"I didn’t know I was this geeky until I discovered the online world through my office’s 2400 baud modem back in ’93." John Peel is dead
(translated from Dutch, written earlier today)
Who said the tide is turning on the sea ?
A strange love’s caught up with me
Forever paradise
- The Undertones
As a teenager in the late 70s, early 80s, I would spend hours glued to my little radio. I would try to receive BBC Radio 1, but all I could get properly was the World Service, on short wave. Sometimes Radio 1 would drift in, shards of sound and conversation. Slowly rising, then — often on the hour — reception would cease.
I had read about John Peel — a legend in his lifetime — in music magazines. I wanted to hear his show. That’s why I tuned in at night, twisting the dial fruitlessly. I did catch bits and pieces once every while. The music he played I did not know or understand. But his voice was striking. An authority, that much was clear.
Later came the hunt for tapes of his live sessions. You couldn’t be a fan of live music in the 80s and not be desperate for those tapes.
I could have listened to his shows these last few years, the John Peel show is broadcast in Real Audio. But I never did.
And now I never will.
BBC: Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies
BBC Obituary
MeFi: A sad day for music
NYLPM photo tribute
Peel sessions
Comments (3)
Joy Division!
Peelie
I’ll really miss Peelie – his Radio 1 show was a lifesaver and enabled me to make the leap from…
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