John Peel Day

[The Large One]

................ or he saw the way the wind was blowing and saw a niche to keep his job and life-style while others of his age and generation were losing theirs.

I have a "tragic" lack of interest in popular music that is true.

Eh? Peel was a writer and broadcaster for over 40 years. He had been playing records of his own choice which were not on the standard playlists since the 60s. Some others may have also doing that then, but Peel was the only one (at least, on a national radio station) to continue doing that.

You make him sound like an opportunist who followed trends. He was FAR from that - he set them.

Sorry you can't see it, but he really was that kind of a person.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

actually - to be honest I am in no position to judge his impact or motives - we just seem on a path of beatifying celebrities on death.

 

[The Large One]

actually - to be honest I am in no position to judge his impact or motives - we just seem on a path of beatifying celebrities on death.

Beatifiying is a bit strong, but it's not going too far to say he had a major influence on late 20th Century British youth culture, and a strong case can certainly be made for it.

Some 'celebrities' (Peel would be turning in his grave if you described him as that) deserve praise. Most don't.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

When I think about it I don't remember him much being at the edge of new music before punk arrived - he always seemed an old hippy to me. And the way that he embraced punk when it was aimed at rebelling against music industry personalities did look odd.

 

[The Large One]

Well, he couldn't champion punk before it happened, could he?

 

[Gwylan]

Well, he couldn't champion punk before it happened, could he?

And even before punk he was going against the mainstream. He used to play lots of old blues, reggae, obscure German bands and lots of folk music.

I started listening to Peel in about 1971 and he was always one step ahead of anyone else.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Well, he couldn't champion punk before it happened, could he?

boom boom.

I always looked on him as an old hippy and assumed he liked the rock dinosaurs of the time - but Gwylan knows otherwise. I will keep quiet on this one now. Enjoy the day.

 

[Gully]

...Teenage Kicks on again..

...off to bounce round the house, again...

 

[Yorkie]

I tend to think the way of DKM. Ok it was sad that he died relatively young but I can remember when DJ's really did rebel.
Pirate radio was the great rebellion so that we actually got radio 1 & 2 etc.
Seeing as most of the JP fans would be in their 40's now anyway surely the tributes should be on radio 2 not the teenybopper radio 1 (who moved all the ground breaking guys out because they had got too old)

I'm not often cynical but this is just an exercise in getting audiences in.

 

[attila]

Just got back from maybe my 40th European tour...earned my living doing what I love for 25 years...and Peelie started it all!!

BIG GLASS OF CHIMAY FOR JP!
Knackered Attila

Albion related tribute here:

http://www.attilathestockbroker.com/johnpeel.html

 

[Yorkie]

Just got back from maybe my 40th European tour...earned my living doing what I love for 25 years...and Peelie started it all!!

BIG GLASS OF CHIMAY FOR JP!
Knackered Attila

Albion related tribute here:

http://www.attilathestockbroker.com/johnpeel.html

Sorry but see my post above. The guys in the 60's were the ones who started it.

Kenny Everett, Dave Cash, Tony Blackburn, Dave Lee Travers, Emporer Rosco

These guys had to learn their trade at Radio Luxembourg because this country didn't have any pop culture at all.
It was the Light programme until the pirate radios started up.

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

Just hear a version of Much to Much by The Special then New Order playing live Joy Division tracks which rocked.

John Peel A True Legend

 

[Kylies Stunt Arse]

Sorry but see my post above. The guys in the 60's were the ones who started it.

Kenny Everett, Dave Cash, Tony Blackburn, Dave Lee Travers, Emporer Rosco

These guys had to learn their trade at Radio Luxembourg because this country didn't have any pop culture at all.
It was the Light programme until the pirate radios started up.

This just shows how little you know Yorkie.

Peel first worked in UK radio on Radio London, the first pirate station, as a colleague and contempary of Everett and Blackburn. Peel DID start it.

Peel was also the only DJ to have been at Radio 1 when it started, and STILL been on their schedule when he died, 40 YEARS LATER. He wasn't farmed out to radio 2, he was still very relevant. He was also the only DJ to play what he wanted and not the paid for playlist, AND the only DJ to play EVERY record all the way through and go against the wishes of his bosses who were desperate to ruin things for all the "home tapers".

His impact was huge and should not be written off by glib and uninformed comments like yours.

 

[Yorkie]

This just shows how little you know Yorkie.

Peel first worked in UK radio on Radio London, the first pirate station, as a colleague and contempary of Everett and Blackburn. Peel DID start it.

Peel was also the only DJ to have been at Radio 1 when it started, and STILL been on their schedule when he died, 40 YEARS LATER. He wasn't farmed out to radio 2, he was still very relevant. He was also the only DJ to play what he wanted and not the paid for playlist, AND the only DJ to play EVERY record all the way through and go against the wishes of his bosses who were desperate to ruin things for all the "home tapers".

His impact was huge and should not be written off by glib and uninformed comments like yours.

He was one of several. I don't see how that makes him so special except for the fact that he died young.
I know he introduced a lot of unknowns but to have a special day set aside

It's almost Princess Diana like

Edited to add that Radio Caroline was the first Pirate radio NOT Radio London

Tony Blackburn was the first dj to start on Radio 1. I was there and listened to it.

 

[Yorkie]

Btw KSA
It is possible to differ in opinion without putting someone down you know.

 

[attila]

Yorkie, I meant Peelie started it for me - as he did for thousands of others. He picked up on people who were just starting out and sent him their stuff - if he liked it, he played it, and if he liked it a lot he played it a lot and gave you the honour of a Peel session (I did 2) Then he mostly left you to your own devices
and moved onto something else: but that early exposure was brilliant and countless people have fulfilled their dreams because of him. Lovely bloke as well.
Too knackered to go down the Concorde tonight but proud to post my tribute on NSC!!!

 

[Yorkie]

Sorry attila. I know that it meant something to you.

 

[Kylies Stunt Arse]

I think the reason that he is as revered as he is comes down to the fact that he remained at the cutting edge of the music industry for the whole of his career. No one else has ever achieved this and is unlikely to.

I'm well aware of Blackburn being the first DJ to broadcast on R1. Someone had to be first. My point was that Peel was at R1 from the day it started until the day he died. As I said before he was also the only DJ to play what HE wanted to play, and consequently broke many bands and genres. His impact on the music industry is immeasurable.

I apologise for my comments appearing to be of a put down nature but it's frustrating when people pass judgement on things that they clearly don't know enough about. I'm sorry if I came across too harsh.

Having said that I do agree that Radio 1 are using this anniversary to try to grab audience figures back, but I also believe that the work Peel did should be recognised and remembered. It is just a day set aside by one radio station though, it's not as if all stations and TV channels are dedicating the day to him.

It's in no way Princess Diana like as Peel did at least do something useful with his life, and changed many others.

 

[The Large One]

I tend to think the way of DKM. Ok it was sad that he died relatively young but I can remember when DJ's really did rebel.
Pirate radio was the great rebellion so that we actually got radio 1 & 2 etc.
Seeing as most of the JP fans would be in their 40's now anyway surely the tributes should be on radio 2 not the teenybopper radio 1 (who moved all the ground breaking guys out because they had got too old)

I'm not often cynical but this is just an exercise in getting audiences in.

There were very few, if any 'groundbreaking' people on Radio 1 - merely advertisers on behalf of the record industry. By the mid-70s, Radio 1 was just one long advertisement - for the DJs. Kenny Everett springs to mind as one exception.

To call Tony Blackburn, Dave Lee Travis etc rebels is plain silly. Even if they were wide-eyes naive people who believed in the music at the time, they ultimately, like nearly all the others, sold out to the money men.

Pirate radio was just about the most corrupt radio format when it came to payola. The advent of Radio 1 merely nationalised and insitiutionalised it. Peelie, the rebel within, despised this sycophantic relationship between DJs and the record labels and played what he wanted.

And he was there at the start.

 

[Yorkie]

Sorry TLO but these guys had to go to Luxembourg just to work.
Pop music was looked down upon by the BBC (and that was all we had then)

The guys took great risks going out of the Thames estruary to pirate radio stations for what they believed in. Maybe they did sell out later but they were at the start.

Probably the fact that I wasn't overly keen on punk (apart from the Stranglers) gives me a slightly different perspective on things.

I am quite a bit older than most of you and can remember the shock and horror of the establishment of those days.