Like everyone I'm saddened by the recent death of John Peel. I think it's the suddenness, his relative youth (a very young 65) and the loss of an inspirational creative talent.
You didn’t have to listen to Peel’s R1 show every week to recognise his passion for music and his ability to bring new bands and songs to a wider audience. Inevitably it was always a bit hit and miss, but the number of careers who benefited from this exposure is huge, and the number of other forums that did what Peel did are increasingly few and far between.
Not only was Peel passionate about music, he was a consummate broadcaster full stop. His mastery of Home Truths showed that. His ability to produce and deliver a wry and witty script week in week out showed there was more to the man than a passion for The Fall.
I saw him in the flesh twice. Once in Ozer, a Turkish restaurant by BBC Broadcasting House (where no doubt someone mistook him for Bob Harris - a regular occurence apparantly,) and then last Christmas at the Radio Academy Patrons lunch where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
His interview with Victoria Derbyshire was by far the funniest (Tarrant at your heart out,) and the man’s ease and laid backness was perfectly summed up by the fact that he was wearing trainers with his smart suit. It seems an apt metaphor in many ways – professional to the last, but with a hint of being anti-establishment at the same time. It made for a great and memorable mix.
RIP John - you will be missed.
