The John Peel lecture

[mr_maudlin]

I have always thought of Peel has having left leanings and being sincere in his beliefs. Of course I've no hard evidence on this, but listening for 20 odd years I would I think have picked up on any hypocrisy. Didn't he take his eldest son on a demo in support of the miners?

John was an incredibly decent an honest man - I wrote to him quite a few times over the years and once I put a return address on a very maudlin and feeling sorry for myself sort of letter, and I regretted it because I guessed that he would spend time replying, time he could have spent with his own young (at the time) family. And he did reply, with some minor details of family life and wishing me happier times. That card, and the one from Andy (see below), are the proverbial 'things to grab first in a fire'. 

As for Andy Kershaw, I was really sorry to hear of the meltdown in his personal life. After John died I returned to the Kershaw show for some much needed stability. I wrote to him and sent a MD of Peel anecdotes, which he played on his R3 show, and he sent me postcard (of Peel) thanking me and saying how much he too missed John. He even started a short lived and half joking 'let's get Peel back on radio' campaign.

I've not really paid much attention to the lectures things - ia series of lectures didn't really strike me as being very Peel. A memorial Fast Show sketch or Medecine Head boxed set would seem to me to be more appropriate. I know next to nothing about Charolote Church, apart from her appearance on Have IGNFY, where I thought she was excellent. But I don't think it does any harm to state the bleedin obvious a few more times regarding things like sexism in the media.

I have a memory of Peel saying when he lived in the States he and his mates used to follow a stripper around the various clubs in whatever town it was he was living, a bit like following a band at different gigs. He said he didn't think there was anything wrong with at the time because sexism hadn't been invented yet. This is obviously a flippant remark, but also one born of honesty. In these enlightened times, we of course should no better.

And finally, on the are-we-all-blokes in the group thing. Isn't it because men have hobbies and women have lives? That's not to say women were'nt interested in Peel. When I met my wife and introduced her to Peel's show, she liked it a lot, particularly his dead pan wit and understatement. But she never felt the need to record the programmes, make up tapes and write ever so neatly on the inlay cards, or even file her record collection alphabetically (the obvious flaw being that I was already doing these things so why would she need to..). 

Anyway that's my twopenneth worth.

Cheers to Mark L for raising the topic.

Mark C

--- In peel@yahoogroups.com, MARK LUETCHFORD <M.Luetchford@...> wrote:
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> I quite liked Kershaw's characterisation of Peel as Eeyore, himself as Tigger and Walters as Owl from Winnie the Pooh
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> My wife would point out at this point the fact that I routinely use surnames without forenames is a public school trait. She could well be right.
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> ________________________________
>  From: MARK LUETCHFORD <M.Luetchford@...>
> To: "peel@yahoogroups.com" <peel@yahoogroups.com> 
> Sent: Wednesday, 16 October 2013, 17:22
> Subject: Re: [peel] RE: The John Peel lecture
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> Interestingly I remember listening to him playing waltzing matilda in about 1978 (was there a war going on then? - probably) as I listened under the bed clothes in (you guessd it) my public school dormitory. It stayed with me forever even though I didn't know who it was until I went searching for that version and then bought it on CD about 4 years ago.
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> ________________________________
>  From: David Quantick <davidquantick@...>
> To: "peel@yahoogroups.com" <peel@yahoogroups.com> 
> Sent: Wednesday, 16 October 2013, 15:29
> Subject: Re: [peel] RE: The John Peel lecture
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> I have been told that Peel didn't particularly like him and his attempts to inveigle himself. I could be wrong about this. But Peel was always prickly about any perceived usurpers and took a while to accept Steve Lamacq, etc.
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> Peel is and was of course irreplaceable.
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> On Wednesday, 16 October 2013, 14:59, RobF <robfleay@...> wrote:
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> I wasn't being entirely serious. Kershaw's book was quite annoying in how far he went to try and discredit Peel. Pure jealousy I think. Particulalry as he nonchalantly paints his own childhood as wanting for nothing and being spoiled rotten
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> On 16 October 2013 14:13, <rockerq@...> wrote:
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> >Just because he was a public school boy doesn't mean he didn't hold genuine and heartfelt beliefs, surely? He was certainly a pacifist, no doubt from his hippy days, but also I think a lot of his Home Truths output showed him to be a quite genuine soft-left inclined liberal.
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> >I still remember how, at the outbreak of the first gulf war in August 1990, when all BBC broadcasters had been given instructions not to broadcast anything war-related, and even Massive Attack had had to shorten their name to Massive to get airplay, he ended his show with the perfect, haunting, fervently anti-war accapella version of "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by June Tabor - a deathbed song of how a previously carefree Australian hobo has his legs blown off by a Turkish shell at Gallipolli in the first world war - "I'll go waltzin' Matilda no more". Still has me in tears whenever I hear it - mind you, I'm also an ex-Public schoolboy.
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> >Rocker
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> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: RobF <robfleay@...>
> >To: peel <peel@yahoogroups.com>
> >Sent: Wed, Oct 16, 2013 11:11 am
> >Subject: Re: [peel] RE: The John Peel lecture
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> >According to Andy Kershaw it was all an act. He was a public school boy working in the BBC. Like all the others (including Andy Kershaw)
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> >On 16 October 2013 09:26, MARK LUETCHFORD <M.Luetchford@...> wrote:
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> >>Suppose you are right - it was a bit trite and I suspect she was selected for media effect and an attempt to build on the Sinead/Miley/Annie Lennox debate. I found this more interesting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ccz14 Being a dad of teenage boy and girls and seeing what they continue to put up with 40 years after feminism's strongest flowering any further discussion/action on such subjects and challenging of the status quo is welcome in my house
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> >>Still not convinced about link to Peel - Mary Ann looked for a link in the producers in his later career being women. But as with most of his personal politics I don't remember him vocalising his views on feminism much - occasionally he expressed a politically strong sentiment - I can remember one on the miners strike when he played The Enemy Within and a few gentle comments about Thatcherism when he played the Redskins. Also a few time she criticised the glamorisation of violence and over sexualisation of gangster rap/dancehall stylee. And as I said before he did champion many women led bands. You just got a sense of his general leftism - but maybe I am projecting my own views?
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> >>A more interesting subject might be why we are all men (I think) - and why his devoted fans tended to be of the male persuasion ... is it something to do with the male brain?! In traditional folk music around the world the musicians are often men and the vocalists women. Does that reflect male domination of traditional society or something else? Discuss.
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> >> From: "dunelm@..." <dunelm@...>
> >>To: peel@yahoogroups.com 
> >>Sent: Tuesday, 15 October 2013, 22:26
> >>Subject: [peel] RE: The John Peel lecture
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> >>For those who missed it, Ms Church exclusively revealed that
> some record companies â€" get this â€" exploit the sexuality of female recording
> artists in order to shift units.
> >>Thanks for the heads up, Charlotte.
> >>---In peel@yahoogroups.com, <M.Luetchford@> wrote:
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> >>Heard a clip on R4 Today programme and liked what I heard ... seemed to speak sense to me about the sexualisation of the music industry to make big bucks for corporations - even liked the blaming of Madonna for the phenomena. It was worth it to hear the phrase "get your tits out for the boys" at 7.30ish in the morning. will listen to see if there was a link to Peel
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> >>From: Pete Conkerton <klacktoveedesteen@>
> >>To: "peel@yahoogroups.com" <peel@yahoogroups.com> 
> >>Sent: Tuesday, 15 October 2013, 0:40
> >>Subject: [peel] The John Peel lecture
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> >>Here it is then, let battle commence...
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> >>http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/jpl
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> >>I thought some interesting points were made, though I didn't agree with all of it. The best bit for me, though, is the lovely tribute from Mary Anne Hobbs right at the beginning.
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> >>Cheers aye, Pete
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