John Peel 1939 - 2004
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| John Peel and Captain Beefheart |
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Thanks for the response to Peel's death which I've been looking at on the Beefheart website. It seems I can't read too many tributes at the moment. The news made both of us here tearful - he's much loved and irreplaceable. I thank JP for many things, but in particular for helping me get through the dreaded Eighties! When I was much in need of an alternative with integrity and a friendly face/voice. And long may his influence live on, running through countless musicians and listeners... Deepest sympathy to John's family and gratitude to them for the family that he obviously loved so much. First heard John in the beginning days of Radio 1. Another teen with his ear glued to a poor quality tranny radio. What a world he opened up to me. Pick of the bunch? The wondrous Captain Beefheart. He helped create my musical world and there were obviously so many others who shared the journey he took me on. Only met John once, Bath Blues Festival, 1970, just after he'd left the stage. Met him many times via his unique broadcasting style. John's death is a catastrophe for music in this country. Who is there with the integrity, knowledge, enthusiasm to help new bands that are actually worth listening to? I hope that his death will not lead to the sludge that passes for music taking over and burying the real music. Will miss you deeply John. Deepest gratitude The Guardian (still known in the USA as the Manchester Guardian) is one of Britain's four national broadsheet newspapers. It has put the story of John Peel's death on page one - (London's Evening Standard and the Metro, a nationwide free paper made it the entire front page, when I saw the Evening Standard last night I actually started crying - the Metro just said "The Day The Music Died"), - and The Guardian article mentions Peel's promotion of Captain Beefheart. It's a shame that it took this tragic death to put Beefheart's name on the front page of a national newspaper, but there you go. Last night (with permission) I called silence and made a toast to John at the Intrepid Fox, London's main Rock pub and everyone joined in. Other acts that Peel promoted when no-one else was interested range from David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Rod Stewart and the Faces and even Elton John through the entire Punk phenomenon to the Fall, the Smiths and more recently the Strokes and White Stripes. There's a sense of national mourning growing over here - everyone has a story. Left wing singer Billy Bragg once heard Peel mention on his live show that he was hungry, so rushed round to the studios with a Mushroom Biryani and a copy of his demo tape - Bragg is now a national institution as well. The lead singer of Radiohead said "who am I going to listen to now?". Damn. Damn damn damn. I was about 16 years old when my math teacher gave me a tape with the "mighty Fall" on it. This turned my perception of what music can be around, as did Beefheart's music did 2 years earlier. I asked my teacher where to find such music, and the answer was of course simple: The John Peel show on BFBS. There were times when the show was between 2am and 4am in the morning, but I *had* to listen to it. John Peel gave so much to me I don't know where to start. PJ Harvey, drum n bass & techno stuff, the Pudelbande ... an endless stream of inspiration coming out of my radio, and tons of tapes from the John Peel show are the only reason I still have a tape deck. I already miss him and his voice. I'll have a drink on you, buddy. I don't know whether it's really true when people say that Captain Beefheart is more appreciated in the UK than the US, but if it is, then it's down to one single factor: John Peel. I can't imagine what my adolescence would have been like without his influence. He was the only person in all of broadcasting to have a profound influence on my life. What a horrible day. John Peel had such a huge influence on the music scene here in the UK. Like Jessica I used to listen to his 'Perfumed Garden' show on a tiny transistor radio when he was on the Radio London pirate radio ship . The signal kept fading and there was overwhelming crackling but the music was so good the battle against the poor reception was worth it. What would I be listening to if it hadn't been for him ... who knows? All I know is that I'll be eternally grateful for him opening my ears. If it hadn't been for him Don would be an even more obscure cult figure. This is terrible news. Quite apart from his continual championing of Beefheart (it wasn't that long ago that he played 'Trout',one track per show until it was done...just because a new generation of listeners needed to hear it!!), he was a beacon of musical open mindedness. His importance may not be so apparent to US cousins, but in the mid to late 70s over here his was the only show worth listening to. Ivor Cutler, Suicide, Martin Carthy, Hatfield & the North, Robert Wyatt, the Ramones, Vivian Stanshall, Culture, Red Crayola, This Heat, Pere Ubu, Devo, the Fall, the Residents...(good grief, it's a long list,and this is just the beginning, from my personal golden years of never missing his show)...all names that i'd like to think i would have discovered sooner or later, but the fact remains that i heard them first on Peel. Along with Captain Beefheart and Swell Maps, without whom my life would have been immeasurably different. Cliches are usually cliches because they're true...so forgive me if i lapse and say that Peel is irreplaceable. I remember when I first heard of him. What? A DJ who promotes CB&TMB and the Bonzo Dog Band!? God Bless Him. I cannot think of any DJ as widely known and respected, maybe he's the only one. And he played all that weird stuff, too. One of a kind. Totally tragic news. UK rock paper New Musical Express described him as Its very sad to hear of the death of John Peel, without him I would probably have never heard Beefheart. John Peel, the DJ single handedly responsible for breaking Captain Beefheart in the UK, has died suddenly on a working holiday in Peru. He narrated the BBC documentary, and is almost certainly the reason that Beefheart is more widely appreciated in the UK than in the States. When Trout Mask was released, Peel wasn't allowed to play more than one track on each session of his weekly radio show, so he just went through the entire album, track by track, week by week, until he'd played it all. Peel was 65 and beloved of several generations of musicians for playing the stuff that no-one else would touch - he was recently asked what he was listening to nowadays and replied "I've been exploring Scandinavian Death Metal" and you knew this old man wasn't lying. Our sympathy goes out to the generation of music lovers informed by this exceptional guide. If anyone's demise warranted the suspension of the rest of the day's programming it is his. It's always a sad day when we lose someone with genuine integrity but John Peel was uniquely humble and an inspiration to millions. For generations he's touched so many people's lives and there's no one else equipped to take his place - as of today there's nothing on the radio for the teenage misfits (however old they may actually be). John - thank you for bringing such great music (Captain Beefheart especially) to our attention, with a dead-pan self-deprecating wit which will always be missed. You were a wonderful man. |
