Margrave of the Marshes

"John’s specialty was mocking the day-glo, happy-clappy atmosphere favoured by the show’s other presenters. It was a joy to witness his sense of humour seeping into Top of the Pops. ‘That was the best song I’ve heard since – oooh, tea time,’ he said after a Duran Duran video, before adding, ‘Mind you, I had a late tea.’ Aretha Franklin may or may not have been sobbing into a nearby Kleenex after John followed her duet with George Michael by declaring, ‘You know, Aretha Franklin can make any old rubbish sound good, and I think she just has.’ And when Janice Long introduced David Cassidy by saying, ‘Ooh, I used to have him on my bedroom wall,’ John replied, ‘That was very athletic of you Janice.’ He introduced show more Queen as ‘those Sun City boys’ – a reference to the fact that they had broken sanctions by playing to wealthy white audiences in South Africa – and said that Big Country were ‘the band who put the “t” back in “country”.’ Sometimes the joke resided in John’s expression alone. When he asked viewers, ‘Isn’t it great that Billy Joel has two records in the top ten?’ his face indicated that, in his opinion, this state of affairs was considerably less appealing than a jab in the eye with a red-hot poker." show less

I never knew much about Peel and read this out of curiosity and because I picked it up for a pound in a charity shop.
It was fascinating, heartwarming, heart breaking and just a damn good read.
If you have any interest in the man , the 70s , music scene of pre- Radio 1 times then read this. You’ll be glad you did.

I started seeing "John Peel Sessions" recordings on vinyl about the time I stopped doing college radio, and discovered his World Service show shortly thereafter. For 20 years, I made an effort to tune in to the show to find out what was worth listening to. (The first recording I ever made off the internet was The Peel Show on my system 9 iMac, about ~2000)

I wrote him a cranky note when he started including American "alternative" music on his WS show; not only did he read my complaint on the air, but he was gracious enough to send me a quirky and charming reply, which I still have somewhere. His sudden death left me bereft: I miss him still.

Napalm Death played here last week, so I got to reminiscing about the impact of Peelie, and show more discovered this book. Certainly an interesting life, and both fascinating and essential for his fans. show less

My eclectic taste in music is because I was influenced by John Peel in the late 1980's. Why did John survive at Radio One when all other DJs of his age were sacked(sorry!resigned or moved on!)? He once said that in a few years time 95 per cent of the records he was currently playing would be crap. He meant that he would be bored by them and be looking for new sounds. Although a newspaper (or was it NME? I forget) stated that Peel said 95 per cent of his show was crap!

This book - completed by his wife Sheila, who complemented the style of Peel greatly - has many anecdotes and stories. At long last I see a photo of his mother(in the book), famously mentioned on Room 101 by Peel saying John had a very large bottom (And the whole of Chester show more stopped to look at this wonderous sight - I paraphrase of course.)

My favourite anecdote concerns Peel and his family, along with Andy Kershaw, travelling a long distance to see former DJ 'colleague' Simon Bates in pantomine - so they could jeer him. (In fact, ordering his death!) I have only laughed out loud once before at such a volume at that description.

For the record - Peel generally was a nice man. In the early 90's I won a competition for a Fall LP( ah - vinyl). After 4 months(!!!) I wrote back to remind him. Of course he forgot but he sent me a copy as promised. When it finally arrived he had wrote an apology on the inner sleeve - 'Sorry its late -John (Peel)'. Unfortunately he wrote it in biro and the LP was scratched. I thought that was typical Peely, and laughed. show less

This guy defined my formative years - late nights by the radio with school the next morning...happy days. This bio more than does those years justice - a fitting tribute to a man who shaped a generation.

Both parts of the book are well written, funny and genuinely moving. The lists at the back of the things John Peel intended to write about was very poignant. Really glad I read this.

Cant say im surprised by the varied and interesting life Peel lead. The publics reaction to his death said much about the affection this man enjoyed in his career and rightly so, in such a negative world his positivity in his field was clear, even if you werent really into music. Definately prefered Peels half of this book to the latter half mind. Ive always enjoyed the exsistence of people who put your own ability into perspective. Ive always fancied myself as a music trivia buff but in comparison to this man you realise how blinkered you are. How a man can keep his passion up for the business and move with the times like he did amazes me. I gave up on new music when I was about 30, and I cant see myself returning. Hats off to John and show more his book. show less