For Papa John

[angelophile]

I've been listening to the coverage of John Peel Day over the past few hours and it's incredible what an important figure John Peel was for music in this country. An amazing and unprecedented celebration of his life – thousands of gigs being dedicated to John, many of them put on especially in his memory. This isn't the anniversary of the death of a DJ. This is the anniversary of a death of a friend.

And I couldn't let the day pass without my own tribute to John. I can't do much but maybe try to bring attention to tracks or artists that might have gone unheard by some. Many of the following recordings are sessions taken from John's show. I've left off some of the more obvious and some more famous artists. If you want to hear Billy Bragg's Peel Sessions, it's easy to find. The same for The Cure, The Pixies, Smiths and others…

So here's just a few choice cuts. They should number hundreds… alas…

Robert Wyatt – I'm a Believer
Robert Wyatt's plaintive voice and radical transformations of the music transform this 1974 Peel Session recording of the Monkees classic. Repeating piano chords, bass, drums and violin power it all along. Wyatt's vocals, perhaps intensified by his recent accident and confinement to a wheelchair, are simply heart-rending.

Wedding Present – Brassneck
An instant, indie classic, the incredible pounding bass and jangling pop guitar drive this melody, with its growling vocals, to be a forgotten masterpiece. Crank up the volume, drive and let the music sweep you away.

OMD - Enola Gay
Named for the plane that dropped the first nuclear bomb, this is the Peel version of the eighties classic. Despite the song's dreary subject matter, its infectious, gurgling bounce and McCluskey's theatrical vocals make it one of synth-pop's peaks.

Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
Used to stunning effect in Lost in Translation, this epic, rising and hauntingly beautiful track is the best this band ever produced and this Peel session recaptures the majesty of the original.

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
Oft imitated, never bettered, the fathers of heavy metal recorded one of the first Peel Sessions for his show Top Gear. Not much to describe here – everyone should know this track. If not, what rock have you been hiding under?

The Damned - New Rose
Having the distinction of being the first punk rock single, The Damned squeaked out there just before the Sex Pistols managed to release Anarchy. And the bands couldn't be more different. Powerful, fast, thumping punk rock in this Peel Session, which even mentions their chart position at the beginning. A slice of history indeed.

Nirvana – Polly
The Peel Session version of this track that still haunts me in the same way it did when I first heard it. Where did I hear it first? This very session. Appropriate for a day that commemorates John's death, that there should be something mournful.

Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Another slice of history, from the birth of British electronica. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, this session track is still powerful today, perhaps even more so remembering the suicide of their lead singer, before they morphed into New Order.

The Fall - 15 Ways
Having this distinction of being Peel's favourite band, The Fall have practically a different lineup every album, but with one constant – the spectacularly bonkers Mark E. Smith. Smith's vocals are unique, the tunes pure classics, and in a decades long career, they recorded an incredible 25 Peel Sessions. Britain's answer to the Pixies is maybe one way to describe this otherwise indescribable group.

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Finally, the song that will be forever associated with John. His favourite track, the sublime, the punk, the pop, the Undertones. A true punk/pop classic that screams with the energy of youth and makes the spirits soar. A story's just been told on the radio of a gig Peel played, ending on Teenage Kicks, where he ended by playing Teenage Kicks and the crowd sang along for fifteen minutes, leaving John in tears.

Goodnight Papa John. You're sadly missed.

And Radio 1 have just played a track called "My Cock is an Aardvark" in tribute. How many people can claim that distinction?