Ian The Tank Engine

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Ian The Tank Engine (real name: Ian McFee, born 22nd August 1956) is originally from Bury but lives in Nottingham and was a close friend of Peel. In 1967 he used to write to Peel occasionally and in the 70's regularly corresponded with him. Later on he lost touch with Peel as he started to work all over the country and resumed contact when living in York in the early 80's. 
Peel would often mention Ian's name on his shows and once dedicated a full programme to him on his birthday in 1993, which was delayed to midnight on 22nd August 1993, due to a Sting concert. 
In 2016, Ian became a '5 Before 6' DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music for one week.
== Mentioned On Shows ==
;1986
*15 October 1986: Peel mentions that he received the Son House live LP from his friend Ian McFee last week.
;1987
*05 January 1987: Peel mentions that Ian The Tank Engine gave him a Christmas present of a John Fahey record called Visits Washington, D.C.
*16 November 1987: Peel mentions his friend Ian McFee bought a record of drag boat racing, which he plays briefly on the show.
;1988
*12 October 1988: Peel mentions that Ian The Tank Engine gave the LP, 'Calypsos Of The Virgin Islands' to him as a birthday present, which he plays a track from on the show.
;1989
*11 January 1989: Peel plays a track from a Pacific compilation album called Music Of The South Seas, given to him by Ian McFee for Christmas.
*21 August 1989: Peel plays a Bastard Kestrel record for Ian The Tank Engine.
;1990
*05 February 1990: Peel gets Ian The Tank Engine to read out the winners of the Pixies competition.
*28 March 1990: Peel mentions Ian The Tank Engine has given him records by Almighty Lumberjacks Of Death and Boss Hog, which he plays tracks from on his programme. 
*14 May 1990: Peel mentions that Ian The Tank Engine has three copies of the Cows' Effete And Impudent Snobs album all autographed by the band, which he says he ought to give away in a competition.
*05 September 1990: Peel dedicates Royal Trux's Baghdad Buzz to Ian The Tank Engine.
*10 September 1990: Peel dedicates a Wedding Present track to Ian The Tank Engine.
*13 October 1990: Peel mentions going record shopping with Ian The Tank Engine at Piccadilly Records.
*04 November 1990: Peel plays three tracks from the Amphetamine Reptile label for Ian The Tank Engine.
;1991
*17 August 1991: Peel dedicates a Lonnie Johnson track to Ian The Tank Engine.
*15 December 1991: Peel mentions Ian The Tank Engine is wearing an Amphetamine Reptile t-shirt in the studio
;1993
*21 August 1993: The whole programme was dedicated to Peel's friend Ian The Tank Engine, as it was his birthday at midnight. Unusually, it ran from 12 midnight to 3 a.m. due to a Sting concert.
;1997
*10 September 1997: Ian The Tank Engine gives a record of Charlie Christian with Benny Goodman Sextet to Peel as a birthday gift.
;1998
*03 June 1998: Peel mentions Ian The Tank Engine sent him a flyer about a rhythm and ska night and a record.
;2000
*23 March 2000: Peel mentions that Ian The Tank Engine gave him a record by Frankie Beverly And The Butlers for his birthday present last year.
*19 September 2000:  'My friend Ian The Tank Engine deserves a kiss full on the lips for sending me for my birthday six R'n'B singles which I didn't previously own. It's a funny thing, because when I was about 10, 11, 12, something like that, my uncle Michael, who was sort of the black sheep of the family, went to New York, and in those days absolutely nobody did that, I'd never known anybody been to America at all prior to that, and he brought me back some records, bless him. Unfortunately, I don't have any of those records, but I do recall that one of them was by Red Prysock, and as a result I became something of a closet Red Prysock fan, a tenor saxophonist, and one of the records that Ian sent me was by Red Prysock, and this is it. It's also got an insane tempo, you'll think I'm playing it at the wrong speed.'
;2001
*28 February 2001: Peel mentions Ian The Tank Engine gave him a Christmas present of McKinley Mitchell's 'Lazy Dizzy Daisy' single.
*23 August 2001: "Ian The Tank Engine" gets a chorus of Happy Birthday and a "fantastically fattening and death-dealing" cake to celebrate his birthday the previous day.
== External Links ==
* Twitter
Category:People