John Peel: Our Hero

When John Peel suddenly passed away the world lost a true legend. The man was an inspiration to everyone, he was simply the greatest. Through his passion for new and groundbreaking music he inspired people to make music and single handedly shaped trends. Take a look in your record collection and the majority of your most treasured music wouldn’t be there without this man. Delivered in his unique, relaxed and witty tone his was the only radio show to provoke genuine excitement, you just didn’t know what he was going to play next! Come on, anyone who can play a nose bleed techno tune next to a 1920’s gramophone recording, followed by the latest underground post-rock record demands your utmost respect! Importantly, he wasn’t scared to be different – at the height of Brit-pop in 1995, John was also brave enough to pioneer drum and bass. In the seventies when the alternative scene was becoming stagnant with sprawling prog-rock, John introduced us to punk.  

It’s impossible to gauge how big his influence was, all we know is that it was infinite.  In a career with the BBC that spanned almost 40 years he didn’t so much have his finger on the pulse - he set it. He was Mr Zeitgeist. Artists like Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn, New Order and The Super Furry Animals (amongst countless others) all admit they wouldn’t be here without John Peel. Further back, whilst working in the US in the early sixties John was the first person to play The Beatles to an American audience – we all know what happened next! Throughout the next four decades he launched and nurtured the careers of innumerable artists and styles – from Pink Floyd to Pulp, The Smiths to The Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath to Blur, Elvis Costello to Elbow, rap to reggae, hip-hop to house… the list is endless. No wonder he was the only DJ who was freely allowed to defy the mundane Radio 1 play list.

Despite his pedigree, John Peel was extremely human and humble his show was voted Best Radio Show by Gigwise users in 2003, in accepting the award, John said he was "chuffed to bits". He was a very emotional man and was famous for breaking down whenever he heard The Undertone’s Teenage Kicks – his favourite record of all time. His beloved Liverpool Football Club’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ also made him very emotional. A devoted husband and father to his family, he was also a father figure to all the musicians he supported, inviting artists like Supergrass and Ash to play at his house. As well as the music, he always kept us entertained by hilariously playing records at the wrong speed and making various studio blunders. All of this just added to his charm!

John Peel was and always will be a hero. Totally irreplaceable, someone of his ilk is surely never going to be repeated. The only worrying thing is that with the radio waves rapidly deteriorating and awash with dross, who now is going to  spearhead new music?

All the staff at GIGWISE.com and we're sure the majority of our users will miss John Peel and our thoughts are with his family.