Plans for John Peel memorial centre unveiled

[John Bravin]

  Plans for John Peel memorial centre unveiled

Dec 29 2008 
<http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2008/12/29/> 
by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

CAMPAIGNERS are hoping to establish a permanent memorial to legendary 
Wirral-born DJ John Peel in his birthplace.

The ambitious plan is for a John Peel Memorial Centre for the Creative 
Arts to be set up at Birkenhead town hall.

One of the leading lights for the campaign to have a permanent site 
named after John Peel is Wirral resident John Gorman, a former member of 
the Scaffold pop group, in the 1960s.

He said: "The area where we want to set up the centre -- known as the 
Hamilton Quarter -- has had �87m of investment by the council over the 
past six years, but now they just seem to want to close the whole thing 
down. The potential of this site has still not been fully realised and 
this centre would do this.

"The proposal we have is to revitalise that whole area, and to me it 
seems essential that every effort should be made to make it work. Using 
John Peel's connection with the Wirral would help to do that.

"He was a very old friend and everyone who worked with him or knew him 
spoke well of him."

A business plan is currently being drawn up to work out how much the 
centre would cost to run. Among those who have offered to help is fellow 
Wirralian and member of the band OMD, Andy McCluskey.

Mr Gorman said the plan was for a "world-class" community centre which 
would include The Ravenscroft Room -- containing a roll-over exhibition 
of John Peel memorabilia -- the John Peel Music database, containing his 
unique and extensive record collection, and the Teenage Kicks Music 
Foundation, making funding available to young people who wanted to 
pursue a musical career.


John