Peel Sessions were some of the all-time best recordings for a bunch of punk bands! Crass, DOA, Doom, DIY.... and then there were punk-adjacent bands like Siouxsie & The Banshees and Roxy Music... Peel Sessions were amazing.
I love hearing about great deejays. I was never a huge fan of the American syndicated shows. They were trite and boring to me. I liked the college station close to home when the right kids were playing the edgy stuff you mention.
When I left home for college, I was thrilled at having so many choices to fill my head. New sounds. Different people than just alternative music. Yet my favorite was the fantastic independent music played by WXRT-FM. More than an independent alternative station, they were a music education on Rock ‘n Roll and the Blues. They stayed independent until being sold to CBS (I believe), who has let them retain their format that was gobbled up by most other network-run stations.
The only way I have seen deejays leave the station has been through, unfortunately, death. Anytime I’ve heard about a passing I feel that I’ve lost a good friend.
You brought up a great point I want to double click on for a second: The best radio stations are educational, exposing us to sounds we might not've ever heard otherwise (doubly so in the pre-internet era). Similarly, the best DJs are like those professors some of us were lucky to have that almost unintentionally opened our ears up to entire new worlds we were never expecting.
We have so few of his kind of DJ left in the world- they're an endangered species. In supporting new artists, Peel clearly played a major role in advancing the evolution of British music.
Joy Division and The Jam are two favorites in my collection. Mr Peel was a huge influence on my musical taste as a lad. Here's a great Spotify mix of Peel Sessions someone made.
Peel was brilliant, from a time when DJs were expected to be knowledgeable about music and not slaves to the algorithm. His original show, the 'Perfumed Garden', strongly supported Marc Bolan and Tyrannosaurus Rex, so that's always to his credit.
Just don't mention the column he wrote, at one stage, for (IIRC) 'Sounds' - let's say it was of its time.
Oh yeah, so great. Love these and I need to go digging for more. I remember having a burned CD of the Billy Bragg Peel Sessions that I listened to all the time.
Looking up the song I found that it was written by Ian Prowse and that Peel was more than fan:
"It wasn’t just that Peelie championed the song, or that it made his last ever famous Festive Fifty, it was the spontaneous and poignant tears he wept live on air every time he played it. When his widow Sheila appeared on Radio 1 after his tragic early death on holiday in Peru she said ‘”Whenever John played it, whether it was live on air or just in his room I had to go and give him a hug because he’d be in floods of tears, because it was just so Liverpool.'
Peelie himself commented on air that 'It’s now reached the point at which it makes me cry every time I hear it so I may have to segue the next couple of records.'"
I knew your fave would be New Order (and mine the Smiths obviously.) This makes me want to go vinyl shopping for that Best of Album in your collection. Thanks Kev!
I loved the New Order Peel Sessions as well and one of my favorites was by The Wild Swans, the song No Bleeding is an absolute classic - https://youtu.be/9-gAq69nxLQ?feature=shared
KEXP is good, and I get a ton out here from WSUM. But honestly, also places like this. There are still a lot of music blogs out there still delivering old-fashioned music recommendations the way you and I might be used to. There are quite a few here on Substack, but off site, places like Rosy Overdrive, Add to Want List, and Courtesy Desk are great resources.
I’ve only recently discovered Substack and in the last few months it’s definitely become one of my best sources for musical discovery. Not just new artists but older artists I’ve never heard of or, just as often, older artists I’d beard of but never listened to. I’ve also found such a welcoming and engaged community of music lovers here that are more than willing to go deeper in the comments.
KEXP has been great over the years and Bandcamp has been another great resource (although not sure where it goes from here given the recent buyout and layoffs).
I’ve also discovered an awful lot of new music through Spotify. I try not to be dominated by the algorithms but I’ve found some real gems on my Discover Weekly playlist and the new music playlists that get updated weekly (Release Radar and NPR’s New Music Fridays are go to’s for me every Friday)
My God those Peel Sessions were a revelation to me! I didn’t even know who John Peel was or what those sessions were when I was a kid. I just knew that many of my favorite bands (Joy Division, Cure, Smiths, Siouxsie) seemed to have one out there. Great memories
Peel Sessions were some of the all-time best recordings for a bunch of punk bands! Crass, DOA, Doom, DIY.... and then there were punk-adjacent bands like Siouxsie & The Banshees and Roxy Music... Peel Sessions were amazing.
He was SO influential. Missed by many.
I love hearing about great deejays. I was never a huge fan of the American syndicated shows. They were trite and boring to me. I liked the college station close to home when the right kids were playing the edgy stuff you mention.
When I left home for college, I was thrilled at having so many choices to fill my head. New sounds. Different people than just alternative music. Yet my favorite was the fantastic independent music played by WXRT-FM. More than an independent alternative station, they were a music education on Rock ‘n Roll and the Blues. They stayed independent until being sold to CBS (I believe), who has let them retain their format that was gobbled up by most other network-run stations.
The only way I have seen deejays leave the station has been through, unfortunately, death. Anytime I’ve heard about a passing I feel that I’ve lost a good friend.
You brought up a great point I want to double click on for a second: The best radio stations are educational, exposing us to sounds we might not've ever heard otherwise (doubly so in the pre-internet era). Similarly, the best DJs are like those professors some of us were lucky to have that almost unintentionally opened our ears up to entire new worlds we were never expecting.
Thanks for sharing, I loved listening to the Peel Sessions! Diamonds in the rough that can never be replicated.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I agree 100%. Diamonds int he rough indeed.
We have so few of his kind of DJ left in the world- they're an endangered species. In supporting new artists, Peel clearly played a major role in advancing the evolution of British music.
They really are endangered, aren't they? Are Canadian stations being overrun with pre-programmed material (including DJ banter) the way they are here?
Joy Division and The Jam are two favorites in my collection. Mr Peel was a huge influence on my musical taste as a lad. Here's a great Spotify mix of Peel Sessions someone made.
https://spotify.link/NzFye1aDbEb
Holy shit. Thank you for this!
This is amazing, thanks for sharing!
My favorite from the Peel Sessions would be The Smiths.
I had a feeling. :)
Peel was brilliant, from a time when DJs were expected to be knowledgeable about music and not slaves to the algorithm. His original show, the 'Perfumed Garden', strongly supported Marc Bolan and Tyrannosaurus Rex, so that's always to his credit.
Just don't mention the column he wrote, at one stage, for (IIRC) 'Sounds' - let's say it was of its time.
Spent my formative yearslistening to Peel and wanting to start a band!
Oh yeah, so great. Love these and I need to go digging for more. I remember having a burned CD of the Billy Bragg Peel Sessions that I listened to all the time.
Every time I find a new one, I wonder why I've waited so long to go looking for it.
When I was discovering Christy Moore, I was wowed by "Does This Train Stop On Merseyside" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv__0cRZGy0 )
Looking up the song I found that it was written by Ian Prowse and that Peel was more than fan:
"It wasn’t just that Peelie championed the song, or that it made his last ever famous Festive Fifty, it was the spontaneous and poignant tears he wept live on air every time he played it. When his widow Sheila appeared on Radio 1 after his tragic early death on holiday in Peru she said ‘”Whenever John played it, whether it was live on air or just in his room I had to go and give him a hug because he’d be in floods of tears, because it was just so Liverpool.'
Peelie himself commented on air that 'It’s now reached the point at which it makes me cry every time I hear it so I may have to segue the next couple of records.'"
I knew your fave would be New Order (and mine the Smiths obviously.) This makes me want to go vinyl shopping for that Best of Album in your collection. Thanks Kev!
Ha! I'm nothing if not predictable. :)
As for the record, it's great! I hope you can find a copy.
I loved the New Order Peel Sessions as well and one of my favorites was by The Wild Swans, the song No Bleeding is an absolute classic - https://youtu.be/9-gAq69nxLQ?feature=shared
Fantastic! Thank you for this.
The commercial stations are, but the CBC still has some good ones.
Where do people go to today to discover new music, as they did when they listened to John Peel? Often KEXP for me but always looking for new sources.
KEXP is good, and I get a ton out here from WSUM. But honestly, also places like this. There are still a lot of music blogs out there still delivering old-fashioned music recommendations the way you and I might be used to. There are quite a few here on Substack, but off site, places like Rosy Overdrive, Add to Want List, and Courtesy Desk are great resources.
I’ve only recently discovered Substack and in the last few months it’s definitely become one of my best sources for musical discovery. Not just new artists but older artists I’ve never heard of or, just as often, older artists I’d beard of but never listened to. I’ve also found such a welcoming and engaged community of music lovers here that are more than willing to go deeper in the comments.
KEXP has been great over the years and Bandcamp has been another great resource (although not sure where it goes from here given the recent buyout and layoffs).
I’ve also discovered an awful lot of new music through Spotify. I try not to be dominated by the algorithms but I’ve found some real gems on my Discover Weekly playlist and the new music playlists that get updated weekly (Release Radar and NPR’s New Music Fridays are go to’s for me every Friday)
My God those Peel Sessions were a revelation to me! I didn’t even know who John Peel was or what those sessions were when I was a kid. I just knew that many of my favorite bands (Joy Division, Cure, Smiths, Siouxsie) seemed to have one out there. Great memories
I'm glad you enjoyed it!