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John Peel
On first hearing of John Peel's death I though it was a joke. Some
cruel passing comment that immediately provoked me to log on to the BBC
website. There on the screen was the picture of John and the message
that yes, he had died. For the rest of that day, I had the usual
feelings about the passing of someone famous you admired: sadness,
remembrance, frustration, disbelief. I texted my friends, they
texted me, I read the papers, watched the news, scanned the messages on
the BBC website. Now that a few months or so have gone by, its obvious
to me, as I guess its obvious to thousands of other folks, that the pain
is just not going to go away. Like so many other people, the passing
of John Peel has left an emptiness in so many facets of my mind, not just
that of a mere radio DJ and presenter. In writing these words it may
relieve the remorse felt, that the legend that was John Peel, is indeed no
longer with us. In duality, the following may hopefully educate and
entertain.
My story of introduction and subsequent addiction to the John Peel show is
probably much like any other listener who valued the independent and
alternative side to music, someone who disliked the mainstream and all its
corporate trappings. The Christmas of 1983 had just passed and I was
in my early teens, and using the Woolworth's voucher my auntie had given
me I bought my first ever digital alarm clock with built in radio!
The novelty was incredible as I marvelled at its plastic wood effect
housing and red digital display that painted a crimson hue on my postered
bedroom wall at night time. My dad asked what I was listening to
one night and I seem to remember it was Radio Luxembourg on long wave (something about it fading in and out of reception with all those elongated squeels and sine wave warbles - incredibly effective at sending you off into
a dreamy sleep). My Dad asked me if I had tried the John Peel show
on Radio 1. "Radio 1?!" I said, "Surely there cant be anything on
there of interest to me!". He explained he listened to it when he was
young and that I should give it a go.
Looking back, it was utterly incredible that in that first hour of hearing
his show, he vividly illustrated his attitude, philosophy, character and
altruistic persona - something which he continued to do until his
death, and something that I quickly learned, he had always done.
First and foremost, his breadth of music choice was mind blowing: ska,
punk, garage rock, hip hop (lots of hip hop!), British indie, world music
and the rest. This was obviously a man who cared not for playlists.
Secondly, at one point he played a record at the wrong speed, and on several
occasions allowed the record to finish with an embarrassing sience
thereafter. Was he actually embarrassed? Was he fuck, John cared not
for such technical faux pas, it was the music that mattered. Not
only did this style of radio show appeal to those with a sense of humour,
it was a smack in the face to all that is radio "protocol". I fell
in love by midnight that night. Not only was there a radio show that
played underground music, it was delivered by a man with such wit and
wisdom it blew everything else out of the water.
For the next four or five years I rarely missed a show, and again this is
no doubt the same addiction that has merrily afflicted many fans over the
years. At some point in your life you have a Peel Show thing going
on and it changes your life forever. There were so many bands, songs, stories,
genres and anecdotes, that I would never have followed the positive and rewarding path of forging my own
style of music and ideas in later life. But now here comes the
strange thing, and this is undoubtedly what made John unique, is that he
was his unmoveable. John was placed in a moment in time when Radio 1 had
just been formed, whereupon he immediately carved a niche. There was the
chart and golden oldie type shows, and then there was all the other stuff
- that was John Peel. His influence and knack of picking up on great
acts at an early stage ensured that his radio show would never go off air,
and the longer they left it, the more ludicrous it would be if the John
Peel show was pulled. You only have to ask yourself, would John Peel
be given a slot on Radio 1 if he had applied out of nowhere in the mid
80s? No way.
Throughout my teens the boring and self-righteous Thatcher 80s were saved
by the John Peel show (it is testament to John that his influence and
unnerving grip exists as a titanium backbone spanning the latter half of the
last millennium). My group of trench coat wearing friends at
school would swap mix tapes of their favourite tracks taped off the show
(my right arm for one of those tapes now?, man ...), and quote some
cracking lines from the previous evening's broadcast. John Peel
became part of our lives, and the reason was simple. There was only
one person that spoke for the alternative edge and that was John Peel, not
only that, he did it on Radio 1! How cool was that?
John Peel's personal charm was more than a guy who played a bunch of
underground records. His choice of tunes reflected the soul within:
unbiased. He would quite happily play a demo tape from a bunch of 15
year old's first forage into indie pop next to Jimi Hendrix, or a Damned
Peel Session next to the Bhundu Boys. His selection process was pure
and simple, if he liked it, he would play it, and this policy remained
intact throughout the decades, right up until his appearance hosting the
2004 Glastonbury festival. He was immediately drawn the to fringe
events, championing new young bands because "what's the point of watching a
chart act on
a huge stage playing their last album not very well" - genius.
Everything that fell from the man's mouth I agreed with, and his selfless,
modest delivery made it all the more powerful. Here was a man you
could believe in - a sparkling jewel amongst the moronic shite.
During Glastonbury 2004 ...
"Well now we have KEANE! WOW! - are you a fan John?"
(John looks down at the floor) - "Erm, no."
Perfect.
Being a teenager who dared to be different in the 80s was difficult, but
John Peel and his show became your friend, and more importantly, it made
you feel that yes, its okay to be different, because John keeps you going.
In fact, this thought process was embedded in the alternative community -
John Peel's blessing was all that mattered. You had a shit review,
you played a shit gig, but who cares - John Peel played our record!
Don't get too complacent though, if you're next record doesn't cut it he wont
back you up for old time's sake. Remember, the guy had one of the
few characteristics left in radio, integrity. If he thought the
record was shit, he wouldn't play it, period. Who gives a fuck if it
got into the Top Ten.
Was John Peel a DJ? Certainly: he played records, he introduced them
with unparalleled devotion and his show never had a dull moment.
Ultimately, this was the antithesis of what Radio 1 became: radio
presenters (note, not DJs), waffling their way through an industry
constructed playlist, harbouring less musical knowledge than a perfectly formed
King Edward potato. In 2005, one can unfortunately happen upon a
current screening of "Top of the Pops" to witness the mindless peroxide
blondes autocue their way through the latest jelly mould products. It was
perhaps telling of the BBC's half baked attempts to honour John that
during
the screening of Top of the Pops following his death, there was not even a
mention of him. Instead, we got Darius - how apt. Now, had John taken no part in TOTP this would
perhaps have been fitting, but some forget he regularly presented the
show, much to his and my amusement.
"Well that was -----, and judging by their chart position I assume that
some of you undoubtedly enjoyed that".
In the last ten years John has seen his Radio 1 show demoted from prime
evening slot five times a week to four and then three into the early hours.
I have no knowledge of John's discussions with the BBC, but I can surmise
that John's determination to play what he wanted resulted in his show
being slowly pushed to side. I also wager that the powers that be
found him to be a thorn in their side, I mean they couldn't axe his show -
there would be so much of an outcry the result would be civil riot!
John had that power, and he utilised it to the end. His self
assurance and modesty ensured he was there to stay. I did hear that
John once described his yearly meeting with the BBC heads: they would ask
him "Look, you have to play more of this and less of that", and he would
answer "Yeh okay", and they go off and do exactly the same as he had done
the year before. That is good honest power. What could they
do?
Once again, like so many, I spent a few years not listening to John.
In the early 90s my nights were
spent bumbling my way through self-taught DJ mixing or watching Twin Peaks,
however I did manage to catch the almost legendary broadcast of Jeff
Mills' X-103 record on daytime Radio 1 when John filled in for someone's
show. Magical. Toward the end of the 90s, my involvement
in EHX and the birth of Benbecula Records, my attention turned to John's
show once more via pre-recorded sessions sent to me on CD and a few year's
later the internet webcasts. Once Benbecula started moving forward,
my life was almost complete when John played the first of very many
Benbecula records on his show, later commenting that he was nearly
conscripted to serve Queen and country on the Island of Benbecula in his late
teens.
I cant quite describe the feeling that swells within you when the man you
have worshipped from such a young age becomes a physical part of your own
small musical quest. It was almost as if he had been walking with me
all that time and I was rewarded for my own dedication miles along the
path - for a second time he held my hand and said "Hello". My
encounter came in 2002 while at Sonar in Barcelona,
promoting the new Christ album. John had played tracks from the
promo several times that Spring, and while chatting to someone in the
lobby of the main building, I spotted him out of the corner of my eye. My friend said
"There's John Peel". I felt a rush, and within a second I had a
freshly pressed copy of the finished vinyl album in my hand and made my way toward him.
Well, the term "auto-pilot" comes into play here; I spraffed some shite
about being a long term fan and that it was an honour - blah blah blah ... John positioned himself in that
trademark sideways stance, glancing up now and again and speaking to me with that cute twitch in his
right eye. His body language was not indicative of his chat though,
he seemed genuinely humbled that I was even bothering to speak to him and for
5 minutes we talked about the label and what I had been doing all these
years ... John Peel was interested in me!! Why?? Suddenly his chat set off
on a tangent about his hatred of flying ... and that he had travelled through
Europe by car ... and that his wife was in charge of changing the CDs on the
car stereo ... he was also there to pick up some happy hardcore ... he got
some stuff in Paris ... etc etc etc; it was immediately apparent to me that
the voice you hear on the radio is the same in real life. Dulcet
tones? Nah, more like, "don't listen to me, listen to the music".
And so, a couple more years go by, and we are back to today and
John isn't here anymore. I've met very many people in the industry,
but nothing quite compares; it has been said that John was like a father,
and I can see that. What hurts the most, and what probably hurts for
many folk, is that the loss cannot be put in words. A "tribute" show
on the BBC saw his DJ partner Annie Nightingale being interviewed after
John's death. When asked to talk about John, she shook her head,
gesticulated with her hands, silently opened and closed her mouth a few
times, and then said nothing. That pretty much sums up my feeling too.
Words mean nothing, the music is everything.
The Cosmic Crofter, Scotland, January, 2005. |
