Fill your heart with love today…
As I’m sure nobody living in the UK can have failed to notice, it’s John Peel Day today, which is the anniversary of John’s last show on Radio 1 on October 13th 2004, before his death at 65 of a heart attack in Peru on October 26th 2004.
I don’t have to tell any serious music lover just how crucial John Peel’s contributions were to the development of new music in the UK and beyond, and certainly the roll call of important artists he was the first to champion is too long to list here.
As you know, David Bowie recorded several BBC radio sessions for John including two historically important specials: The Sunday Show from February 1970 and an In Concert broadcast from June 1971…not to mention other sessions before and after those dates that ended with an ever-confident Ziggy and The Spiders performance in May 1972, just as things were about to go into orbit for David and the band.
The Guardian has today published a piece by Ryan Gilbey, (from which this short edited excerpt) who reveals what it was like to work on the completion of the DJ’s autobiography with John’s wife Sheila…
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John had kept a diary throughout much of his early career. This habit had begun during his time in the US in the 1960s, but his first wife had burned those journals during a spat. The earliest one available was from 1967, the most recent from 1983. Over the next few months, none of us had time to read anything that wasn’t written by John, and the diaries demanded special scrutiny.
Without those diaries, the book could not have been nearly so comprehensive. We might never have discovered the extent of John’s mischievous attempts to sabotage Capital Radio whenever that rival station had an exclusive on a new Dylan or Bowie album.
There were also typed notes from David Bowie, one, from 1969, asking if he could perform on John’s show. Recording so close to Charing Cross station would be handy, wrote Bowie, “as my last train leaves at 12.15”.
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Monday October 17th sees the release of a double CD in John’s honour that includes David Bowie’s Life On Mars? According to record company Warner Strategic Marketing the project, John Peel A Tribute – “…and this one fades in quietly…”, has been “carefully vetted” by Peel’s widow Sheila and their four children.
“A wonderful tribute to John and his music. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the bands and music he championed,” the family said in a statement.
Here follows the full tracklisting of this typically eclectic and fitting tribute to John Peel:
CD1
Lonnie Donegan ? ‘Lost John’
Tyrannosaurus Rex ? ‘Deborah’
Pink Floyd ? ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun’
The Jimi Hendrix Experience ? ‘Spanish Castle Magic’
Van Morrison ? ‘Sweet Thing’
David Bowie ? ‘Life On Mars?’
The Doors ? ‘Five To One’
Tim Buckley ? ‘Song To The Siren’
The Faces ? ‘Stay With Me’
The Misunderstood ?’I Can Take You To The Sun’
Country Joe & The Fish ? ‘Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine’
Fairport Convention ? ‘Meet On The Ledge’
Captain Beefheart ? ‘Big Eyed Beans From Venus’
Loudon Wainwright III ? ‘Be Careful There Is A Baby In The House’
Roy Buchanan ? ‘I Am a Lonesome Fugitive’
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band ? ‘Mr Apollo’
The Ramones ? ‘I Don’t Want To Walk Around With You’
The Clash ? ‘Complete Control’
Joy Division ? ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’
New Order ? ‘Ceremony’
CD2
The Undertones ? ‘Teenage Kicks’
Altered Images ? ‘Happy Birthday’
The Smiths ? ‘How Soon Is Now?’
The Cocteau Twins ? ‘Pearly-Dewdrops Drops’
The Jesus & Mary Chain ? ‘Sidewalking’
Blur ? ‘Song 2’
Culture ? ‘Lion Rock’
Billy Bragg ? ‘A New England’
Robert Wyatt ? ‘Shipbuilding’
The Wedding Present ? ‘Brassneck’
PJ Harvey ? ‘Sheela-Na-Gig’
Pulp ? ‘Common People’
The Fall ? ‘Theme From Sparta F.C.’
Super Furry Animals ? ‘Something For The Weekend’
Nina Nastasia ? ‘Bird Of Cuzco’
The Delgados ? ‘Pull The Wires From The Wall’
Belle & Sebastian ? ‘Lazy Line Painter Jane’
Laura Cantrell ? ‘Two Seconds’
Orbital ? ‘Chime’
Elmore James ? ‘Dust My Blues’
A portion of profits from the CD will go to charities, The Salvation Army, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and The Kariandusi School Trust.
Click on either of the above images to get to the official John Peel Day page, where you can read more about the man and many of the events happening around the UK and on the radio for those of you outside the UK.
