So sad to hear the news that John Peel has passed away whilst on holiday with his wife Sheila. His loss will be felt deeply by anyone who has ever listened to him on the radio. Personally, he was always a great comfort to me, a familiar voice when returning from abroad, when driving late through the night, or getting up on a wet saturday morning to listen to ‘Home Truths’. John also gave you a good feeling to know that there is an alternative to the sedate, sterile and souless culture around you, that lurking late night on the radio is a world of mad musicians, lost genius, and bonkers Japanese metal technoheads that can just fill you with all that is good about life. He will be missed.
I was really sad too. Where will all the good music come from now…radio 1 just played a clip of his radio show, he’d just been playing Cat on Form, and the next song he was going to play was The Flaming Lips…you wouldn’t get that anywhere else…
I heard lots of amazing things today, like John being the first DJ to play ‘I am the Walrus’, the first to play Black Sabbath and The Smiths. Can you imagine all the bands we wouldn’t have heard without him. Also, he’d just discovered a band called The Steveless, named because “Non of the people in the band are called Steve.” I hear they’re going to name the second stage at Glasto after John, I think he’d have been flattered and slightly bemused, but then he was do down to earth. I also heard that he had a picture of Kenny Dalglish in his studio with the caption ‘God – An informal pose’. If anyone wants a good idea of a Peel set, then they should have a listen at FabricLive07 It only scrapes the surface, but its good fun.
just moved house so not up with world events – emma emailed me the news of John Peel’s death – very sad and shocked – on sunday I wandered into the chapel on campus having not been anywhere near for a week and a half – as I prepared for the evening thingy I noticed that someone (a student I presume) had placed a photo of John on the altar – I was touched by this private act of devotion and decided to place the photo in the centre of a focal display with stones, candles and a praying monk carved out of driftwood – my faith in humananity was slightly dented when I discovered that many of the students who turned up for evening thingy didn’t know who John Peel was – I can see I have work to do . . . .
What Iwant to know is this: When one so wonderful as John Peel disappears from the world, is he replaced by another or does the world slowly and sadly sink towards blandness?