Nice tributes from the Coventry paper

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Nice tributes from the Coventry paper




Coventry Evening Telegraph, Thu, 28 Oct 2004 5:57 AM PDT
ic Coventry - City musicians' tributes to DJ Peel http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=14807001%26method=full%26siteid=50003%26headline=city%2dmusicians%2d%2dtributes%2dto%2ddj%2dpeel-name_page.html




City news


City musicians' tributes to DJ Peel 
Oct 28 2004
 

Coventry musicians have made their own tributes to broadcasting legend John Peel, credited with helping to kick-start the birth of the city's 2-Tone era.

The 65-year-old DJ, who started his career in the US before moving to work in pirate Radio London, died after suffering a heart attack on Monday while on holiday in Peru.

With his Radio 1 show, he was responsible for launching the careers of bands across the Midlands, including The Specials and The Selecter in Coventry and The Beat in Birmingham, all of whom recorded for Coventry's 2-Tone label.

Former Specials bassist Horace Panter said: "John Peel was the first DJ to play Gangsters. He championed it, playing it on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then the next Monday.

"Peel was the champion for what has become alternative music, which perhaps ought to be called intelligent music. Andy and Liz Kershaw have kind of taken over his mantle but I don't know who else will play Cannibal Corpse on the radio."

The Beat's Ranking Roger said: "John Peel was a one off. There are lots of people who try to be like him but he didn't try to be like anyone else.

"From beginning to the end he always played obscure music that I ended up loving two or three years later. In the early Beat days we were playing a show in Birmingham and he was DJing.

"He loved our set so much he made us do it again. We were meant to get £50 and he was meant to get £500 and he swopped the cheques around. That was the heart of the man."

The Selecter's Pauline Black hosted Peel's show in his absence in the 1980s.

She said: "He leaves an enormous gap. I don't know anyone who could fill his boots or even reach down and kiss his boots.

"It was all about the music. And his personality shone through all the stronger through the music he chose.

"You thought he was someone who would go on for ever and ever, even though he was 65.

"He was the rockingest senior citizen in town."

Record producer Roger Lomas said: "He always had time for you and was very down to earth. I don't know who is going to fill the gap. He never changed through his whole career. He seemed to have one goal - to help new bands."



 
 	
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