caption country website death_date death_place children birth_place name birth_date image article_title birth_name
john peel in a studio in yalding house united kingdom -lsb- http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/johnpeel/index.shtml bbc minisite -rsb- 25 october 2004 cusco , peru william , alexandra , tom , and florence . heswall , england john peel 30 august 1939 john peel bbc cropped.jpg john peel
 john robert parker ravenscroft
john peel

john robert parker ravenscroft , obe -lrb- 30 august 1939 -- 25 october 2004 -rrb- , 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 , indie pop , indie rock , alternative rock , punk , hardcore punk , breakcore , grindcore , death metal , british hip hop , electronic music , jungle 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 .
