The Independent Oct 1 : Anniversary of much-loved DJ's death sees legacy grow

[Tom Roche]

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http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/article316357.ece

  Anniversary of much-loved DJ's death sees legacy grow


  By Terry Kirby, Chief Reporter
  Published: 01 October 2005

  The late, lamented John Peel may have been famed 
for his love of both obscure Japanese thrash 
metal and punk standards like the Undertones' 
"Teenage Kicks", but among his most treasured 
records of all time is one particularly odd piece 
of vinyl.

  It is a recording of Bill Oddie, now the 
nation's favourite twitcher, singing the 
Yorkshire folk song, "On Ilkley Moor Bah 'Tat" in 
the raucous style of Joe Cocker's "With a Little 
Help From My Friends". Peel kept it in a battered 
box alongside more than 100 other favourites by 
artists as varied as Status Quo and the White 
Stripes.

The novelty album was released on Peel's own 
short-lived Dandelion record label in 1970 with 
Oddie backed by Cocker's legendary Grease Band. 
It was, say Peel's friends, simply typical of the 
man's eclectic tastes.

The disclosure of the contents of the box of 
Peel's favourite records - to be featured in a 
Channel 4 documentary - is one of a number of 
events, including concerts, records and 
broadcasts, over the next few weeks to mark the 
anniversary of the disc jockey's death and which 
cements his position as a national treasure. Peel 
died aged 65 from a heart attack while on holiday 
in Peru on 25 October last year.

The scale of the commemorations is unprecedented, 
particularly for someone renowned for being 
enormously self-effacing. "I think John would 
have been both very embarrassed and thrilled by 
all that is happening,'' his former manager and 
friend, Clive Selwood, told The Independent. 
"John always suppressed his own celebrity status; 
he would have been sitting there saying 'Oh, come 
on...'."

Many of Peel's friends and fans have also raised 
a cynical eyebrow at the way in which Radio 1, 
with whom the disc jockey often had a fractious 
relationship, is now devoting so much time to 
celebrating his life, declaring 13 October to be 
John Peel Day. The station is sponsoring a 
concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall the night 
before and dedicating six hours of programming to 
Peel on the day itself. Hundreds of live gigs are 
taking place. One friend said: "He often had a 
difficult relationship with them when his 
programme was moved all around the schedules and 
sometimes felt he was being ignored. They would 
only wake up and realise what they had when he 
won yet another award.''

Similarly, there is amusement that it is the 
right-wing Daily Telegraph that has bought the 
rights to serialise Margrave of the Marshes, the 
autobiography begun by Peel before his death and 
completed by his widow, Sheila Ravenscroft. The 
book is being published on 17 October.

Peel was said to have been "deeply embarrassed" 
about the £1.5m advance paid by publishers 
Transworld. He finished a large section of the 
book, but lost about 70,000 words when his 
computer crashed. The book details his early 
life, time at Shrewsbury School and his national 
service. It is being kept under wraps, but there 
has been speculation it will include details of 
his alleged sexual abuse at the school as well as 
his visit to Dallas on the day of the Kennedy 
assassination, when he was said to be one of the 
last people to speak to the President.

Transworld said: "You can hear the unique Peel 
voice in every sentence - rarely, if ever, before 
has a voice been so successfully transferred to 
paper." The publishers say the second section, 
written by his widow, is an "intimate portrait" 
of life with Peel.

Booksellers are banking on the autobiography, 
which is also being serialised on Radio 4, to 
boost sales before Christmas. Two unauthorised 
biographies released after his death last year 
both sold respectable amounts.

The title, said Selwood, is typical Peel: "He 
stuck to it despite resistance from the 
publishers. The word "Margrave" means "count" in 
medieval German and the marshes, of course, was 
where he lived in East Anglia." He added: "What 
can you expect from someone who once wanted to 
call his radio programme Stenhousemuir 2, 
Cowdenbeath 2, in honour of the lower reaches of 
the Scottish football league."

The Channel 4 documentary focuses on a mere 
fragment of his vast record collection, 
accumulated over more than four decades. No 
decision has yet been taken by the family about 
its future and it has not yet been fully 
catalogued or valued. The British Library, which 
had informal discussions with Peel several years 
ago about acquiring the archive, remains keen to 
open talks.

In celebration of a legend

* 12 OCTOBER John Peel memorial concert at Queen 
Elizabeth Hall, featuring New Order, The Fall, 
Super Furry Animals, Laura Cantrell

* 13 OCTOBER John Peel Day. More than 300 gigs 
around the country and abroad, with artists such 
as KT Tunstall and Bloc Party taking part. BBC 
Radio 1 broadcasting six hours of Peel-related 
programming

* 17 OCTOBER Publication of Margrave of the 
Marshes, by John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft. 
Warners releases a double CD of some of Peel's 
favourite tracks, approved by his family and 
including Lonnie Donegan, T Rex, Pink Floyd and 
Captain Beefheart. Part of the profits will go to 
charities supported by Peel

* 22 OCTOBER A special edition of Radio 4's Home 
Truths, which Peel presented for several years, 
will be broadcast from Peel's family home in 
Suffolk

* 24-29 OCTOBER Margrave of the Marshes is Book 
of the Week on BBC Radio 4. Sheila Ravenscroft's 
parts will be read by the actor Carolyn Pickles, 
but the actor who will read Peel's sections has 
not yet been chosen

* 14 NOVEMBER Channel 4 broadcasts John Peel's 
Record Box, an examination of the box of his 140 
favourite records. The show was researched by one 
of his sons, Tom.

* 21 NOVEMBER Release of a version of the 
Buzzcocks classic "Ever Fallen in Love" - one of 
the records in Peel's box - recorded by Roger 
Daltrey of The Who, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd 
and others as a tribute. Profits will go to 
Amnesty International. Peel will be inducted into 
the UK Music Hall of Fame on the same day