[peel] Digest Number 401

[Tom Roche]

>
>Message: 1
>   Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 19:26:29 +0100
>   From: Leo/Bianca <sete.colinas@...>
>Subject: John Peel online chat
>
>For anybody who's interested, here's the great man having a chat.
>
>http://www.bbc.co.uk/livechat/transcripts/johnpeelpage1.shtml
>
>Leo
>




here's the whole thang for those who didn't bother....


tom





               John Peel Live Chat
            Saturday 18th August 2001

>
John Peel, of Radio 4's Home Truths, chatted about music,
            football, radio and family life.
              Here's the first question.

   Question from Dan Satterfield: How long have you
       been doing Home Truths and how did it start?

    John Peel: About three years now. It derived from a
  previous programme called Offspring which ran irregularly
               for two or three years.

    Question from Mal Demurr: Do you write your own
  Home Truths scripts, i.e. is all the humour your own, or do
               you get a little help?

  John Peel: Yes I do write them. Inevitably with anything,
   sometimes when you look at it later you think that was
   okay, or I wish I hadn't done that. After the programme
            there's a lot of soul-searching.

   Question from Angela Crook: Whose idea was Home
              Truths in the first place?

  John Peel: It came originally from Offspring. A couple of
  nice radio producers asked me to do a programme about
  children. I found myself talking to women novelists about
   the state of the novel in English. The pilot was sensibly
    rejected, then re-submitted and then accepted. Some
   shadowy person in some part of Broadcasting House to
             which I don't have access.

  Question from K B: John, do you think Radio 4 listeners
   have ever been put off by frequent references to your
            other (fabulous) radio shows?

  John Peel: Well, I always hoped there'd be some kind of
   cross-fertilisation. I'd like people who listen to Radio 4 to
   listen to Radio 1 and vice versa. I don't think many do to
     be honest. The thing is, the Radio 1 programmes
  apparently have the highest number of listeners under 16,
   which is a source of great pleasure to me. If they start
  listening to Radio 4, that's good for Radio 4. We've always
  been told the average Radio 4 listener is about the age of
                      80.

   Question from Bez Pitcher:My late mother's maiden
  name was Ravenscroft, she lived on Merseyside, her father
     was in the aiforce, World War II, any connection?

  John Peel:Very likely, I'd have thought. In that, for about
     a thousand years there have been Ravenscrofts in
  Cheshire, living lives of unparalleled dullness, being mainly
   involved in farming. I know this from a book called The
     Book of the Ravenscrofts.... I was convinced of the
   authenticity of this book by the fact that at no stage are
     the Ravenscrofts related in any way to the kings of
                    England!

   Question from Dominic Smith: How many records do
             you have in your collection?

   John Peel: I know exactly how many vinyl LPs I've got
   because I file them in a numerical system. And I've just
   passed 26,000. People do criticise you for that, but you
  have to have some kind of system. You can't keep looking
  through 26,000 records, saying "It's in here somewhere!"
   As for CDs, 12 inch singles and 7 inch singles, I have no
                 idea. Too many.

   Question from Rachel Irvine: Hi John, do you really
  keep your toenail clippings? Why? Do you keep them all or
    just a sample? What do you keep them in - how many
  have you got? For example enough to fill a film case, or a
                    bucket?

    John Peel: (John laughs...) I got very bad sunburn in
    Yugoslavia a few years ago, and I was able to pull off
    great strips of skin. And because I found them quite
   interesting, I've kept them. Over the years I've added
   toenails and some verrucas as well. But I recently threw
    them away, to general family rejoicing. They were all
   frightened I was going to leave them to them in my will.

    Question from Lucy Sweetman: If you were a fish,
            what kind of fish would you be?

    John Peel: Something that lurked on the bottom and
   anticipated an early death, I think. I always like to blend
            with my natural surroundings.

                  Continued...

Live Chat with John Peel
                  continued...

   Question from Jon Savage: Parochial question. Why
                  Stowmarket?

    John Peel: I think if you're in London, you're always
   worrying that you're missing that all-important festival of
  Polish film at the National Film Theatre. In Stowmarket this
                 isn't a problem...

   Question from Eddie Allan: Why is your wife, Sheila,
                known as the Pig?

   John Peel: Because she snorts when she laughs. (John
               shouts "Pig" to wife!)

    Question from Roger Shaw: Is it weird to get in the
  office and find that Radio 4 listeners want to do farmyard
                impressions on air?

   John Peel:Extraordinary. On the other hand, we depend
   on their willingness to do this sort of thing. My own fox
  impression takes some beating. It's actually rather painful,
   and involves a sharp intake of breath with your mouth
                     open.

   Question from Michael Snodgrass: What would be a
   good openig line for someone to use to get you in to a
       conversation if they just bumped into you?

  John Peel: "Wasn't Robbie good on Saturday?" would be a
                good start, I think.

   Question from Nicky Clark: I`ve been away and was
   shocked to read via your Radio Times column that John
  Walters has died. When and how? Any plans for tributes ?
            He was a brilliant broadcaster.

   John Peel: I'm sure there must be plans somewhere, I
   hope there are plans. I wouldn't know where to begin. At
   least 25 years of my life were taken up with Walters. As
  anyone who knew him would confirm, he really was larger
   than life. I wouldn't know where to begin with a tribute. I
   always have at the back of my mind when doing Home
  Truths, his criticism of the programme to the effect that it
   was about people who had fridges called Renfrewshire.

  Question from Chris Pearce: What format do you want
               your funeral to take?

  John Peel: Rather gothic actually. (laughs). A lot of stuff
  designed to make people weep copiously. I want people to
    feel guilty they weren't nicer to me while I was alive.

  Question from David Smallridge: We are great fans but
   we have never been able to decipher what is shouted at
             the start of the programme.

  John Peel: It's "Let's go trippin'" This is not an invitation to
   drug abuse, it's some kind of surfing term. I don't really
   know what it means! One of the things I do worry about
  with the programme, is that it does get too much to do with
  people who call their fridges Renfrewshire. I think Walters'
   criticism was rather apt. Our fridge is called Steve. But I
   just made that up. My imagination pulses day and night.

    Question from Rich Thompson: Has your Brummie
    accent been a hinderance or a help in your career?

  John Peel: Well, I'm always rather offended when people
      say it's a Brummie accent! What it is is adjusted
    middle-class Cheshire. My original accent was an an
    embarrassment when I was in the army. Potentially
                hazardous, really.

                  Continued...


Question from Nina: How many BBC staff are involved in
              producing Home Truths?

     John Peel: Well, there are three producers, one
    researcher and a broadcast assistant. So five is the
    answer. Not enough if you're doing a programme, too
        many if you're buying a round of drinks!

    Question from Chris Handy: What has been your
            favorite item from any show?

  John Peel: I always like things to do with Haile Selassie.
    I'm not sure why...... I suppose partly because he's
    venerated by reggae musicians, and as I like reggae,
         there's a barely discernible link there.

     Question from Tricia Twelvetree: Did you ever
  envisage that Home Truths would touch such a core of UK
  family life. You broadcast many items to which I think "My
        God I thought that only happened to me!!

    John Peel: That's exactly the feeling I have too, I'm
    amazed that so many people have had experiences I
  thought were unique to our family. I just like the fact that
  almost everybody you speak to, has some feature in their
   lives that they regard as absolutely normal. Which would
     have any other person whistling in astonishment.

  Question from Alexis Walker: Would you have been so
     successful without the support of your wife Sheila?

   John Peel: Certainly not. Depending on how you define
     success, of course. I was looking in The Guardian
  yesterday at the list of 100 wealthiest media people. Noel
  Edmonds was at number 8. In those terms, I've not been
  successful, but in terms of having a nice life, I have been
     successful. Most of the people I'd never heard of.

    Question from Bobcatz1: Why do you always play
            records at the wrong speed?

  John Peel:Well, the thing is most DJs play the music from
   mini-discs, and there is no possibility of playing those at
  the wrong speed. Whereas I play at least half of the music
  from vinyl. And you get LPs that play at 45 and singles that
  play at 33 and a third. I think I do quite well, really, under
  the circumstances. I don't think anybody's life is ruined by
   hearing the intro of a record played at the wrong speed.

    Question from Bill Clark: How long do you listen to
                records every day?

    John Peel: Well, it's almost constant. As soon as I've
   finished with this and had a pee, I shall be listening until
    the football scores start coming through on Sky TV at
                     3.00.

  BBC Host: That is all we have time for. Here is John Peel
                with a final word...

    John Peel: I can't think of anything I want to say.... I
   always like any contact with the people who are at the
  receiving end of what we do. I'm always embarrassed by
    people who treat me as a mini-celeb, but I like talking
  about what I do. There's always conflict between those two
         things. Right. I'm going for a pee now