths and House of Love, but there are hundreds, if not thousands more.
John was 65, an age I’ll reach in 27 years. The thought leaves me feeling strangely old and mortal. I’ll never forget the sheer love of music that poured from him on each and every one of his shows; nor the tales he told of The Pig (his affectionate name for his wife); nor the times I saw him standing at the back of many a gig in London (where he was twice the age of everyone else there); his sarcastic introductions to artists appearing on Top of the Pops (“Just when you thought pop music was getting boring, here’s Bon Jovi!”); the Festive Fifty at Christmas; etc., etc.
You’ll be missed, John. Your innumerable loyal listeners and the hundreds of bands whose career you launched all owe you an immeasurable debt of gratitude. Your show was literally the only thing about England that I missed when I left for good in 1991.
Wishing you teenage kicks right through the night.