i heard on radio he died of cardiac arrest in Pérou
while on hollidays i think

humm, i have this small vinyl of
shellac john peel sessions

I think it's not an exaggeration to say that John Peel was the single most important figure in the history of British (maybe world) popular music. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying he truly changed my life - I discovered more music from listening to Peel shows late at night through headphones as a kid (well, from age 15 to about 25) than I did from any other source, bar none. I challenge you to come up with the name of any major group after 1967 that was not either discovered by or first broadcast by Peel.
An immense figure. Good on ya, John.

I had heard that BBC Radio 1 was about to move his show back to 1am.

A sentiment I heard a few times already is this being the end of independent music being played on BBC Radio (not counting the Digital Services that no one gets and isn't really that independent anyway.) To quote one friend: 'Who you gonna send your demo to now?'

When I think about it, it feels true. Who could follow Peel?

Peel's death has made it onto the front pages of most of the UK's national newspapers this morning and has occasioned a veritable torrent of expressions of shock and regret. Does this degree of affection and respect for Peel puzzle those who live outside the UK? If it does, it's worth bearing in mind the highly regulated and centralized nature of radio broadcasting in the UK, which means that relatively few programmes and stations are available. In this context, Peel's programme on BBC Radio One was often (especially during the 1970s) the sole place one could hear anything at all that went beyond the most mainstream of rock and pop music, especially in the sort of benighted provincial backwaters in which Dan and I had the misfortune to spend all too much of our youth. For example, outside of a few pirate stations in London, pretty much the only DJ playing dub during the 70s was Peel. I guess that for many Peel's openness to new musical ideas (as evidenced by his willingness to play obscure material, listen to demos, book unsigned groups for sessions and change his musical tastes over time), along with his lugubrious passions and considerable arcane knowledge also encouraged and validated the basic idea of being curious and enthusiastic about music. For myself, he certainly encouraged and sustained my early enthusiasm for punk and reggae, then later, when both those musical forms had run into the ground, helped introduce me to some of the more interesting post-punk groups that were beginning to explore more interesting musical terrain (such as the Pop Group, Cabaret Voltaire, This Heat, Throbbing Gristle, etc) and some older figures with thought-provoking approaches (such as Captain Beefheart).

That said, perhaps we should not get too nostalgic or uncritical about Peel’s contribution to music. He rarely played the sort of music that is typically discussed on Bagatellen (although I’m told he played AMM on his Perfumed Garden programme in the 60s) and although the diversity of music he broadcast helped loosen many a listener’s preconceptions, ultimately I think it’s true to say that one had to step beyond the fundamental rock music paradigm that dominated his programme in order to develop an appreciation of the most radical currents. In general, his programmes evidently had the effect of cultivating or confirming a taste for the material more or less squarely within the ambit of the major record labels, and it is not for nothing that he was awarded a Sony Gold for his contribution to the music industry in 2002. Also, some of the music he championed was frankly awful: at least I shall not be too quick to forgive him for his enthusiasm for, amongst other things, Tubular Bells in the 70s and the regressive horrors of techno in the 80s.

On a still more cynical note, I wonder whether for many Peel’s death is in part symbolic of the end of a youthful openness to new musical experience and passion which they long ago abandoned, along with the practice of actually listening to Peel’s music programmes.

Since i come from Shitenia the only way i could partly listen to John peel's musical taste is thru John peel Session releases by different groups. But anyway since i work in both areas, in ''underground media'' where it is ''easier'' to present non mainstream music and on national tv we too often quickly forget how difficult it really is to play any music falling out of the popular-mainstream canon- you have to be a mutherfucking hustler to do it. And for that i guess i should admire his work ...

But Peel's show was broadcast on the BBC World Service, as I recall..

Probably it was, but to rename Slovenia to Shitenia says a lot. Anyway i know Laibach did a Peel Session and he played some bands and compilations from Yugoslavia back in the days. And anyway i am not a radio person really- when i listen to music i prefer listening a whole album rather than mix of songs ...