A Small Tribute to John Peel on the 10th Anniversary of his Death

The 25th October 2014 marks a decade since John Peel died of heart attack, at the age of 65, whilst on a working holiday in Peru.  I first heard of his death on that day on my way back home from Leeds.  When I got off the train at Kings Cross I had to walk to the tube station via the street (there were building works going on) and on my way I passed some 'Metro' stands and the headline caught my eye, so I picked up a copy and read the bad news. 

A lot of words have already been written this month about John, his legacy and what he meant to many of those who met and worked with him.  I didn't ever meet John though did see him near Broadcasting House one evening in the 1990's - just didn't have the bottle to say hello.

Apart from having influenced and broadened my musical horizons for more than 30 years – from teenager to father of three – he also introduced to some of the artists and bands I still love today.  This post is just a small tribute to John in the from of a very tiny selection of the favourites I first heard on his show...one of which is a slight bending of the truth.

I certainly first heard Sonic Youth on the Peel programme and went out and bought 'EVOL' on the basis of what I heard there, though I think I must have heard stuff from the two earlier albums on the show too.  Here's a track from the follow-up album to 'EVOL'...

 

Captain Beefheart's profile in the UK was in no short measure down to Mr. Peel.  Through Peel's regular airplay of Beefheart, I became a lifelong fan.  Here's something from the later years...

Boards of Canada: What can I say?  I have loved so much of what they have done over the years but 'Music has the Right to Children' is where it all began.  The Peel Session version of 'Happy Cycling' is an all-time favourite track. 'roygbiv' is one of those annoying songs that's just too damn short. I've always felt that if you listen to the fadeout closely there's a good 5 minutes more to this tune that they've got saved up for an outtakes collection...

Microdisney were huge favourites on the John Peel programme in the 1980's.  Their first two albums still get played on a regular basis in Nine Feet Underground waiting room. I've always loved the contrast of Sean O'Hagan's melodic-almost-MOR tunes with Cathal Coughlan's bitter, vitriolic and at times sneering lyrics. The Peel Sessions version of 'Everybody is Dead' from the album 'Everybody is Fantastic' is a slightly more off kilter version...

Before punk had really started in the UK, Peelie started playing some of the New York bands who'd decided to return to basics. If I recall correctly this raw musical approach  did not go down well with some of the audience of John's programme. The Ramones are the first of these I recall hearing. Here is 'Blitzkrieg Bop' from their first album. Still sounds a fresh today as the night I first heard it in Leeds... 

Then came UK punk.  The Damned were one of the first to be played on the Peel show though I could easily have picked Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Clash. I heard them all here first.  I love 'New Rose' still, so here it is...

 

The more I thought about it, the longer the candidate list for this mini-tribute became. I had to stop.  So, there's loads of bands I've missed, loads of genres - reggae, jungle, techno to name but three - but in a way that's the point.  The breadth of what John played is unmatched and probably will never happen again within the bounds of a single radio show - a radio station maybe (BBC 6 Music anyone) - so thanks to Mr Peel for all the pleasure and joy he brought me in the past and continues to bring today. Long may he be celebrated.

Oh, and the slight bending of the truth? Captain Beefheart. I first heard him and his band on the Alan 'Fluff' Freeman Saturday Rock Show. The track being 'Big Eyed Beans from Venus' and as a tribute to both Peel and Beefheart, here it is with added 'Whisperin' Bob'...