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