John Peel

**John Robert Parker Ravenscroft**, OBE (30 August, 1939 – 25 October 2004, known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. He was known for his eclectic taste in music and his honest and warm broadcasting style.

He was one of the first broadcasters to play psychedelic rock and progressive rock records on British radio, and he is widely acknowledged for promoting artists working in various genres, including pop, reggae, "world", indie pop, indie rock, alternative rock, punk, hardcore punk, breakcore, grindcore, death metal, British hip hop, electronic music and dance music. Fellow DJ Paul Gambaccini described him as "the most important man in music for about a dozen years".

Peel's Radio 1 shows were notable for the regular Peel sessions, which usually consisted of four songs recorded by an artist live in the BBC's studios, and which often provided the first major national coverage to bands that later would achieve great fame. Another popular feature of his shows was the annual Festive Fifty countdown of his listeners' favourite records of the year.

Peel appeared occasionally on British television as one of the presenters of Top Of The Pops in the 1980s, and he provided voice-over commentary for a number of BBC programmes. He became popular with the audience of BBC Radio 4 for his Home Truths programme, which ran from the 1990s, featuring unusual stories from listeners' domestic lives.

## Links To Kershaw

Andy Kershaw grew up in Rochdale, the Lancashire mill town where Peel was sent by his father in the late 1950s to learn the basics of the cotton trade. In his autobiography *No Off Switch* Kershaw says that much later he was surprised to learn that the mill where the young John Ravenscroft worked was *"not a hundred yards from the nursery school I was attending at the time"* (p.4). He goes on to describe how, as a teenage fan of Bob Dylan and Rory Gallagher, he discovered Peel's radio show in the mid-1970s (*"an absolute revelation"*) and became a keen listener. He was attracted by the *"juxtaposition of...styles"* on Peel's shows, because it reflected his own musical tastes; *"I had been listening to music in this manner at home for some time. The Peel programme's scattershot scheduling told me that this was perfectly OK. I wasn't odd at all. And I wasn't alone any more."* (*No Off Switch*, pp 63-64)

Andy remembered attending a JP roadshow at Leeds University, although John's first memory was of being invited to stay at AK's flat and being greeted at 1 a.m. with twenty assorted musicians.  Originally, his shows were broadcast from Manchester from 06 July to 27 September 1985, when the show moved to London (replacing Tommy Vance's unsuccessful *Into The Music*) and Kershaw became a colleague of Peel's, sharing the same office in Broadcasting House, Egton 318, with JP and producer John Walters. Peel would constantly refer to him (affectionately) as either *"brother Kershaw"* or *"the boy Kershaw"* (the latter referring to their twenty-year age difference - as well as to Kershaw's grandfather who served in the Navy in World War 1 as an underage volunteer and was known as "Boy Kershaw"). Kershaw still speaks fondly of Peel and Walters and likens himself to Tigger, Walters to Pooh and Peel as a rather grumpy and disconsolate Eeyore. Both Ken Garner and Sheila suggest that the BBC may have been looking on him as a replacement for John, and Kershaw confirms this in his autobiography (pp.245-8). But this plan didn't work; their overlapping interests led them to become close friends and for a time their shows usually followed one another in the Radio 1 schedules. Andy was like a breath of fresh air - they had a "*simultaeously epiphanic experience"* on hearing the Bhundu Boys for the first time.

Kershaw described his shows as being *"to a large extent, an amplification of those components I enjoyed most of the Peel programmes, when John relaxed for a few minutes and played, for example, some old blues or country record which he might introduce with a tale of his misadventures in the Texas of his late teens* [sic]" (*No Off Switch*, p.234*) -* although he wasn't so keen on much of the new material Peel played in the 1980s and later, saying he *"did not share John's apparent unquestioning faith in white rock music, which was particularly unshakeable if a band's records were released on an independent label* ".(ibid, p.246)

John referred to Kershaw as *"a great but combative broadcaster"*,  as Andy seemed to relish the confrontations with management that Peel sought to avoid, and would stoutly resist changes to his programmes within the BBC (John also recalled having to break up a fight between AK and Simon Bates at a Christmas party). However, the sense of narrative in Peel's programmes was missing from Kershaw's: John interwove his family life and history with the music, whereas Andy's shows concentrated on the tracks themselves, with two or three continually segued together and uninterrupted by his comments: he didn't reveal much about himself. The show handovers eventually disintegrated into send-ups of 'matey DJ chat.' The pair shopped for African music at Stern's in Whitfield Street and went together on annual trips to the TT Races in the Isle Of Man until Sheila's near-fatal brain haemorrhage in 1996.

Another common feature was the presence of specially commissioned sessions: these have seen limited releases, and, while lacking the kudos of Peel's, encompass a wide variety of artists from many different countries, mainly African. However, it could be said that he scooped Peel in being the first to broadcast, among others, the Wedding Present in session, and admitting a number of artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits that John disliked. One session by Papa Wemba was broadcast on both shows in 1992. He championed the Bhundu Boys and became a close personal friend to the band. He was also constantly finding new world music sounds for Peel, who would often thank him for sending him, for example, the latest release from Mongolian throat singers. He also played a great deal of country, blues and British and American folk. He lost his Radio 1 slot in 2000 and was bitter that Peel (possibly fearing for his own future on the station) remained silent rather than joining those who protested at his sacking. The following year saw him on Radio 3, which he came to regard as his spiritual home, becoming associated with Womad. He presented a tribute show shortly after John's death, and disappeared from the airwaves for some time following a traumatic and convoluted personal life and nervous breakdown, but reappeared in 2011 with a series of world music documentaries with Lucy Duran, *Music Planet*, again on Radio 3.

Like Peel, he has pursued a second career as a writer, contributing pieces to various newspapers including the Independent (notably an article in which he blamed the Radio 1 management for causing Peel's death by "marginalising" him) and producing an autobiography, *No Off Switch*, in 2011. He also showed a willingness to broadcast on other BBC radio channels, notably Radio 4, from an early stage in his career with the corporation, and was especially attracted to the role of a foreign correspondent. An enthusiastic world traveller, he was often attracted to dangerous or unlikely destinations, most memorably with an eye-witness report on the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He was a vocal and active campaigner against landmines. He also travelled to Haiti, North Korea, Angola, Mali, Zimbabwe and numerous other states. More recently he has done occasional spoken word programmes for Radio 4 and made occasional TV appearances on BBC1's primetime magazine, The One Show. He also makes personal appearances and does some live DJing, but seems uninterested in resuming his radio DJ career.

## Shows Played

* 06 June 2004: La Bamba (spoken word of the English translation)
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 8: La Bamba (spoken word of the English translation)

## Peel Compilations

(In the years after the death of John Peel in October 2004, Andy Kershaw regularly played various artist (v/a) tribute compilations and other collections of music associated with his former Radio One colleague and friend. The following list was compiled only from the database of this site. Please add any missing information.)

(v/a 2xCD - Peel - A Tribute) Warner Marketing Strategy

* 23 October 2005: Tim Buckley: Song To The Siren
* 23 October 2005: Faces: Stay With Me
* 23 October 2005: Clash: Complete Control
* 30 October 2005: Culture: Lion Rock
* 30 October 2005: Roy Buchanan: Lonesome Fugitive
* 06 November 2005: Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Big Eyed Beans From Venus
* 06 November 2005: Billy Bragg: New England

(v/a CD - Peel And Sheila ‎– The Pig's Big 78s - A Beginner's Guide) Trikont

* 26 March 2006: Jack White & His Band: Maybe
* 02 April 2006: Bob Richardson & His Orchestra: Moonlight Saving Time
* 02 April 2006: Lightnin' Hopkins: Jail House Blues
* 16 April 2006: Ronnie Ronalde: The Yodelling Whistler
* 30 April 2006: Seven Hot Airmen: Gotta Feeling For You
* 14 May 2006: Mr Billy Williams: John, John, Put Your Trousers On
* 28 May 2006: George Lewis & His New Orleans Orchestra: Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula

(v/a 2xCD - Peel - Right Time, Wrong Speed 1977-1987) Warner Music TV

* 08 October 2006: Mekons: Where Were You
* 08 October 2006: Ivor Cutler: Life In A Scotch Sittingroom
* 15 October 2006: Stiff Little Fingers: Alternative Ulster
* 15 October 2006: Four Brothers: Pasi Pano Pane Zviedzo
* 29 October 2006: Steel Pulse: Ku Klux Klan
* 05 November 2006: Only Ones: Another Girl Another Planet
* 07 January 2007:Gang Of Four: Damaged Goods
* 02 April 2007: Poet And The Roots: All Wi Doin' Is Defendin

## Strange Fruit

(Radio plays by AK of releases on the Strange Fruit label, set up by John Peel and business partner Clive Selwood to put out material from sessions recorded for JP's BBC Radio One show. Strange Fruit was also the parent label of Strange Roots, which released Kershaw sessions material. Please add more information if known.)

* 04 November 1986 (John Peel): Gang Of Four: At Home He's A Tourist (12" - The Peel Sessions)
* 08 January 1987: June Tabor: Lord Bateman (12" - The Peel Sessions)
* 20 October 1988: Smiths: Reel Around The Fountain (12" - The Peel Sessions)
* 05 January 1989: Wedding Present: I Found That Essence Rare (12" - Radio 1 Session The Evening Show)
* 12 November 1998: Loudon Wainwright III: School Days (CD - BBC Sessions)
* 28 September 2001: Dreadzone: Little Britain (CD - The Radio One Sessions)
* 13 September 2002: Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Give Booze A Chance (CD - The Complete BBC Recordings)
* 04 January 2004: John Martyn: Big Muff (CD - Live In Concert At The Cambridge Folk Festival)
* 18 April 2004: Syd Barrett: Gigolo Aunt (CD - The Radio One Sessions)
* 02 April 2006: Ivor Cutler: Life In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol.2. Episode 12 (12" - The Peel Sessions)

## External Links

* Wikipedia
* John Peel Wiki

Footnotes
1. ↑ The Independent, 1995-02-12, retrieved 2012-10-27.
2. ↑ See "No Thistles For Eeyore: Life With John Peel", chapter 29 of *No Off Switch* (London: paperback edition, 2012) for Kershaw's account of their time together at Radio 1, along with an affectionate, perceptive but not uncritical view of JP's "nuanced, complex and contradictory character".
3. ↑ Margrave Of The Marshes, p.88 (Corgi).
4. ↑ In *No Off Switch* he recounts how, after meeting Peel in 2004 and being concerned by JP's low spirits and poor health, he suggested that JP should contact the then controller of Radio 3, Roger Wright, who would give him a programme and treat him with more respect than the Radio 1 management of the time did (pp. 421-22).