I'm stunned. John Peel went to work for BBC Radio 1 the year of my birth and thirty-seven years later, he was was and always would be miles ahead of me in terms of being on the cutting edge of music. He was so open to new music, such a tireless champion of new artists that keeping up with him was pretty much impossible. All we could do was be grateful that he was there as a tireless champion for what's next.
John Peel was everything a broadcaster should be and a giant presence in my personal and professional life.
I can only echo LT's heartfelt tribute. I really never "heard" Peel's show, except in clips we used to play on my college radio station, but his influence on the bands that came out of England was immense. We used to being in records to the import store I worked at solely on Peel's recommendation, and they usually sold out.
Here's hoping there's still room in today's crappy radio world for a new John Peel...
I have to agree, of course, since THERE WILL NEVER BE another "John Peel Session." All I can say is that the Undertones and Smiths John Peel Sessions are worth their weight in at least gold.
"Naked Woman, Naked Man Where did you get that nice sun tan?"
A little while back, I got to hear Mclusky on John Peel's show. For me, I guess that says it all. I wish I would have gone on the BBC site more often to hear his show.
The British have terrible food, expensive gas, shitty weather, and horrid weekly music magazines. Up until now I could say that at least they have something good on the radio. Now the only thing they have going for them is that they don't have to wait three weeks for the Wire to arrive in bookstores.
