Vincent Tseng

Vincent Tseng (born 1946 or 1947) was an ethnic Chinese man living in the UK during the 60's, who seemed to hang around with numerous hippies. There is very little information about him and his current whereabouts or whether he is dead or alive. There is evidence that a Vincent Tseng wrote articles for the U.K. computer publication, Practical Computing, in the late 70’s and early 80’s , but it is not known whether this is the same person.
==Links to Peel==
Vincent Tseng was one of Peel's friends in the late '60's during the hippie era and appeared to be one of the circle who spent time around him at his various Peel Acres flats in London, before JP met Sheila Gilhooly and ended his hippy open-house lifestyle in favour of a more conventional relationship. In "At Home With John Peel", an uncredited magazine article reproduced on the Marmalade Skies website's tribute to Peel, the writer describes visiting JP when he was living in Regent's Park (1968 or '69): "Footsteps on the stairs and the door is cautiously opened. A Chinese boy smiles and leads the way in...", which may refer to Vincent Tseng. 
Vincent was also one of the friends who Peel invited into the studio while he was broadcasting Top Gear and Night Ride in 1968-69 - until his new Top Gear producer John Walters objected to this and threw them all out. Peel would often mention Vincent's name on the airwaves during 1967-68. On his 19 May 1968 show, Peel had Vincent in the studio. The latter said 'Hi John' on the air and also asked JP to dedicate a track to his brother on that same show. Peel also mentioned Vincent's name on his 26 May 1968 programme, as being in the studio. thumb|220x220px|Peel can be seen with Vincent Tseng at 1:35 of the video
There is also footage of Peel with Vincent at the Hyde Park concert of 29 June 1968, shown on the video on this page. Peel enthused over the concert in International Times.
Peel had a regular column in IT from 1967 to 1969 and mentions Vincent Tseng in two articles from late 1967 and spring 1968 . The DJ also mentions his name in the sleevenotes for Velvett Fogg's debut album, describing Vincent in terms which could be considered nowadays as racist, as an 'Inscrutable Oriental by Appointment to the Peel Foundation' . But Peel's remarks were intended humorously; "inscrutable orientals" was an old-fashioned phrase from the time of the British Empire and by the 1960s seemed a bit absurd, so no-one took offence at it.
Vincent also had letters published in the Melody Maker (a paper that Peel read and sometimes contributed to in opinion pieces) several times, and in one of them praised jazz musician Roland Kirk. Jazz may have been one of his interests, as Peel, after praising an LP by jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo in his International Times column of 3 May 1968, comments, "Vincent Tseng, Inscrutable Oriental by Appointment to Peel Acres, doesn't like it, though" 
Vincent's home address in Finchley, London was also included in the list of addresses in the Perfumed Garden listeners' group's second newsletter. But it doesn't appear in the fifth and final PG newsletter and as far as is known, he doesn't seem to have had any contact with Peel after 1969.
==External Links==
*YouTube
Category:People