John Peel R.I.P.

26 October 2004

It may well have nothing to do with football, or West Bromwich Albion in particular - but I'd just like to say how sad I was to hear the news of the death of legendary Radio 1 DJ John Peel today. John was the first one to give me a regular taste of "real" music at the age of about 15, and has been doing so ever since.

After too many formative years listening to the likes of Mud, the Rubettes and so on, I happened to be wandering through the FM band on my Dad's tuner one night and stumbled across his show, where I heard the latest Yes album being played, and never looked back. Over the years he's introduced me to countless new and interesting bands - right the way from the dinosaurs of the pre-punk era, through the best (and worst) of the New Wave and on to a seemingly never ending stream of acts from independent labels and a huge variety of music. Oh, and of course The Fall, who John championed through the years as they ploughed their lone but determined furrow through the music world, much as the great man himself did for over four decades.

BOING reader Podge suggested:

"On the night Jeff Astle died, John Peel played 'Sweet Water', Jeff's one and only pop single, circa 1970, as his tribute to the King. Perhaps the team should run out to 'Teenage Kicks', Peel's favourite, next home game. Fat chance... it might induce an unexpected bout of passion and commitment from the players."

Freelance journalist Chris Green, producer of "Three Degrees West" among others, added:

"John Peel was a real football fan. I remember filing a piece for Home Truths about a family from Bromsgrove who had lost a son at Hillsborough and John could barely read the links we'd written for him through his tears."

"A wonderful ego-less man, whose contribution to Britsh music was massive and whose presence will be sorely missed."

Paul Flower, promoter and occasional DJ with BRMB told us:

"Through doing some work on R1 events in the 90's I had the good fortune to meet and spend time with John Peel and can honestly say he was as genuine and approachable a person as you could hope to meet. I doubt that you'll find any people with a bad word to say about him."

"On a professional level I obviously had tremendous respect for him, not just for his style and longeivity but the amount of work he must've put in. I know how much music I used to have to listen to to produce a show, and it could only be a fraction of the amount he was ploughing through week after week. I confess it wore me down and became a chore, so I was in awe of the fact that he could do it for so long and still enjoy/appreciate it. It's a cynical business but he was a genuine star and a great loss."

Rest in Peace, John, best wishes to your family, and thanks for a lifetime of discovery.

 - Chris Saunders

Previous Stories:

  24 October 2004:  Contra-attack

  14 October 2004:  ME 4 WBA ?

  02 October 2004:  Married to the game ?

News Index