John Peel R.I.P.

Martin Abend · From: Berlin, Germany

I don't know how well known he was on your side of the pond but for Europe he was THE radio DJ. There's hardly anyone who did that much for pop music in the last 30 years. He will be missed.

MArtin

Veteran BBC broadcaster John Peel has died at the age of 65, while on holiday in Peru.

Peel, whose radio career spanned 40 years, was on a working holiday in the city of Cuzco with his wife Sheila when he suffered a heart attack.

He was BBC Radio 1's longest-serving DJ and in recent years had also presented Home Truths on Radio 4.

Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt said Peel's contribution to modern music and culture was "immeasurable".

'Hugely missed'

He added: "John Peel was a broadcasting legend. I am deeply saddened by his death as are all who work at Radio 1.

It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard
James Dean Bradfield "John's influence has towered over the development of popular music for nearly four decades.

"Hopeful bands all over the world sent their demo tapes to John knowing that he really cared.

"His commitment and passion for new music only grew stronger over the years. In fact, when I last saw him he was engaged in a lively debate with his fellow DJs over the state of new music today

"He will be hugely missed."

Mr Parfitt told Radio 1's Newsbeat that Peel had been on a holiday of a lifetime when he died.

He added: "He had gone on holiday with Sheila to a place where he had always wanted to go."

Mainstream music

Peel was born in Heswall, near Liverpool, and after completing his military service in Britain in 1962, went to the US where he began working for a radio station in Dallas.

He joined Radio 1 at the launch in 1967, and established himself with the late night programme Top Gear.

He became one of the first DJs to give exposure to punk, reggae, hip-hop, before they crossed over into the mainstream.

Peel was a member of Radio 1's original line-up

James Dean Bradfield, lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, paid tribute to Peel.

He told BBC News Online: "It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard.

"He was a lifeline to hearing music I would never have heard otherwise. The service he provided was getting to hear music that you couldn't buy in Cardiff. He was a portal to a whole new world."

Gruff Rhys, of the Super Furry Animals, said the band was in "shock".

"He was very inclusive of all kinds of music, very open-minded, and introduced a lot of diverse music to the public.

"He championed Welsh language music and for years was the only DJ on national radio who was willing to embrace it.

"He was very wary of trends such as Britpop, he was introducing people to drum 'n' bass and techno, things that were going on outside of the media."

After announcing Peel's death on Radio 1, the station played his favourite song, Teenage Kicks, by The Undertones.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3955289.stm

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Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

This is very sad, I doubt we will ever fully realize the importance of his work as a promoter of independent music of all genres.
He was a giant.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

David Rothon · From: London, England

It's impossible to overstate just how important he was, not just in terms of his influence on music in general (especially here in the UK), but his personal impact on millions of music lovers, myself included, over many years. He was, it seems, a lovely bloke and will be much missed.

Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

...was there any relationship with John and Emma Peel? ....(I'm still in love with her!)

www.genejones.com

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Aww man, as John Ravencroft he was one of the guys who first recorded the Californian outfit the Missunderstood with Glenn Ross Campbell playing some awesome steel in a rock style. (He later took it to the band Juicy Lucy in the UK)

Yep, Pirate Radio, championing punk and grunge bands before it was cool, he had the Dandelion label in the late 1960s and early 1970s which was distributed by Elektra in the US of A.
It was mainly a progessive rock and folk label, but he got Gene Vincent, one of his heroes, to cut a progressive roots rock album for the label in '69. Although unlike most of the other Dandelion albums, it was not a terribly good record, but that was more a case of the producer and singer not really finding any common ground.

Generally John kept back from hanging with the acts he championed, part modesty, partly due to the fact that he loved rock and not all the lifestyle choices and cliches involved with touring bands.

With a world full of hack deejays on the air, his loss is greatly felt by this individual. Besides, he was a great guy.

Archie Nicol R.I.P. · From: Ayrshire, Scotland

A man obsessed with music, not celebrity, like many DJs. A loss to true music lovers.

Dave Boothroyd · From: Staffordshire Moorlands

He was a genuinely nice man, bursting with enthusiasm for new music and an inspiration to us all.
Andy Kershaw (another DJ in the same mould) summed up how much he has meant when he said, "Anyone in a band somewhere out in the country, who is trying to do something different from the usual, has less chance to get their stuff heard today"
Too soon, too soon!
Dave

Matt Hutchinson · From: London, UK

So sad, definitely the end of an era for British broadcasting. I think this signals pretty much the end for anything non-mainstream on Radio 1.

Thomas Bancroft · From: Matawan, New Jersey, USA

That's 2 radio pioneers gone this year. RIP
Scott Muni & Mr. Peel!!!

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