Broadcasting legend John Peel dies aged 65

[angelophile]

John Peel, the veteran DJ who discovered dozens of major bands during a broadcasting career spanning 40 years, has died after suffering a heart attack.

Peel, who was 65, was taken ill during a working holiday with his wife, Sheila, in the city of Cuzco, Peru, and never recovered.

As a tribute to Peel, the first record Radio 1 played after his death was announced on Newsbeat at lunchtime today, was The Undertones' Teenage Kicks, one of the DJ's favourite songs.

This was followed by tracks from the White Stripes and the Strokes - two other artists from the recent revival in guitar-based indie music that Peel was very much associated with.

Prime Minister Tony Blair described Peel as "an extraordinary and unique personality".

"He unearthed different sounds and people and made them accessible and popular... he was a genuine one off - and a warm and decent human being too."

Peel joined Radio 1 at the launch in 1967, and established himself with the late night programme Top Gear.

He became one of the first DJs to give exposure to punk, reggae and hip-hop, before they crossed over into the mainstream.

Peel's programme built up a reputation around the world, and in addition to his Radio 1 programme, he could also be heard on the BBC's World Service.

Siouxsie Sioux was a guest DJ on the show last Wednesday when he was on holiday as was Robert Smith, the lead singer of the Cure, a band Peel also championed in the late 70s.

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker said: "It would be absolutely impossible to write a history of the last 40 years of the British music scene without mentioning John Peel's name.

"He was one of those few people about whom you could truly say that the world would have been a much different place without him."

Damon Albarn of Blur said: "John Peel's patronage was for me, like countless other musicians, one of the most significant things that happened to us in our careers.

"The world is going to be a poorer place with his sudden departure."

Elvis Costello said: "I was terribly sad to hear the news, even though I hardly knew the man. Like many others, I felt I knew him from his voice on the radio.

"He was the contradiction of every bad thing you could say about radio. He had an open mind about music, whether he was bringing the listener the Incredible String Band or the Fall, Mike Hart or Echo and the Bunnymen, and countless bands that appeared only to be heard on his great shows."

Peter Hook of New Order told the ITV News Channel: "The music industry has lost a friend. He will live forever in our hearts and our minds.

"It always felt like he was your ally. Once he liked you, you were set. His music went beyond fashion, it was down to what he liked, and what he thought people like him would like.

"Everybody relied on him and trusted him and he never ever let you down. That was his strength, he was just a great guy, who played great music.''

James Dean Bradfield, lead singer of the Manic Street Preachers, paid tribute to Peel.

He told BBC News Online: "It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard.

"He was a lifeline to hearing music I would never have heard otherwise. The service he provided was getting to hear music that you couldn't buy in Cardiff. He was a portal to a whole new world."



The Undertones bass player, Michael Bradley, today said Peel's death had robbed radio and the music industry of one of its greatest voices.

"He was a very funny, very warm man and we will always be grateful for what he did for The Undertones," said Bradley.

"Personally, I find it incredible what he did for the band and we always got huge pride out of the fact he said Teenage Kicks was his favourite single," he added.

Over the last four decades he was renowned for helping to break bands from the Undertones to Siouxsie and the Banshees who were unsigned before he played them.


The Radio 1 controller, Andy Parfitt, described Peel as a "broadcasting legend".

"I am deeply saddened by his death, as are all who work at Radio 1," he said.

"Walking around the station there is an outpouring of grief and feeling that we want to do something in tribute. I am sure in the days and weeks to come we will find a way of doing that on the airwaves."

"We are absolutely knocked out here at Radio 1," he said. "He was a joy to work with. We regularly have DJ suppers where we fill the room with our specialist DJs. John would come along and as the evening wore on, people would gather around him almost like a throne listening to his fantastic stories.

"What we find about great broadcasters is that they are completely dedicated to the music. John would seek out the most obscure and most interesting things to him and would play it and talk about it. That's what makes really exciting radio, people saying exactly what they feel, and that's why people loved John. He was real."

Parfitt said it was always difficult to persuade Peel, who died on a working holiday in Peru, to take time off from the station. "We persuaded him to take a holiday somewhere he particularly wanted to visit," he said.


Tributes also poured in from BBC bosses - Mark Thompson, the director general, said he was "shocked and saddened" by Peel's death.

"He was one of the giants of radio and will be missed not just by everyone at the BBC but by millions of listeners of all ages," Mr Thompson said.

The BBC director of radio and music, Jenny Abramsky, added: "John Peel was a unique broadcaster whose influence on Radio 1 could be felt from its very first days.

"He nurtured musicians and listeners alike, introducing them to new sounds. He had a remarkable rapport with all his listeners. Everyone at BBC Radio is devastated by the news.

"John is simply irreplaceable. Our hearts go out to Sheila and his children."

Peel was a hero not just to generations of listeners who have been flooding the Radio 1 website with heartfelt tributes, but to the younger crop of DJs.

"It feels like John Peel invented Radio 1," said one text messager to Radio 1 today. Another said: "I don't think I have ever been affected so much by the death of someone I have never met."

Radio 1 DJ Jo Wylie described the presenter as "one of my favourite men in the whole world. He was an absolute inspiration and simply the don. Everyone at Radio 1 and everyone who has ever met him will testify to that. He is the biggest and saddest loss to everybody."

Parfitt added: "John's influence has towered over the development of popular music for nearly four decades and his contribution to modern music and music culture is immeasurable.

"Hopeful bands all over the world sent their demo tapes to John, knowing that he really cared. His commitment and passion for new music only grew stronger over the years.

"In fact, when I last saw him he was engaged in a lively debate with his fellow DJs over the state of new music today. He will be hugely missed."