2-week-old story we never got to....

[Tom Roche]

from the Scotsman...

Radio 1 unveils Peel Day to celebrate late DJ 


http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1830442005


Radio 1 today announced a John Peel Day to 
celebrate the life of the visionary DJ.

Gigs will take place across the UK in as many 
venues as possible under the banner of Peel Day.

  The first Peel Day is set for Thursday, October 
13, and organisers hope it will become an annual 
event.

Peel, who discovered dozens of major bands, was 
the BBC's longest-serving Radio 1 presenter, and 
also presented the Home Truths programme on Radio 
4.

Peel, who died from a heart attack on October 26 
last year while on holiday in Peru, had been with 
Radio 1 since the launch of the station in the 
summer of 1967.

Bands such as The Undertones, The Smiths, David 
Bowie and Pink Floyd are just a few of the names 
who owed much of their initial success to Peel, 
who supported new acts by giving them invaluable 
airtime on national radio.

Radio 1 today said it was organising a special 
gig in London to take place before Peel Day.

Peel's widow, Sheila Ravenscroft,

said: "John would have been honoured and fairly 
amazed that the anniversary is being marked in 
such a way.

"He would appreciate that in years to come Peel 
Day will give new bands across the country the 
chance to be heard."

Radio 1 Controller Andy Parfitt said: "Peel Day 
is about celebrating John's legacy and his 
unrivalled passion for music.

"It'll be a day of gigs taking place up and down 
the country - something we feel will be a fitting 
tribute to John."

Jason Carter, executive producer for live events 
at Radio 1, said: "Having spoken to all the major 
promoters in the UK and many people involved in 
live music, the strength of feeling for  this day 
has been fantastic with everyone pledging their 
support."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Media/site/story/0,14173,1554725,00.html?gusrc=rss




and this from The Grauniad





Radio 1 launches John Peel Day

Julia Day, radio correspondent
Tuesday August 23, 2005


A year after the untimely death of John Peel, the 
legendary DJ is to be commemorated in true rock 
'n' roll style with a day of gigs across the UK.

John Peel Day will be held on October 13 and is 
the brainchild of Peel's colleagues at BBC Radio 
1, in consultation with his wife Sheila 
Ravenscroft, who wanted to find an appropriate 
way of celebrating his life and 40-year 
contribution to music and broadcasting.

Radio 1 bosses are hoping that venues across the 
UK, from big concert halls to small clubs, will 
organise gigs as part of a day-long music 
festival.

And the station is planning a major gig in London 
for what it hopes will become an annual event.

"John would have been honoured and fairly amazed 
that the anniversary is being marked in such a 
way. He would appreciate that in years to come 
Peel Day will give new bands across the country 
the chance to be heard," Ms Ravenscroft said.

Jason Carter, the executive producer of live 
events at Radio 1, said he had been overwhelmed 
by the response from the major music promoters.

"The strength of feeling for this day has been 
fantastic with everyone pledging their support," 
he said.

But it is hoped that it will not just be the 
big-name promoters and bands taking part. Radio 1 
is planning to provide some promotional material, 
that will be available for anyone who wants to 
organize a concert under the Peel Day umbrella to 
download.

Andy Parfitt, the Radio 1 controller, said: "Peel 
Day is about celebrating John's legacy and his 
unrivalled passion for music. It'll be a day of 
gigs taking place up and down the country, 
something we feel will be a fitting tribute to 
John."

Peel died aged 65 on October 26 last year after 
suffering a heart attack during a working holiday 
with his wife in the city of Cuzco, Peru.

His death caused an outpouring of tributes from 
across the music and broadcasting industries and 
from ordinary people who, as listeners to his 
radio shows over four decades, felt they had 
"grown up" with the man whose eclectic musical 
tastes helped shape the UK's music scene.

At July's radio industry festival in Edinburgh 
some of Peel's friends and colleagues took to the 
stage in an informal session sharing their often 
comic, sometimes moving, memories of the man.

Musicians remember

Feargal Sharkey, the former Undertones frontman 
who sang Peel's favourite song Teenage Kicks, 
revealed the secret behind his band's first Peel 
Session.

"It started with a naive phone-call. I sent a 
record to Radio 1 and 12 hours later I called the 
BBC and asked to speak to Mr Peel. Twenty seconds 
later I heard a familiar voice on the phone. He'd 
listened to Teenage Kicks and said 'do you want 
to do a John Peel Session?' We could have split 
up at that moment - we'd achieved everything.

"But the concept of us getting from Ireland to 
London - it was not going to happen. Four of us 
were still at school. Seven years later we found 
out that John had booked and paid for the studio 
[we recorded the session at] in Belfast out of 
his own pocket."

Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg told how he first 
got played on Peel's show: "My first experience 
of John Peel was when Life's a Riot came out. I 
was playing football with some mates in Hyde 
Park. John Peel was on the radio and he said to 
Kid Jensen 'I'd do anything for a mushroom 
biryani' and a little light went on in my head. I 
took the biryani to Radio 1's reception and left 
a record with it. Sure enough he played the track 
and said 'thanks very much for the biryani Billy, 
but I'd have played the record anyway.'"

And White Stripes lead singer Jack White appeared 
on video to tell of his first encounter with 
Peel: "The first time I met John Peel was at 
Maida Vale when we did our first Peel Session. He 
was sitting in the lounge area crying. I didn't 
know what to do.

"I introduced myself and he cleared up the tears. 
I said 'Are you OK?' and he said 'Liverpool just 
won', I thought something tragic had happened."

And DJ Steve Lamacq told a couple of tales about 
Peel's sense of humour: "One day he turned up and 
we had DJ Shadow in the studio. John came in and 
was quite merry. He came in and stood by by DJ 
Shadow, undid his belt, pulled his trousers down, 
grinned maniacally, pulled them up and walked 
out. Afterwards he said to me 'who did you have 
in?', I said DJ Shadow. John said 'He looked like 
a miserable bugger.'"

Lamacq also recalled bumping in to Peel at 
Glastonbury one year: "I said to him 'How's it 
going?' and he said 'Quite eventful. I've just 
shaken hands with someone dressed as a turd. I've 
never shaken hands with a turd before - unless 
you count Noel Edmonds.'"

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