John Peel: The Ultimate Record Collector

A personal tribute by Danny Neill, Definitely Sound Records

I t will have been well documented by now that with the passing of John Peel, the world of music has lost the only man to have had an influence on every aspect of the musical landscape from the 1960s to the present day. No other figure could genuinely claim to have had a hand in discovering garage rock, psych, beat, prog, folk-rock, acid, punk, reggae, hip-hop, hardcore, industrial, acid-house, trance, indie, grindcore and finally grime while remaining, at heart, a blues aficionado!

His attitude towards the music he championed never became over-analytical, he was simply a fan; albeit one with a depth of knowledge matched only by the remarkable fact that he could relate first-hand stories about many of the legendary musical names he helped on the road to prominence. Just how priceless were those stories of The John Peel Roadshow billed above the Jimi Hendrix Experience, or the one about the unknown David Bowie due on stage at 8pm sharp with John yelling down the corridor “David, you’re on!” as Bowie stepped out in front of a sparsely filled room to do his “man stepping out of telephone box mime routine for 20 minutes”?

The man had a bottomless pit of anecdotes like these, but they never overshadowed the important business, or Peel’s obvious excitement …

by Danny Neill
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