Taken, as we know, far too soon. Because as you will hear when you get to the end John was planning to take a break, come back refreshed and continue to do the thing he loved the most.

Music itself didn’t stop after his passing and you should – as well as listening to these pods – continue to search out new artists, listen to something that you’ve never heard before. In other words. Keeping it Peel.

Before we continue the regular plug and huge thanks to the John Peel Wiki for the source material. Please take time to visit and have a wander around. It is an important music archive and you can help – If you’ve got any old tape recordings of a John Peel broadcast then get in touch. All contributions are welcome even if they have the audio already.
The more information we have, the better the archive becomes.
https://peel.fandom.com/

Keeping It Peel Podcast – 2004

• 7th January 2004: “Hello again. I’m obliged to warn you that you could be offended by the name of the band in session in tonight’s programme and indeed by other aspects of the programme. If you’re likely to be so offended, you’d better turn over to Radio 2 and have a go at their mystery voice competition. Otherwise, get ready to rock steady.” – Fuck: George W. Hitler/No One Like You (Peel Session)
• 14th February 2004: Stanley Winston – No More Ghettos In America “”As far as I know it is the only record this bloke made. And I wrote to a chap who specializes in deep soul records up in Wakefield – I don’t know if he is still in business – and said, you know, just send us 15 or 20 of what you regard as being the very best records and this is one that he sent me. And the man’s voice is just stunning. And what is so frustrating about it is the knowledge that he is probably still alive, working as a janitor or something like that and nobody is interested in recording him.” (John Peel – My Top 10)
• 2nd March 2004: Secret Hairdresser – Verse Chorus Miaow (Peel Session)
• 16th March 2004: Disclaimer for Peel show from Skreen of Cuban Boys – White Stripes – I Fought Piranhas/Let’s Build A Home   “Last week I got a lot of emails to which I failed rather feebly to respond, asking would I play something by, or say something about, the untimely death of John McGeoch. I chickened out of that, because I never really know what to say, and what can you possibly say? As you get older and closer to that condition yourself, it becomes harder and harder and harder to think of anything. Somebody, for entirely different reasons, asked me to play Magazine’s A Song From Under The Floorboards, which of course features John McGeoch, and that’s what I’ll do.” Magazine – A Song From Under The Floorboards
• 24th March 2004: Laura Cantrell – Two Seconds – AND – Ballboy with Laura Cantrell – I Lost You, But I Found Country Music (Live at Peel Acres)
• 15th April 2004: Lightnin’ Hopkins – Mojo Hand
• 4th May 2004: XBooty – Untitled (O Superman)   “Well I’ll tell you what, if this rapture business comes about and we all rise on pillars of fire into heaven, I want to take that record with me.”
• 2nd June 2004: EOSS – Wacko Macko is Backo   The previous record was shorter than he thought and Peel didn’t have a record cued up, whilst he gets it ready he says hello to ‘John Fisher from Chepstow’ who is there on some (sort of) work experience. Elvis Presley – I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine (Big Pig’s 78s)   “In case you thought that was a little fast…. it was the record company thought it wasn’t fast enough when first recorded so they speeded it up….”
• 13th July 2004: Wah! – Story Of The Blues
• 12th August 2004: Announces Steveless but starts playing the next Fall session track by accident (Wrong Track Moment) Steveless – Not  – Peel then manages to start playing the Steveless track again. The Fall – Blindness (Peel Session)
• 1st September 2004: Another wrong track moment – starts playing the ‘One Drop’ single first instead of the intended advert: Bob Marley – Promotional Advert – and then: Bob Marley & the Wailers – One Drop
• 7th October 2004: Message to Mary Anne Hobbs from John telling her that her present is installed at Peel Acres
• 14th October 2004: Conway Twitty – It’s Only Make Believe (Pig’s Big 78’s) and then the final track Peel played on his show: Klute: Time 4 Change – SIGN OFF....

» Download (77MB/1HR 24MINS)

Punk’s not dead. It’s just resting. This is a three part pod in which you’ll find many familiar tunes. As well as a few forgotten bands which deserve to be remembered because they were also there and contributed to this new musical revolution.

You can’t pinpoint the exact moment that punk music exploded, but if you listened to John Peel you’d know that the 19th May 1976 was the spark. That was the date when Peel first played The Ramones – Judy Is A Punk.

That one minute and 30 seconds would have the same impact on John Peel as when he first heard rock n’ roll. He knew that nothing was going to be the same.

We don’t have the audio, just the tracklisting of that 19th May show so we’ll start from another significant date: 10th December 1976, also known as the “Punk Special”

Before we get under way with the pods the now usual mention and huge thanks to the chaps at the John Peel Wiki for the source material. Please take time to visit and have a wander around. It is an important music archive and you can help – If you’ve got any old tape recordings of a John Peel broadcast then get in touch. All contributions are welcome even if they have the audio already.
The more information we have, the better the archive becomes.

Of course the change to Peel’s programming didn’t happen overnight. If you look at his playlists from late ’76 onwards there’s still some Pink Floyd and the likes in there, but by the time the Festive 50 of 1977 came around, punk music was dominating.

Peel himself never liked to use the term “punk” to describe the music and never used it himself. As you will hear in one of the clips his listening audience didn’t like this new music and they contacted him demanding to change it back. He never did.

Keeping It Peel Podcast – Punk – 19(76)77

1. The Damned – So Messed Up (Session) (10th December 1976) – Opening and first track from the special. “Well, I think you’ll find this programme is in rather marked contrast to the programme that has preceded it, because tonight we are going to have a look at punk rock….”
2. Pere Ubu – Final Solution (10th December 1976) – “…I’m not saying that these bands are the new (The) Who’s, Rolling Stones, the Presley’s or Bill Haley’s, but I’m very glad that they’re there because they bring an injection of energy and crudity into a rock scene that’s been painfully smug and complacent in the last few years…”
3. (4th January 1977 – Kid Jensen sat in for John who was feeling unwell)
4. Chris Spedding & The Vibrators – Pogo Dancing – and – Get Out Of My Pagoda (Session) (4th January 1977)
5. The Adverts – One Chord Wonders (Session) (25th April 1977)
6. Generation X – Youth Youth Youth (BBC Live in concert) (11th May 1977)
7. Desperate Bicycles – Smokescreen (2nd Punk Special – 29th August 1977)
8. The Nosebleeds – Ain’t Been To No Music School (2nd Punk Special – 29th August 1977) – Previously known as Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds until Ed Banger left. Future members included Vini Reilly, the lead singer of The Smiths and Billy Duffy from The Cult.
9. Chelsea – Right To Work (2nd Punk Special – 29th August 1977)
10. Richard Hell & The Voidoids: Blank Generation (26th September 1977)
11. Slaughter And The Dogs – Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone (29th September 1977) – Peel plays what he thought was a new Radio 1 jingle before the track, discovered during the song and announced afterwards that they were actually 10 year old ones. Goes on to advise not to look at the photograph of him in the special Radio 1 anniversary edition of the Radio Times.
12. Killjoys – Recognition (Session) (18th October 1977) – Kevin Rowland, later of Dexy’s Midnight Runners, was the lead singer.
    (Significant event: 24th October 1977. John played the entire Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks album in full four days before release. Sadly the audio from that show is not available)
13. Johnny Moped – Incendiary Device (No.16 Festive 50 – 27th December 1977)
14. John Cooper Clarke – Suspended Sentence (No. 5 Festive 50 – 27th December 1977)
15. Rezillos – I Can’t Stand My Baby (No.4 Festive 50 – 27th December 1977)
16. Slits – Love And Romance (Session) (28th December 1977) – “It’s always very gratifying when you go along to see a band playing somewhere and the live performances you think, well, it’s not actually marvelous but if you put them into a studio it might turn out to be quite good. We got the Slits in… … and the session they did was remarkable and I’m given to understand that it’s been subsequently bootlegged which is rather annoying particularly as I haven’t got a copy of it…”

» Download (47MB / 51Mins)

Keeping It Peel Podcast – Punk – 1978

1. Buzzcocks – I Don’t Mind (5th May 1978)
2. The Skids – Test Tube Babies (18th May 1978)
3. X-Ray Spex – Identity (7th July 1978) – AM/Medium wave recording.
4. The Lurkers – It’s Quiet Here (10th July 1978) – “A record that Kate Bush liked very well on Roundtable last Friday. I wasn’t that keen meself, but I thought if she likes it, it must be good, eh?”
5. Penetration – Stone Heroes (Session) (10th July 1978) – Medium wave broadcast/recording.
6. Siouxsie And The Banshees: Hong Kong Garden (26th July 1978)
7. Jilted John – Jilted John (27th July 1978) – Also known as the “Gordon is a moron” song. An early character from Graham (John Shuttleworth) Fellows. Originally released on the Rabid records label, but after Peel played it there was a high demand and it was re-released on EMI.
8. Magazine – Boredom (Session) (31st July 1978) – A cover version of the Buzzcocks song.
9. Stiff Little Fingers – Alternative Ulster (11th September 1978) – “Well, I don’t know if it’s cowardice or indolence that’s stopped any of the major record companies from signing any of the excellent bands from Northern Ireland, or perhaps it’s because places like Derry and Belfast may not immediately seem to be the kind of places where it’s worth going on record company expenses for a weekend…One of the best bands around, I think – and you’ll like that Undertones EP when I get round to playing it later on in the week as well.”
10. Sham 69 – Hurry Up Harry (12th September 1978) – (Peel played three tracks from them and the intro to this is here, but only the first track is included)
11. Tubeway Army – Bombers (25th September 1978) – This is the night when John played Teenage Kicks twice.
12. Undertones – Emergency Cases (28th September 1978) – The B Side of Teenage Kicks. Wrong speed moment at the beginning.
13. 999 – Feelin’ Alright With The Crew (31st October 1978) – AM radio recording.
14. Cortinas – Heartache (2nd November 1978) – Peel mentions that he got a phone call from Siouxsie before the show to say the Banshees/Spizzoil gig in Liverpool the following evening has been cancelled.
15. The Nips – All The Time In The World (2nd November 1978) – (Not the Louie Armstrong song) The band changed their name from the Nipple Erectors. The lead singer Shane MacGowan went on to form The Pogues.
16. Subway Sect – Watching The Devil (Session) (4th December 1978)

» Download (47MB / 51Mins)

Keeping It Peel Podcast – Punk – 1978

1. Intro to show (2nd January 1979) – “Well life’s not very easy if you’re Sid Vicious, is it?”
   (At the time of broadcast, Vicious was in a New York jail after being charged with assaulting Todd Smith, brother of Patti Smith.)
2. Rudi – Big Time (2nd January 1979) – The first release on the Good Vibrations label.
3. Ruts – Savage Circle (Peel Session) (23rd January 1979)
4. Menace – I Need Nothing (5th February 1979) – (Produced by John Cale).   “I think it would be unseemly to let the programme pass without mentioning the death at the end of last week of Sid Vicious. Personally I’m dreading reading those rock writers who over the past six or nine months or so have presented the affairs of Sid Vicious as being either romantic or even amusing, which some of them have done. I’ve personally found them profoundly depressing and I would imagine that most of you will have done as well. And the exploitation of the situation has been thoroughly sinister.”
5. V2 – Man In The Box (6th March 1979) – Glam punk.
6. Shapes – (I Saw) Batman (In The Laundrette) (2nd April 1979) – followed by:
7. Nicky And The Dots – Linoleum Walk (2nd April 1979)
8. The Visitors – Electric Heat (21st May 1979) – Peel has received a letter from Gay Advert, asking him to play the Visitors’ single.
9. Shoes For Industry – Falling In Love Again (24th May 1979) – (A cover version of the Marlene Dietrich song) The producer/s -‘Alfred O’Bonzo’ was a musical collective which included Richard O’Brien (Rocky Horror Show/Crystal Maze) who produced and appeared on a number of one-off singles, including this one.
10. Crass – Shaved Women (26th June 1979)
11. Angelic Upstarts – Teenage Warning (19th July 1979) – Produced by Jimmy Pursey (Medium wave/AM radio recording)
12. The Buzzards – We Make A Noise (28th August 1979) – Formerly the Leyton Buzzards, two of the members went on to form Modern Romance.
13. Dead Kennedys – California Uber Alles (12th September 1979)
14. No Way – Breaking Point (31st October 1979) – Have you seen how much this single goes for ?
15. The Dodgems – Lord Lucan Is Missing (Peel Session) (1st November 1979) – “If the Dodgems themselves had disappeared after writing that song, they’d have contributed more to our lives I think than most people do in a lifetime.”
16. Adicts – Easy Way Out (12th November 1979)
17. Peter & The Test Tube Babies – Elvis Is Dead (3rd December 1979)
18. Cockney Rejects – I’m Not A Fool (18th December 1979)

» Download (55MB / 1Hr)

Please leave your “They weren’t punk/that’s not punk” comments below.

Further reading: Punk 77 – John Peel

Something to watch: John Peel on Brass Tacks discussing punk

Further watching: Don Letts – When Punk Met Reggae

I should always begin the introductions to these pods and will do from now on with:
These snippets, these “highlights” from the John Peel broadcasts are only possible because of the dedicated people who contribute to the John Peel Wiki. If you’ve got any old recordings of anything John Peel, please drop us a line. I’ll point you in the right direction. It doesn’t matter if it’s something that might already be posted on the wiki, there might be something in there that is missing. Every tape is precious, every recording is wanted.

To the subject of this podcast edition then: the Nineteen Eighties.
Why choose this decade ? Personal bias because that’s when I (Webbie at Keeping It Peel) listened to Peel almost nightly. I could have looked at the 70’s and may do in the future, but there’s a bigger availability of recordings from the 80’s. The same with the 1990’s onwards – again, possibly another time.

As mentioned at the beginning this has been split into three sections. Please remember when listening to the pods that the audio comes from many different sources and different recording quality.

Podcast – Nineteen Eighties: 1980-83

1. The Martian Schoolgirls – Life In The 1980’s (1st January 1980)- The song wasn’t recorded on the available tape, just the back announcement. This tracks is ripped from my own personal copy of the single.
2. The Clash – Bank Robber (22nd May 1980) “After last night’s programme, when I found myself clambering into the racer outside Broadcasting House, I found myself humming the Clash’s ‘Bank Robber’. Not an easy thing to hum, I’ll admit, but humming it I certainly was, so here it is again.”
3. Simple Minds – I Travel (1st September 1980) [YouTube] – If you want to find out where Franz Ferdinand and The Killers got their sound from…
4. The Fall – Totally Wired (1st September 1980)
5. (Show intro from 9th December 1980 – Peel mentions about John Lennon’s death)
6. TV Smith’s Explorers – Tomahawk Cruise (9th December 1980) – followed by more comments by Peel about John Lennon
7. Show intro from 12th May 1981 and Tony Blackburn – I Can’t Make Your Way
8. A Flock Of Seagulls – Talking (It’s Not Me Talking) (12th May 1981)
9. You’ve Got Foetus On Your Breath – Wash It All Off (30th June 1981)
10. Crass – Our Wedding (30th June 1981) – Released as a spoof: read more about it here.
11. Tokyo Olympics – Dance Movement (30th June 1981) – Included here because of their record label name: Nienteen Eightease
12. Anomy – TVC 15 (29th July 1982)
13. Amazulu – You’ll Never Walk Alone (Peel Session) (29th July 1982)
14. The Higsons – John Peel’s New Sig Tune (Peel Session) – Show intro from 28th October 1982 – and then:
15. Wah! – Story Of The Blues (28th October 1982) – “Chart bound sound there… Have you been playing this, Kid ?” (David Jensen in the studio with him). “I think that’s an excellent record”
16. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Genetic Engineering (Peel Session) (21st February 1983) – the band told John that the thought it might not be good enough for broadcast but Peel liked it and preferred it more that the single version.
17. Misty In Roots – Oh Wicked Man (31st May 1983) – played on the show at the request and insistence of Kid Jensen sitting with him in the studio.
18. Billy Bragg – A New England (Number 7 in the Festive Fifty – 29th December 1983) – “And all for the price of a mushroom biriyani…”

» Download (60 mb/1 hr 5 mins)

Podcast – Nineteen Eighties: 1984-86

1. International Rescue – You Need Shoes (2nd January 1984)
2. Fireball XL5 – Rockin’ Shoes (31st January 1984) and then:
3. Don Spencer – Fireball (31st January 1984) – Theme tune to the Fireball XL5 TV show.
4. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Perfect Skin (15th May 1984) [Medium wave recording]
5. Echo & The Bunnymen – Seven Seas (17th July 1984)[Medium wave mono recording]
6. The X Men – Do The Ghost (19th July 1984)[Medium wave recording] “That’s from the X-Men on Creation Records, the best record yet put out by the label I think….”
7. Everything But The Girl – Ballad Of The Times (Peel Session) (30th August 1984) “I was a bit dubious about them at first but I like that…”
8. William Ravenscroft – Happy Birthday dear Daddy – followed by: The Smiths – William, It Was Really Nothing (3rd September 1984) – Sheila and the children had made a home recording of each of them wishing Peel a Happy Birthday, this was made into a disc and given to various family members.
9. Lonnie Mack – Wham (7th January 1985) – Played because daughter Alexandra had come out as a Wham fan.
10. Ofra Haza – Galbi (22nd April 1985) – Sent to him by Grant from Tel Aviv, Peel initially mis-pronounces her surname but compares her Elizabeth Frazer from the Cocteau Twins
11. Paul Hardcastle – 19 (Extended Japanese Mix) (26th August 1985) – Brought to him from Japan by studio guest Billy Bragg, who chats with Peel.
12. Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel – The Only Good Christian Is A Dead Christian (28th October 1985) – Peel introduces the song – but never mentions the title – by “Clint Ruin or whatever he’s calling himself…” This is JG Thirlwell who recorded under many variations of the band name but always with Foetus in the title. (See above podcast for You’ve Got Foetus On Your Breath)
13. Half Man Half Biscuit – Seal Clubbing (27th January 1986) Peel mentions going to Bristol and seeing the band live, as well as Jegsy Dodd supporting but missed the opening act The Flatmates but they didn’t mind because they told him that they weren’t very good anyway.
14. Liverpool Football Club – We’re On Top Of The World (5th May 1986) – Liverpool had beaten Chelsea two days before and had won the league title. They were due to play Everton in the FA Cup Final on the 10th (which they also won)
15. We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Going To Use It – XX Sex (5th May 1986)
16. Stump – Buffalo (4th June 1986) – Apparently the band were inspired to write the song after witnessing some American tourists in London the year before.
17. The Fall – Entitled (3rd December 1986)
18. Anhefren – Deafaid (Sheep) (22nd December 1986)

» Download (55 mb/59 mins)

Podcast – Nineteen Eighties: 1987-89

1. Fini Tribe – De Testimony (3rd February 1987) – “This is a record which a lot of people write to me about and they always say, ‘can you play that record with the bells in it again’. And I keep explaining what it actually is, it’s Finitribe and it’s called ‘De Testimony’ and it’s on Cathexis Records. Somebody wrote in and told me what Cathexis means and if I can find the letter I’ll tell you what it was. I’ll read the first sentence or so… It’s very heavy duty stuff indeed.”
2. Revolting Cocks – You Often Forget (12″) (9th March 1987)
3. Clare Grogan – Love Bomb (3rd June 1987)
4. Dead Milkmen – Going To Memphis (27th July 1987) – and then:
5. Elvis Presley – My Baby Left Me (27th July 1987)
6. Darling Buds – Shame On You (Peel Session) (2nd September 1987)- “People will tell you there’s a lot of that stuff about..”
7. Show intro – Bomb The Bass – Beat Dis (18th January 1988) – and then:
8. The Woodentops – You Make Me Feel (18th January 1988)
9. Noah House Of Dread – Neighbours (17th May 1988) – Yes that’s right, a reggae version of the TV soap theme.
10. The Fall – Wrong Place Right Time (5th October 1988) – “I do wish they’d come in and do another session for us, but the way things are shaping up for us they probably won’t…”
11. The Flatmates – Heaven Knows (5th October 1988)
12. Nirvana – Big Cheese (2nd January 1989) – “And here’s another new band on Subpop Records…” – and then:
13. Nirvana (1968) – Pentecost Hotel (2nd January 1989)
14. West Ham United – I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles (25th April 1989) – The track comes from a football song album with a sticker on the front saying that all profits will go to the Liverpool defence fund. After the song finished John says he got up at 4am in the morning on Sunday and drove to Anfield and saw the flowers and memorials people had left.
15. The Sundays – Can’t Be Sure (Festive Fifty No.1 – 28th December 1989) – and then finally:
16. Martian Schoolgirls – Life In The 1980’s (28th December 1989) – John had received a letter reminding him that he played this track at the beginning of the decade, so how about playing it again now.

» Download (54mb /59 mins)

In his show broadcast on 17th January 2002, Peel announced the winners and one of them was John Osborne.
The winning and the receiving of all these records inspired John to go on and write a book, record his own radio broadcast and eventually perform in a show with a live tour.

Let’s start with the book : Radio Head: Up and Down the Dial of British Radio which was published in 2009. And you can grab via that Amazon link for a seriously low price (no affiliates or anything, just buy the book).

The book starts with John (Osborne’s) memories of listening to Radio 1 and John (Peel). From here he goes on tangents of listening to other radio presenters and radio stations. Noting down his own observations and of those from these broadcasts. John’s anecdotes and humorous and warm. As I said, buy the book.

John eventually did something with the records and in 2010 he approached a local community radio station near him – Future Radio and talked to them about making his own radio show. From that came a five episode broadcast which he called John Peel’s Shed. In his shows John plays some of his favourite tracks and highlights others, telling the stories behind some of the recording artists and songs.

He then went on to create a stage show in which he talks about the record collection and tangentially other stories related to listening to the radio. An audio/visual version of his book if you like. He also named it John Peel’s Shed and in 2011 a version of this stage show aired on BBC Radio 4:

» Download (27.4MB/30 mins)

You can also find it on YouTube here.

John went on tour with that show and is back out again (early 2019). It’s a double show: John Peel’s Shed and then: Circled In The Radio Times.

You can find the dates and venues here.

(Additionally there’s a 10 minute doc/interview with John looking through the records, video on YouTube here.)

Back to those Future Radio broadcasts – They went out on 2010 and were also made available to download as podcast episodes. But sadly the Future Radio website was updated and they were not available any more. Luckily John uploaded them to Podomatic – but another but here: sadly episode 4 went missing.

A final but though… (so many but’s) – I decided to post an appeal on Twitter in the faint hope that somebody somewhere had downloaded that episode. And guess what – success ! It it with huge thanks to Keith Jackson (@HullKRJ that we have together again the full five episodes of:

Podcast: John Osborne – John Peel’s Shed

Episode 1 tracklist
1. Dislocation Dance – Bottle of red wine
2. Screaming Lord Sutch – Rockabilly Madman
3. The Maheer Shala Hash Baz – Street corner college
4. Direct Hits – Too shy
5. The Dirtbombs – Your love lives under a rock
6. Shyheim – Furious anger
7. Atom and his Package – Going to Georgia
8. Rock con los Sonambulos – Grandes bolas de fuego
9. Girls at our Best – Politics
10. Walter Ghoul’s Lavender Brigade – Hey Mary Jane
11. Oizone – Earth Song
12. Royal Trux – Call out the lions
13. Metabolics – Dawn of the dead
14. Anubian Lights – What a Bagdad had
15. Dusted – Always remember to honour and respect your mother.

» Download (54.4MB/59 mins)

Episode 2 tracklist
1. The Dirtshakes – 18th December 1984
2. Junior Delgado – Working the midnight blues
3. Electralane – Blue Straggler
4. Modest Mouse – Born a rat
5. The Iron Gate – Feelin’ bad
6. The Young Monkey Men – I believed you
7. Wackcat – All grrrl band
8. Hey O Hansen – d night out
9. Screaming Lord Sutch – Monster rock
10. Sylvester Boy – Sylvester boy
11. Seafood – Cloaking
12. Spot – Chelsea (is a horse)
13. Atom Rhumba – Gimme chaos
14. Joy Zipper – Check out my new Jesus
15. John Does – One kind favour

» Download (52.2MB/57 mins)

Episode 3 tracklist
1. Royal Trux – Fire Hill
2. Stereo de Luxe – Riddle me this
3. The Haywains – Just the job
4. Rudolf Brauer Sextett – Vorsorge
5. The Folk Implosion – Someone you love
6. Transistor 6 – Queenie King
7. The King Bees – I want my baby back
8. Oizone – Father and Son
9. Stereo Total – Schön von hintern
10. Bushman – Robbery aggravation
11. Ming – Ulysee
12. 54 Nude Honeys –
13. The Casswells – Elvis is dead
14. Hell on Wheels – Having one’s luggage labelled
15. Raz Ohara – Far’s song.

» Download (59MB/1 hr 4 mins)

Episode 4 tracklist
1. Stereo Total – Ushilo sugota a kilei
2. Kev Hopper – Lamalou les bains
3. Mercury – Ink
4. The Arousers – Goo goo muck
5. Calvin Don’t Jump – Crystal Clear Mississippi
6. Dot Allinson – Mo pop
7. Red Rot – Buddy she want
8. 1000 Violins – Poet
9. Pimlico – Me and Mr Lonely
10. Dusted – Always remember to honour your mother Part Two
11. Mystery Brinkman – Ride a bike
12. Oizone – You’re gorgeous
13. Chilly Gonzales
14. Soul Inc – You betta get a move on
15. Tarwater – All of the ants left Paris
16. First Born – Credo

» Download (23MB/56 mins)

Episode 5 tracklist
1. Walter Ghoul and his Lavender Brigade – Frumpy and the strange machine.
2. The Anubian Lights – Smoke and Mirrors
3. The Cavemanish Boys – Sunday Street
4. Distillers – Warriors
5. Hey O Hansen – Marie
6. Michael Sheehey – The Licensing Song.
7. The Now Time Delegation – Little Miss Fortune.
8. The Chesterfields – Ask Johnny Dee
9. Ai Phoenix – The carpet said hello
10. Shyheim – I declare war
11. Knoxville Girls – Baby wedding bells blues
12. Station Rose – Eclipse
13. Crabstick – Tourist
14. Bushman – Fire pona deadas
15. Oizone – Wannabe
16. Screaming Lord Sutch – Scream and Scream.

» Download (53 MB/56 mins)

Thank you John (Peel, of course) and to you John (Osborne) for creating these great shows. Again thanks to Keith Jackson for the invaluable help.

If it wasn’t for those who took the time and effort to record those radio broadcast, much would have been lost. The BBC might have complete shows in their archives but for obvious copyright/ownership reasons are unable to release them. The one good thing though it that if you live in London you can go to the British Library and listen to many archived Peel shows. But what about the rest of us ? The public, the world should be able to access these broadcasts and is it thanks to the indispensable John Peel Wiki that we can.

And I’m getting to the point now – It is via that online public library which helped me listen to what you heard with John Peel’s shows on the BBC World Service. I myself got to be a listener in the mid-1990’s when I was in Germany. Munich to be precise. One of the things I discovered was that many people in Europe can speak or understand English, but the further away from the UK you go, the less that becomes the case. I moved to Munich before learning any German, it was short notice so I didn’t have the time. Before I flew out of Heathrow I purchased this world band radio (pictured below). You could get some English newspapers at the train station, but they were a day old. Back then in the pre-internet days, it was the radio and BBC World Service which was your contact with home.

It was on this radio to my delight one night to hear the dulcet tones of John Peel doing one of his World Service broadcasts. It was a shortwave band on which I found him, with the signal fading in and out and interference over that. At some point it was nothing but noise… or that could have been Napalm Death, you never know… but this was Peelie doing his thing and it brought me comfort.

Those who listened to and recorded his BBC World Service show from further distances now have the Peel Wiki as a way to share their memories and his broadcasts. If you clicked the link above you’ll see there are many of them. I have randomly selected tracks from randomly selected shows. The earlier ones are short wave radio recordings (I’ve added a link to the song on YouTube for a clearer version) so if you don’t want to hear what we heard tuning in back then, skip forward a bit:

Keeping It Peel Podcast – John Peel BBC World Service Part 1

1. Show intro and: Interferon – Get Out Of London [YouTube] (October 1983)
2. Show intro and: The Word – Wide Awake [YouTube] (5th December 1984)
3. Tippa Irie – It’s Good To Have The Feeling You’re The Best [YouTube] (4th January 1985)
4. Intro and : The Fall – Bombast [YouTube] (28th October 1985)
5. We The Living – Mixed Up World [YouTube] (28th February 1987)
6. New Order – Fine Time [YouTube] (5th December 1988)
7. Even As We Speak – Goes So Slow (25th September 1989)
8. Dub Syndicate – Stone Immaculate (13th May 1991)
9. Wild Jimmy Spruill – Kansas City March 1959 (18th March 1993)
10. Shaba Kahamba Et Les Espirits Saints – Bitumba (10th August 1993)
11. Inspiral Carpets feat. Mark.E.Smith – I Want You (February 1994)
12. Pavement – Cut Your Hair (February 1994)

» Download (42mb / 45mins)

Keeping It Peel Podcast – John Peel BBC World Service Part 2

1. Intro from 31st December 1994
2. The Fall – Get A Hotel (31st December 1994)
3. Kaisers – Don’t Ask Me and: Big Three – You’ve Gotta Keep Her Under Hand (11th February 1995)
4. Show intro and: DOSE feat. Mark.E.Smith – Plug Myself In (18th December 1995)
5. Intro via American college radio, show intro and then: Black Star Liner – Harmon Session Special XI (20th April 1996)
6. John Parish & Polly Jean Harvey – Heela (20th October 1996)
7. Bette Davis & The Balconettes – Paul Power T-Shirt (10th March 1997)
8. Male Nurse – My Own Private P. Swayze (15th April 1998)
9. Monkey Steals The Drum – My Chinese Burns [YouTube] and a shout to his son William, on holiday (28th November 1999)
10. Kreidler – Circles [YouTube] (23rd October 2000)
11. Solomon Burke – Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) (19th November 2000)
12. White Stripes – Hello Operator (11th February 2001)
13. Misty In Roots – Man Kind (30th January 2002)
14. Half Man Half Biscuit – Blood On The Quad (30th August 2003)
15. Dr. Venom – Mumra (19th November 2004 – the last track from a pre-recorded show which was to be broadcast whilst John was on holiday in Peru)

» Download (52mb / 56mins)

BONUS:
This is a tribute show which aired on the 29th October 2004. Mostly interviews and fan testimonials. Presented by Mark Coles, who notes that the BBC tribute site received more than a quarter of a million hits in the last four days, and 32,000 sent emails to the World Service. The tracks played are only extracts. [Peel Wiki]

» Download (.rar file includes 4 shows / 227mb)
Thanks to Life Has Surface Noise for the above.

Postscript:

Over on the Twitter I asked people to let me know if they were in a band that recorded a Peel Session. At the time of publication I’m tweeting out the mentions from the many, many of you who did. There’s one band though – Keshco who weren’t lucky enough to get a session, but in 2009 they recorded a track from their album called ‘Peel Intro’ which recreates the short wave radio broadcasts as heard above.

It’s good to know that years later even after his passing that the influence and memory of John Peel is still there.

Before I continue another mention for the Peel Wikia and an appeal on their behalf: If it wasn’t for that project and all of the collaborators and contributors nearly everything posted here would not be possible. If you used to listen – and more importantly tape his shows and still are in possession of those cassettes, drop them a line via the John Peel radio show discussion group on Yahoo, or I can relay a message to them: contact form here or via Twitter @keepingitpeel If you have anything John Peel related that you think would be of interest, we’d like to hear from you.

There’s only a few bits audio available from Peel’s birthday date, down to various reasons. Because nobody recorded him/made them available or because he wasn’t broadcasting on that day. There are a couple of important ones though which we do have – from his 40th, 50th and 60th birthdays. But because I’ve featured clips from these shows in other pods they will not be in this one. I’ve highlighted below where to hear these.

Keeping It Peel Podcast – 30th of August

1. Intro from 30th August 1979 show.
2. Pirates – Johnny B Goode’s Good (session) – 30th August 1978
3. Outcasts – Just Another Teenage Rebel (session) – 30th August 1978
4. Skids – Sweet Suburbia – 30th August 1978
   “This is a record I’ve been waiting for a long time…”       “…so come on everybody let’s put the Skids where they really belong in the charts…”
5. Max Romeo – Melt Away (12″) – 30th August 1978
6. Siouxsie and the Banshees – Staircase (Mystery) – 30th August 1979 (40th Birthday show)
7. Lonnie Donegan – Lost John – 30th August 1979
8. Specials – Gangster – 30th August 1979
9. Mike Hart – Almost Liverpool 8 – 30th August 1979
   (One of the artists who released music on John Peel’s Dandelion Records label) More info.
10. Phil the engineer arranged for Kenny Dalglish to call Peel during the show, which he was very chuffed. – 30th August 1979
11. Liverpool Kop Choir – You’ll Never Walk Alone – 30th August 1979
    (These are only a small selection from the 1979 show, if you want to listen to the whole thing: YouTube)
12. Everything But The Girl – Ballad Of The Times (session) – 30th August 1984
    “I was a bit dubious about them at first to be perfectly honest with you but I like that…”
13. Wild Bunch – Indestructible Woman – 30th August 1984
14. Bobby Lee Trammel – Toolie Froolie – 30th August 1988
15. The Shamen – It’s All Around – 30th August 1988
    (Peel pronounces their name “are” (as in art) instead of “aye” (as in hay), the sound of the band at this point is very different to what they became)
16. Where’s The Beach – Tripping The Love Fantastic (session – edit) – 31st August 1989
    (John had pre-recorded his show and this was scheduled to be broadcast on 30th August 1989 but instead there was a surprise 50th birthday party live show with The Fall, Wedding Present and House Of Love all performing. You can hear these on Peel’s 50th podcast)
17. (For his 60th birthday there was a 6 hour celebration on Radio 1 which was broadcast from the Maida Vale studios on the 31st of August 1999. I’ve extracted some parts from that night which will be featured as the next podcast, if you want to listen to the whole thing before you can d/load it here)
18. Earl Gaines – Hymn Number 5 – and – Cinerama – Your Charms – both 30th August 2000
19. His studio team present him with a birthday cake – John tells the story about Britt Ekland at the Kerrang awards fell and hurt herself, one of his party at the table helped her up. Ekland said she listened to his shows all the time and Peel was tempted to ask her to name one band that he played. – 30th August 2000
20. Herman Düne – Drug-Dealer in the Park – and – King Tubby – Casanova Dub – 30th August 2000
21. John talks about his birthday and 30th wedding anniversary – 31st August 2004
22. The Fall – Job Search (acetate) – 31st August 2004
    (Louise, Hermeet and Mark, his studio producers & engineers put together a birthday present scrapbook which included an acetate with tracks from two of his favourite bands)
23. Kilauea Hawaiian Players – My Little Grass Shack (Pig’s Big 78) – 31st August 2004 (A birthday present from Mick Cashman)
24. Half Man Half Biscuit – A Legend In My Time (acetate) – 31st August 2004
    (A cover version, his favourite song as sung by Roy Orbison)
    “Ah, you ought to hear me sing that…”

» Download (67mb / 1hr 13mins)

Although there are plenty of Merseyside acts that did make it, there’s also plenty of others that didn’t despite John Peel highlighting them. This podcast is going to shine that Peel spotlight again on these artists.

I asked via Twitter (@keepingitpeel) for people to nominate some of their favourite possibly unknown Liverpool bands. A couple of people which I regularly correspond gave me lots of names. Thank you to @roverkopite and @ooube for your input.
Also to @didnotchart, @chonburi_fc, @mattyhebditch, @DrMarkNuttall, @frankosonic, @robotbytheriver, @barryhughes70, @stephenhuppert and @walnutbackpack for their suggestions.

The band details come courtesy of link2wales – Liverpool band encyclopedia.

Keeping It Peel Podcast – Lost Liverpool Bands

1. 1. Intro from BFBS show – 5th January 1983
   2. Tunnel Users – Dance ? (13th July 1982. No intros)
      Colin Pennington (gtr,voc) (later of Decemberists, Hell Fire Sermons, James), Phil Butcher (voc), Clint Gannicliffe (keys), Gary Rowlandson (drms) (died 2006), Paul Maloney (bass), Geraldine French (voc), Jeff Hill (keys). » More info
   3. Original Mirrors – Panic In The Night (25th March 1980)
      Steve Allen (voc) (ex Deaf School, Perils in Plastic), Ian Broudie (gtr) (later Big in Japan, Lightning Seeds, Care, Wild Swans), Jimmy Hughes (bass), Jonathon Perkins (keys) (later Silver Spurs), Pete Kircher (drms)
   4. Hambi & The Dance – Too Late To Fly The Flag (20th May 1981. No intros)
      Hambi Harolambous (voc,gtr) (ex Tontrix), Wayne Hussey (gtr) (ex Walkie Talkies, later Dead or Alive, Sisters of Mercy), Steve Lovell (gtr) (ex Hollycaust, later with Julian Cope), Gazza Johnson (bass) (later China Crisis), Chris Hughes (ex Tontrix, later Adam & The Ants), & a dancer, Paul Rutherford (later Frankie Goes To Hollywood).
   5. Hellfire Sermons: H.O.N.E.Y.M.O.O.N. (4th December 1989)
      Colin Pennington (voc,gtr,keys) (ex Tunnel Users), Andrew Deevey (voc,gtr), Andrew Ford(bass), Chris Harrison (drms)
   6. Jegsy Dodd – The Day My Flat Turned Weird / Welcome To Hillview Heights / A Scouse Werewolf In London / No Place To Run (4th Sept 1985. No intros)
      Four of the seven spoken word/poetry tracks recorded on 6th August 1985, these extracted from the repeat airing. Dodd recorded his session after he sent Peel a demo tape. At Peel’s suggestion he formed a band to work with, which he called The Sons of Harry Cross, a reference to the Brookside character.
   7. Barbel – Shadow Of A Doubt (session) (12th February 1990)
      Roger Sinek (drms) (later Mr Ray’s Wigworld), Ali Williams (keys) (ex Flo & The Frets), Greg Milton (voc,gtr), Dave Morgan (bass) (ex Jactars).
   8. Come In Tokio – Walk Away (session) (17th February 1982. No intros) [See below]
      Phil Wylie (voc,gtr) (brother of Pete Wylie) (later of Big Scream), Alan Currie (drms), Frank Mahon (bass), John Jenkins (keys) (later Persuaders), John Gillin (gtr) » More info
   9. A Formal Sigh – Ev Rev (session) (10th September 1981)
      Formed around the kernel of Mark Peters (bass guitar) and Flo Sullivan (vocals and keyboards). Robin Surtees (guitar) joined the pair within days. He was followed, after several auditions and temporary drummers, by Roger Sinek (drums) and Greg Milton (guitar and bass). Mark Peters had previously played with The Names (aka The Famous Names).
   10. 23rd Turnoff – Michael Angelo (FSK Germany July 2004)
       (This is one of the psychedelic tracks selected by Will Sergeant from Echo & The Bunnymen to be played on the show. Originally recorded in 1967)
       Their band named after the exit from the M6 motorway onto the East Lancashire Road to Liverpool. The song “Michael Angelo” had been conceived by Jimmy Campbell while The Kirkbys were traveling in their van on the way to Finland for their second tour in 1966. Jimmy had been reading a biography on Michaelangelo and arriving in Finland, the group’s van slid down a steep slope and crashed, leaving the band stranded in a log cabin for a week during which Jimmy wrote “Michael Angelo”
   11. The Cherry Boys – Kardomah Café (session) (6th April 1982)
       Chris Sharrock (drms) (ex Young World, later Icicle Works, La’s, Lightning Seeds), John Cherry (gtr,voc), Keith Gunson (bass,voc) (ex City Lights, later Caroline 199), James Hughes (keys) (ex City Lights, later Exhibit B) & Howie Minns (drms) (ex City Lights, later Exhibit B, Bamboo Fringe, Macc Lads) joined in ’81.
   12. Jactars – Pull The Plug (session) (20th November 1989)
       Ian Travis (voc,gtr), Tony Lonorgan (keys), Dave Morgan (bass) (later Barbel), Huw Williams (drms) (ex Crikey It’s The Cromptons, The Big I Am)
   13. 3D (A Fish In Sea) – Pantau (session) (13th September 1983) [See below]
       Fred Palethorpe (Drums), John Reynolds (Guitar), Steve Spurgin (Keyboards), Phil Martin (Saxophone), Richie Holmes (Vocals), Dave Edge (Bass), John Corner (Vocals, Saxophone)
       Also: 3D – 2nd Peel Session (25th November 1982)
   14. Benny Profane – Beam Me Up (session) (29th June 1999)
       Dave Jackson – Vocals, Joe McKechnie – Guitar/drums, Becky Stringer – Bass, Robin Surtees – Guitar, plus others » More info
   15. Marlowe – Popularity Gel (21st July 2004)
       Simon (voc,gtr), Paul (bass), Rachel (violin), Aron(drms), Chloe (voc,keys,sax), Chris (trmpt), Claire (violin/keys), Clare (violin/viola/keys)
   16. The Wild Swans – No Bleeding (session) (25th July 1983. No intros)
       Gerald Quinn (keys) (ex Teardrop Explodes), Paul Simpson (voc) (ex Crucial Three, Shallow Madness, Teardrop Explodes, later Care, Living Legends, Skyray), Jeremy Kelly (gtr) (also Lotus Eaters, The Lovers, Psycamesh, Diamond Sutra, Care), Alan (bass) & Alan Wills (drms) (also played live for Send No Flowers). Their orig drummer, Justin Stavely (ex Chinese Religion, later Roulade) was sacked early on. Alan on bass was replaced by Rob McGibnty (later Woodentops) and Kelly replaced by Ian Broudie (later Lightning Seeds) » More info
   17. Freeze Frame – Touch (John Peel’s Music On BFBS 5th January 1983)
       Steve Byrne (voc), Ronnie Stone (gtr,keys), Mick Douglas (keys). By 1982 Mick had left and Godot members Martin Cooper (sax) andDave Hughes (keys) joined for live work. 1983-84 Clive Gee (perc,keys) (ex Afraid of Mice, The Press later Sleepwalkers, Strangeheart) joined before leaving Steve and Ronnie as a duo.
   18. Box Of Toys – When Daylight Is Over (session) (28th April 1983. No intros)
       Brian Atherton (voc,keys), Roy Campbell (bass,voc), Phil Martin (sax,keys,voc) (later Come in Tokio), Andy Redhead (drms,gtr) (ex Select Committee, later 3D).
   19. Kling Klang – Nexus (24th July 2001)
       Pete Smyth (gtr,voc) (later Mugstar), Dave Smyth (keys) (also of aPaTt), Joe Mcloaghlin (also of 20,000BC) (gtr,keys), Amy Corcoran (keys), Ali Mcdonald (drms).
   20. Blue Poland – Find Out (Why) (session) (4th May 1982)
       Chris Larsen (bass) (later Lawnmower, Beach Bastards), Mel Deeprose (voc), Neil Morgan (voc), Nigel Robinson (gtr), Steve Thomas (drms)
   21. Shiny Two Shiny – Waiting For Us (28th November 1983)
       Shiny Two Shiny was a cult duo who emerged during the exciting live scene in Liverpool in the early 1980s, playing at venues such as Erics alongside bands who would go on to become household names. Gayna Rose Madder (“Flo”) and Robin Surtees had recorded a Peel session with their previous band, A Formal Sigh. » More info
   22. Deaf School – What A Way To End It All (session) (30th December 1976)
       Steve Allen (voc) (aka Enrico Cadillac) (later Original Mirrors, Tremblers, Perils of Plastic), Clive Langer (aka Cliff Hanger) (later Big in Japan, Clive Langer & The Boxes), Bette Bright (voc) (later of Illuminations), Max Ripple, Tim Whittaker (drms) (later Lori & The Chameleons, Pink Military, Gale Force), Ian Richie (sax) (later Jane Aire & The Belvederes), Steve Lyndsey (bass) (later Big in Japan, Secrets, Planets). Paul Pilnick (gtr) (ex Stealers Wheel) played with Deaf School.

End of show from 25th November 1982

» Download (71mb / 1hr 16mins)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

I’ve had this cassette below for a number of years now. Can’t remember where it came from. As it says there are recordings of interviews and Peel Sessions with Come In Tokio and 3D A Fish In Sea. (On the other side are Peel Sessions by Echo & The Bunnymen, China Crisis and A Flock Of Seagulls). I tried once to transfer/convert but my hifi started to chew the tape, I never bothered since then.

But after having the idea for this podcast I decided to have another go. I bought a USB cassette player and this time succeeded. Here for you now then…

John Peel chats to Phil (brother of Pete) Wylie, lead singer of Come In Tokio and their Peel Session:

3D (A Fish In Sea) 1st Peel Session and interview with the drummer Fred Palethorpe:

I have discovered that @StevoMusicMan was the person who took the time to tape these segments and create the cassette. I am very pleased that this came into my possession and am able to publish it here. This is dedicated to you Steve.

ALSO….

– If you want to look up more about these bands, start with music…isms.

– Too late to include in the pod: Jules Verne (Peel Session 17th May 1992) – Ta very much @kmucs

– Also missing are the Poderosa Glee Boys (Peel Session 15th July 1981), who recently reunited.

– The last Liverpool band ever to record a session for John Peel, but sadly he never got to play it on his show. It did get an airing on a Rob Da Bank broadcast a couple of months later. » Ella Guru – Peel Session (15th December 2004)

Answer:
I don’t know but I’ve decided that via the medium of Twitter @keepingitpeel I will find out.

I could just do some research beforehand, but I want to discover as I go along whether there is a session of every day of the year or not.
Side note – I will be slightly cheating in that I’ll post a session that according to the YouTube uploader was either recorded on that date, or was broadcast on that date.

In order to keep track of all the sessions and to make sure I don’t double post I’ll be using Google Calendar, Tweetdeck (with the scheduled tweet function), the always fantastic Peel Wikia and of course YouTube for the Peel Sessions.

Below you will be able to see my progress throughout the year. Also to see if I can actually keep this going for the entire time.

I haven’t decided on the hashtag to use yet. It will probably be #PeelSessionCalendar

» If you have a particular Peel Session that you want to add to the calendar, either contact me here or send a tweet @keepingitpeel with the artist and date.

YT Playlist:

Google Calender:

(You’ll have to scroll back to 2018)

Twitter:

Another year without John, commemorating him once again with these podcasts which cover his time at Radio 1 …

…And from Radio 1 Vintage, some extracts from interviews done by former presenters with their experiences and memories of John Peel.
Interspersed in these clips are tracks taken from the respective shows in which the DJ’s were involved.

Starting with:

Keeping It Peel Podcast: John Peel – Radio 1

• Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq talk about how they first listened to Radio 1 and John Peel before they joined.
• The Orb – Passing of Time (Evening Session, Live)
• Jo and Lammo talk about John Peel
• The White Stripes – Stop Breaking Down (Evening Session, Live)
• Janice Long talks about working with John Peel
• The Raw Herbs – Syds Late Night (Janice Long Session)
• Edith Bowman and Colin Murray share their memories of the day when they heard that John had died and of their interactions with him.
• CLSM – John Peel Is Not Enough (video mix)
• Annie Nightingale talks about John Peel and his name recognition around the world.
• Siouxsie and the Banshees – Christine
• Taken from a tribute night (Keeping It Peel – 16th December 2004) Annie Nightingale tells the story of Spencer’s dream
• The Fall – Hit The North
• Mary Anne Hobbs talks about her memories of listening to Radio 1 and discovering John Peel.
• GonjaSufi/The Gaslamp Killer – Change (Mary Anne Hobbs final show on Radio 1)
• Mary Anne tells the story of buying a giant neon sign for John’s birthday, the last time she saw him.
• Stanley Winston – No More Ghettos In America

Download (52.0MB / 56mins 51secs)

Bonus: A mini-pod with extracts from the Radio 1 Vintage interview with David Jensen and the section of his R1 Vintage broadcast alongside John Peel:

Keeping It Peel Podcast: Kid Jensen – John Peel

• Kid Jensen talks about his radio roots and how he ended up at Radio 1
• Kid talks to the wine correspondent “John Louis” about Beaujolais Nouveau
• Prefab Sprout – The Devil Has All The Best Tunes
• Kid and John go through the chart rundown
• This Mortal Coil – Song To The Siren
• Kid talks about bands that he and John got in to record sessions, one of them being The Smiths
• The Smiths – Wonderful Woman (David Jensen Session)
• Jensen talks about the evening shows he did with John and about their Top Of The Pops appearances
• Audio extract of John Peel on Top Of The Pops
• His memory of John and his reaction after Liverpool won the European Cup
• The Undertones – Teenage Kicks – twice (John Peel show 25th September 1978)

Download (26.2MB / 28mins 39secs)

And It Doesn’t End There…

• If you missed the R1 Vintage shows, click on the above link or browse on Mixcloud
• For your downloading pleasure: Radio 1 Vintage – John Peel (Mediafire).   Details here
• Originally broadcast in December 2004, repeated for Radio 1 Vintage. Jarvis Cocker presents Teenage Dreams: A John Peel Documentary (Mediafire)   Details here
• And finally…   Originally broadcast in October 2014, from BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra’s Stories –
  How John Peel Changed My Life (Mediafire)   Details here

We are going back to 1989 and on the 30th of August that year John Peel turned 50 years old.

To celebrate this event there was a surprise gig thrown for Peelie at the Subterranea, London…

It was planned that the Undertones would reform (with Feargal Sharkey back on vocals again) but sadly had to pull out due to one of the members having a family bereavement. The House Of Love stepped in instead.

The entire thing took place on the 29th and then broadcast on Peel’s show the next night.

John Peel’s 50th – Part 1

• Mechanic Manyeruke of Zimbabwe: Happy Birthday, John Peel (especially recorded)
• Introduction by Jon Walters and then live at Subterranea up on stage The Shend introduces:

House Of Love

1. Christine
2. Love In A Car
3. Shine On
4. Salome
5. Destroy The Heart
6. Man To Child
7. Can’t Stand It

Back on stage live – The Shend introduces:

The Wedding Present

1. What Have I Said Now? (30 minutes in)
2. Crushed
3. Kennedy
4. Thanks!
5. Bewitched
6. Granadaland

» Download (50.7mb/55mins)

John Peel’s 50th – Part 2

A quick into from The Shend and then:

The Fall

1. Mere Pseud Mag Ed
2. I’m Frank
3. Arms Control Poseur
4. Fiery Jack
5. Race with the Devil (Gene Vincent cover – they knew that Peel liked him and learnt the song)
6. Carry Bag Man
7. Mr.Pharmacist

After the band finished Peelie is called up on the stage. The crowd sing “Happy Birthday” and he addresses the audience, including the now famous quote:

“Think my chances of making the Liverpool side are gone now. Might still be able to get a game at one of those London clubs, though.”

The show ends with: Barmy Army: Sharp As A Needle

» Download( 29.5mb/32 minutes)

Additional:

Click on the image below to view John Peel’s Birthday Supppliment as published in The Catalogue.
After you’ve clicked scroll to the left for all the pages in the article.

Additional additional:

BBC Radio 1 to launch pop up station with 50th birthday

“Radio 1 will launch a pop-up sister station later this year as part of its 50th birthday celebrations.

Radio 1 Vintage will broadcast on DAB and iPlayer for three days from 30 September.

Tony Blackburn, who was the first voice ever heard on the station, will team up with current breakfast show host Nick Grimshaw to launch the project.

Classic shows from the archive presented by the likes of John Peel and Chris Moyles will also be broadcast.”