View source for John Peel

{{Short description|English DJ and radio presenter (1939–2004)}}
{{Redirect|Peel Sessions|all albums titled "Peel Sessions" or similar|Peel Sessions (disambiguation)|a list of all bands who recorded Peel Sessions|List of Peel sessions}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = John Peel
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] 
| image       = File:John Peel in London, 1999.jpg
| imagesize   = 
| caption     = John Peel in London, 1999
| birth_name  = John Robert Parker Ravenscroft
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1939|8|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Heswall]], England
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2004|10|25|1939|8|30|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Cusco]], Peru
| occupation  = {{hlist|Radio presenter|journalist}}
| spouse      = {{ubl|{{marriage|Shirley Anne Milburn|1965|1973|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|Sheila Gilhooly<br />|1974}}}}
| children    = 4, including [[Tom Ravenscroft|Tom]]
}}
'''John Robert Parker Ravenscroft''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as '''John Peel''', was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original [[disc jockey]]s on [[BBC Radio 1]], broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004.

Peel was one of the first broadcasters to play [[psychedelic rock]] and [[progressive rock]] records on British radio. He is widely acknowledged for promoting artists of many genres, including [[pop music|pop]], [[dub reggae]], [[punk rock]] and [[post-punk]], [[electronic music]] and [[dance music]], [[indie rock]], [[extreme metal]] and [[UK rap]]. Fellow DJ [[Paul Gambaccini]] described Peel as "the most important single person in popular music from approximately 1967 through 1978. He broke more important artists than any individual."<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.bonhams.com/stories/34545/ | title= Breaking records | work=[[Bonhams]] | first=Paul | last=Gambaccini | access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref>

Peel's Radio 1 shows included the regular "[[List of Peel sessions|Peel Sessions]]", which usually consisted of four songs recorded by an artist in the BBC's studios, often providing the first major national coverage to bands that later achieved fame. The annual [[Festive Fifty]] countdown of his listeners' favourite records of the year was a notable part of his promotion of new music.<ref>Garner, Ken. ''The Peel Sessions: A story of teenage dreams and one man's love of new music''. [[Random House]], 2010.</ref>

Peel appeared on television occasionally as one of the presenters of ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' in the 1980s, and provided [[voice-over]] commentary for a number of BBC programmes. He became popular with the audience of [[BBC Radio 4]] for his ''[[Home Truths]]'' programme, which ran from the 1990s, featuring unusual stories from listeners' domestic lives.

== Early life ==
Peel was born John Robert Parker Ravenscroft at a nursing home in [[Heswall]] in [[Merseyside]] on 30 August 1939,<ref>{{cite book |title=Margrave of the Marshes |author=Peel, John |year=2005 |page=7 |quote=described in his autobiography as "Heswall Cottage Hospital"}}</ref><ref name= OxDict>{{cite ODNB |url=https://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/94387 |title=Peel, John [real name John Robert Parker Ravenscroft] (1939–2004), radio and television broadcaster |year=2008 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/94387 |access-date=13 May 2019|last1=Rooksby |first1=Rikky }}</ref> the son of Joan Mary (née Swainson)<ref name= OxDict /> and cotton merchant Robert Leslie Ravenscroft.<ref name=OxDict /><ref name="Heatley">{{harvnb|Heatley|2004|p=12}}</ref> He had two younger brothers and grew up in the nearby village of [[Burton, Ellesmere Port and Neston|Burton]].<ref name="Heatley" /> He was educated as a boarder at [[Shrewsbury School]],{{sfn|Heatley|2004|p=17}} where future [[Monty Python]] member [[Michael Palin]] was his contemporary.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0814163|title=John Peel's Record Box}}, 2005</ref> In his posthumously published autobiography, Peel said that he was raped by an older pupil while at the school.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kumi |first=Alex |date=10 October 2005 |title=Peel's child rape revelation praised by campaigners |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/oct/10/childrensservices.childprotection |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

Peel was an avid radio listener and record collector from an early age, firstly of music offered by the [[American Forces Network]] and [[Radio Luxembourg (English)|Radio Luxembourg]].<ref name=Flipside>{{cite journal |first1=Andy |last1=Chapman |first2=Coal |last2=Latter |title=John Peel |journal=Flipside |number=65 |date=Spring 1990 |pages=47–49}}</ref> He recalled an early desire to host a radio programme of his own "so that I could play music that I heard and wanted others to hear".<ref name=Flipside /> His housemaster, R. H. J. Brooke, whom Peel described as "extraordinarily eccentric" and "amazingly perceptive", wrote on one of his school reports, "Perhaps it's possible that John can form some kind of nightmarish career out of his enthusiasm for unlistenable records and his delight in writing long and facetious essays."<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/biography/1930s/1939-1959 |title=Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel – Biography – 1939–1959 |publisher= BBC|access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

Peel completed his [[national service]] in 1959 in the [[Royal Artillery]] as a B2 [[radar]] operator.{{sfn|Heatley|2004|p=25}} Afterwards, he worked as a mill operative at Townhead Mill in [[Rochdale]]{{sfn|Heatley|2004|p=26}} and returned each weekend to Heswall on a scooter borrowed from his sister. While in Rochdale during the week, he stayed in a bed-and-breakfast<ref>{{cite book |title=Margrave of the Marshes |author=Peel, John |year=2005 |pages=137–138}}</ref> in the area of Milkstone Road and Drake Street,{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} and developed long-term associations with the town as the years progressed.<ref>https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/john-peel-tribute-for-town-1094719</ref><ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northwest/series11/week2_tractor_bands.shtml</ref>

== Career ==
=== United States ===
In 1960, aged 21, Peel went to the United States to work for a [[Cotton growing|cotton producer]] who had business dealings with his father.{{sfn|Heatley|2004|pp=26–27}} He took a number of other jobs afterwards, including working as a travelling [[Insurance policy|insurance salesman]]. While in [[Dallas]], Texas, where the insurance company he worked for was based, he conversed with the presidential candidate [[John F. Kennedy]], and his running mate [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], who were touring the city during the 1960 election campaign, and took photographs of them.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} Following Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Peel passed himself off as a reporter for the ''[[Liverpool Echo]]'' in order to attend the arraignment of [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]. He and a friend can be seen in the footage of the 22/23 November midnight [[press conference]] at the [[Dallas Police Department]] when Oswald was paraded before the media.<ref>{{cite interview |first=John |last=Peel |work=Fillerzine |number=5 |date=September 1996 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aHDJy0R8nQ | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/0aHDJy0R8nQ| archive-date=11 December 2021 | url-status=live|title=John Peel in Dallas}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He later phoned in the story to the ''Echo''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

While working for the insurance company, Peel wrote programs for [[punched card]] entry for an [[IBM 1410]] computer (which led to his entry in ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who's Who]]'' calling him a former [[computer programmer]]), and he got his first radio job working unpaid for [[WRR (AM)]] in Dallas. There, he presented the second hour of the Monday night programme ''Kat's Karavan'', which was primarily hosted by the American singer and radio personality [[Jim Lowe]]. Following this, and as [[Beatlemania]] hit the United States, Peel was hired by the Dallas radio station [[KLIF (AM)|KLIF]] as the official [[The Beatles|Beatles]] correspondent on the strength of his connection to Liverpool. He later worked for [[KOKC (AM)|KOMA]] in [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]], until 1965, when he moved to [[KKDD|KMEN]] in [[San Bernardino, California]], and used his birth name, John Ravenscroft, to present the breakfast show.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/peel/perfumed_garden.shtml |title=6 Music – Events – Peeling Back The Years |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

=== Return to England ===
Peel returned to England in early 1967 and found work with the offshore [[UK pirate radio|pirate radio]] station [[Wonderful Radio London|Radio London]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Garth |date=27 October 2004 |title=Obituary: John Peel |url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/oct/27/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |access-date=4 May 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> He was offered the midnight-to-two shift, which gradually developed into a programme, ''[[The Perfumed Garden (radio show)|The Perfumed Garden]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC – 6 Music – Events – Peeling Back The Years – What Was The Perfumed Garden? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/peel/perfumed_garden.shtml |website=www.bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC |access-date=2024-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913163333/https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/peel/perfumed_garden.shtml |archive-date=2023-09-13 |date=2014-11-21 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC – Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel – Biography – 1967 Part One |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/biography/1960s/1967_Part_One/ |website=www.bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC |access-date=2024-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422160455/https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/biography/1960s/1967_Part_One/ |archive-date=2023-04-22 |date=2014-12-02 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Peel's show was an outlet for the music of the [[UK underground]] scene. He played classic [[blues]], [[folk music]] and [[psychedelic rock]], with an emphasis on the new music emerging from Los Angeles and San Francisco. As important as the musical content of the programme was the personal – sometimes confessional – tone of Peel's presentation, and the listener participation it engendered. Underground events he had attended during his periods of shore leave, such as the [[UFO Club]] and the [[The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream|14 Hour Technicolor Dream]], together with [[causes célèbres]] like the drug busts of [[the Rolling Stones]] and [[John "Hoppy" Hopkins]], were discussed between records. All this was far removed from Radio London's daytime format. Listeners sent Peel letters, poems and records from their own collections so that the programme became a vehicle for two-way communication; by the final week of Radio London he was receiving far more mail than any other DJ on the station.<ref name="djhistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.djhistory.com/djhistory/archiveInterviewDisplay.php?interview_id=43 |first=Bill |last=Brewster |date=30 April 2004 |website=DJHistory.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216184646/http://www.djhistory.com/djhistory/archiveInterviewDisplay.php?interview_id=43 |title=Archive Interviews: John Peel |archive-date=16 February 2008}}</ref>

After the closure of Radio London in 1967, Peel wrote a column, ''The Perfumed Garden'', for the underground newspaper the ''[[International Times]]'' (from autumn 1967 to mid-1969).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hodgson |first1=Stewart |title=Teenage kicks: The John Peel story |url=https://radiofidelity.com/the-story-of-john-peel/ |website=radiofidelity.com |publisher=Radio Fidelity, LLC |access-date=2024-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416144106/https://radiofidelity.com/the-story-of-john-peel/ |archive-date=2024-04-16 |date=2023-11-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== BBC ===
When Radio London closed on 14 August 1967, Peel joined the BBC's new music station, [[BBC Radio 1]], which was first broadcast on 30 September 1967. Unlike Big L, Radio 1 was not a full-time station but a broadcaster of a mixture of recorded music and live studio orchestras. Peel said he felt he was hired because the BBC "had no real idea what they were doing so they had to take people off the pirate ships because there wasn't anybody else". Peel presented a programme called ''[[Top Gear (radio show)|Top Gear]].'' At first he was obliged to share presentation duties with other DJs ([[Pete Drummond]] and [[Tommy Vance]] were among his co-hosts) but in February 1968 he was given sole charge of ''Top Gear.'' He presented the show until it ended in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - Biography - 1960s |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/biography/1960s/ |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

In 1969, after hosting a trailer for a BBC programme on VD on his ''Night Ride'' programme, Peel received significant media attention because he divulged on air that he had suffered from a [[sexually transmitted disease]] earlier that year. This admission was later used in an attempt to discredit him when he appeared as a defence witness in the 1971 ''[[Oz (magazine)|Oz]]'' obscenity trial.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The ''Night Ride'' programme, advertised by the BBC as an exploration of words and music, seemed to take up from where ''The Perfumed Garden'' had left off. It featured rock, folk, blues, classical and electronic music. A unique feature of the programme was the inclusion of tracks, mostly of exotic non-Western music, drawn from the [[BBC Sound Archive]]; the most popular of these were gathered on a BBC Records LP, ''John Peel's Archive Things'' (1970). ''Night Ride'' also featured poetry readings and numerous interviews with a wide range of guests, including his friends [[Marc Bolan]], journalist and musician [[Mick Farren]], poet Pete Roche, singer-songwriter [[Bridget St John]] and stars such as [[the Byrds]], the Rolling Stones and [[John Lennon]] and [[Yoko Ono]]. The programme captured much of the creative activity of the underground scene. Its anti-establishment stance and unpredictability, however, did not find approval with the BBC hierarchy and it ended in September 1969 after 18 months.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

In his sleeve notes to the ''Archive Things'' LP Peel calls the free-form nature of ''Night Ride'' his preferred radio format. His subsequent shows featured a mixture of records and live sessions, a format that would characterise his Radio 1 programmes for the rest of his career.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

=== Punk era ===
Peel's enthusiasm for music outside the mainstream occasionally brought him into conflict with the Radio 1 hierarchy. On one occasion, the station controller [[Derek Chinnery]] contacted [[John Walters (broadcaster)|John Walters]] and asked him to confirm that the show was not playing any [[punk rock|punk]], which he (Chinnery) had read about in the press and of which he disapproved. Chinnery was evidently somewhat surprised by Walters' reply that in recent weeks they had been playing little else.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simongarfield.com/assets/pdfs/books_extracts/the_nations_favourite.pdf |title=Simon Garfield interview with John Peel |work=Simongarfield.com |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626133533/http://www.simongarfield.com/assets/pdfs/books_extracts/the_nations_favourite.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In a 1990 interview, Peel recalled his 1976 discovery of the first album by New York punk band the [[Ramones]] as a seminal event,

{{Blockquote| At that time almost all the new bands {{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} people who had previously been in successful bands who had broken up then reformed... Well I played the first Ramones LP – it was identical to the first time I had heard [[Little Richard]] – the intensity was frightening! So I played five or six tracks on the next show and immediately I received mail from people demanding that I never play stuff like that again. Whenever that happens I always go in the opposite direction – so I played more and it was great! It was a classic case of changing courses in mid-stream and in a month the average age of the audience dropped by 10 years and the whole social class changed – which I was pleased about.<ref name=Flipside />}}

In 1979, Peel stated: "They leave you to get on with it. I'm paid money by the BBC not to go off and work for a commercial radio station ... I wouldn't want to go to one anyway, because they wouldn't let me do what the BBC let me do."<ref name="Hepworth">{{cite interview| interviewer= David Hepworth| last= Peel| first= John | title= Forty is More Fun: John Peel, Superfan, Talks to David Hepworth| work= [[Smash Hits]]| publisher= EMAP National Publications Ltd| date= 4–17 October 1979| page= 15}}</ref>

[[File:JP Peel Acres.jpg|thumb|Peel Acres in [[Great Finborough]], Suffolk]]
Peel's reputation as an important DJ who broke unsigned acts into the mainstream was such that young hopefuls sent him an enormous number of records, CDs, and tapes. When he returned home from a three-week holiday at the end of 1986 there were 173 LPs, 91 12"s and 179 7"s waiting for him. In 1983 Alan Melina and Jeff Chegwin, the music publishers for unsigned artist [[Billy Bragg]], drove to the Radio 1 studios with a mushroom [[biryani]] and a copy of his record after hearing Peel mention that he was hungry; the subsequent airplay launched Billy Bragg's career.<ref>{{cite book| author-link= Andrew Collins (broadcaster) | first= Andrew | last= Collins| title= Still Suitable for Miners (Billy Bragg: The Official Biography)| edition= Revised |publisher= Virgin Books| year= 2002}}</ref>

[[File:JP Homestudio.jpg|thumb|Studio at Peel Acres]]

In addition to his Radio 1 show, Peel broadcast as a disc jockey on the [[BBC World Service]], on the [[British Forces Broadcasting Service]] (''John Peel's Music on BFBS'') for 30 years, [[NPO 3FM|VPRO Radio3]] in the Netherlands, [[Radiomafia|YLE Radio Mafia]] in Finland, [[Hitradio Ö3|Ö3]] in Austria (Nachtexpress), and on Radio 4U, Radio Eins (Peel ...), [[Radio Bremen]] (Ritz) and some independent radio stations around FSK Hamburg in Germany. As a result of his BFBS programme he was voted, in Germany, "Top DJ in Europe".{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Peel was an occasional presenter of ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' on BBC1 from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s, and in particular from 1982 to 1987 when he appeared regularly. In 1971 he appeared not as presenter but performer, alongside [[Faces (band)|Rod Stewart and the Faces]], pretending to play [[mandolin]] on "[[Maggie May]]".<ref>{{cite web |date= 27 October 2004 |title= John Peel |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-peel-30592.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220613/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-peel-30592.html |archive-date=13 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website= [[The Independent]] }}</ref> He often presented the BBC's television coverage of music events, notably the [[Glastonbury Festival]].

From 26 September to 31 October 1987, Peel produced a six-part radio series on [[BBC Radio 1]] called ''Peeling Back the Years''. In it, he discussed his life and career at length with his long-time producer John Walters and also played some of his favorite records. The show's theme music was "[[Blue Tango]]" by [[Ray Martin (orchestra leader)|Ray Martin]] which, Peel revealed, was the first record he ever bought.

=== Later years ===
Between 1995 and 1997, Peel presented ''Offspring'', a show about children, on [[BBC Radio 4]]. In 1998, ''Offspring'' grew into the magazine-style documentary show ''[[Home Truths]]''. When he took on the job presenting the programme, which was about everyday life in British families, Peel requested that it be free from celebrities, as he found real-life stories more entertaining. ''Home Truths'' was described by occasional stand-in presenter [[John Walters (broadcaster)|John Walters]] as being "about people who had fridges called Renfrewshire".{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Peel also made regular contributions to BBC Two's humorous look at the irritations of modern life ''[[Grumpy Old Men (TV show)|Grumpy Old Men]]''. His only appearances in an acting role in film or television were in [[Harry Enfield]]'s ''[[Smashie and Nicey]]: The End of an Era'' as John Past Bedtime, and in 1999 as a "grumpy old man who catalogues records" in the film ''Five Seconds to Spare''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0205936/fullcredits/cast?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |title=Five Seconds to Spare (2000) – IMDb |language=en |access-date=2024-09-17 |via=m.imdb.com}}</ref> However, he had provided narration for others.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205936/ "Keeping it Peel"], [[BBC Radio 1]], 30 September 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.</ref>
[[File:JP BBC.jpg|thumb|Peel at a [[Yalding House]] studio, 1997]]
He appeared as a celebrity guest on a number of TV shows, including ''[[This Is Your Life (UK TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' (1996, BBC),<ref>{{citation |title=John Peel "This is your life" 1996 | date=22 April 2007 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXA8p4-x0Co |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref> ''Travels With My Camera'' (1996, [[Channel 4]] TV) and ''Going Home'' (2002, [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] TV), and presented the 1997 Channel 4 series ''Classic Trains''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Aaronovitch |first=David |author-link=David Aaronovitch |title=Critics are ignorant – and I should know |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/critics-are-ignorant--and-i-should-know-1278957.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The Independent |location=London |date=16 February 1997 |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220613/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/critics-are-ignorant--and-i-should-know-1278957.html |archive-date=13 June 2022}}</ref> He was also in demand as a voice-over artist for television documentaries, such as BBC One's ''[[A Life of Grime]]''.

In April 2003, the publishers [[Transworld (company)|Transworld]] successfully wooed Peel with a package worth £1.5 million for his autobiography, having placed an advert in a national newspaper aimed only at Peel.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gerard |first=Jasper |title=If you can remember the Sixties ... you get £1.5m – Interview – John Peel |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/article227354.ece |url-status=dead |newspaper=The Sunday Times |location=London |date=20 April 2003 |access-date=19 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201235354/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/article227354.ece |archive-date=1 February 2017}}</ref> Unfinished at the time of his death, it was completed by Sheila and journalist Ryan Gilbey. It was published in October 2005 under the title ''Margrave of the Marshes''. A collection of Peel's miscellaneous writings, ''The Olivetti Chronicles'', was published in 2008.<ref name="train">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7679157.stm |title= Memorial sees Peel try new tracks |publisher=BBC News |date=20 October 2008 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
=== Marriages ===
At the age of 25, while residing in [[Dallas]] in 1965, Peel married 15-year-old American girl Shirley Anne Milburn.<ref name=Herald20150928>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/13789071.one-last-interviews-john-peel-talks-school-days-radio-1-peter-powell/|title=In one of his last interviews John Peel talks about his school days, Radio 1 and Peter Powell|date=28 September 2015|website=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|access-date=25 August 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211026012230/https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/13789071.one-last-interviews-john-peel-talks-school-days-radio-1-peter-powell/|archive-date=26 October 2021}}</ref> The marriage was never happy, with reports that she was often violent towards him. Although she accompanied Peel back to England in 1967, they were soon separated and the divorce became final in 1973. In 1987, Milburn took her own life.<ref>{{cite book| title = Margrave of the Marshes| last = Peel | first = John |author2=Sheila Ravenscroft | publisher = Bantam Press | location = London | year = 2005 | pages = 178, 183–4, 211–12, 228–9, 233, 266–8, 285 |isbn = 0-593-05252-8}}</ref>

Peel married Sheila Gilhooly on 31 August 1974. The reception was held at [[Regent's Park]], with [[Rod Stewart]] as best man.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/biography/1970s/1974-1979/#:~:text=On%20August%2031st%201974%2C%20John,%27ll%20Never%20Walk%20Alone%27 | title=BBC – Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel – Biography – 1974–1979 }}</ref> In the 1970s, Peel and Gilhooly moved to "Peel Acres", a thatched cottage in [[Great Finborough]]. In later years, Peel broadcast many of his shows from a studio in the house, with Gilhooly and their children often being involved or at least mentioned. Peel's passion for Liverpool FC was reflected in his children's names: William Robert [[Anfield]] Ravenscroft, Alexandra Mary Anfield Ravenscroft, Thomas James [[Kenny Dalglish|Dalglish]] Ravenscroft, and Florence Victoria [[Bill Shankly|Shankly]] Ravenscroft. Thomas, now better known as [[Tom Ravenscroft]], also became a radio DJ.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mahoney |first=Elisabeth |date=2010-10-27 |title=Radio head: Tom Ravenscroft |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/oct/27/tom-ravenscroft-radio-head |access-date=2024-03-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

=== Health problems ===
At the age of 62, in 2001, Peel was diagnosed with [[insulin-dependent diabetes]] following many years of fatigue.<ref>{{cite news |title=John Peel 'relieved' to be diabetic |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1573676.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=1 October 2001 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

=== Allegations of sexual misconduct ===
Several journalists, including Sarah Woolley and Fiona Sturges, writing in ''[[The Independent]]'', have questioned Peel's legacy due to sexual relations with underage fans. Frequently cited is his first marriage to Milburn in 1965, Milburn was aged 15 and Peel 25 when they married; although this was legal in Texas at the time.<ref name=Independent20190910>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/john-peel-allegations-metoo-radio-1-jimmy-savile-a9097866.html|title=I was a John Peel defender despite the allegations – until I realised I was whitewashing women's stories|last=Woolley|first=Sarah|date=10 September 2019|website=The Independent|access-date=25 August 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210320205618/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/john-peel-allegations-metoo-radio-1-jimmy-savile-a9097866.html|archive-date=20 March 2021}}</ref><ref name=Independent20141016>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/fiona-sturges-teary-tributes-john-peel-make-me-feel-queasy-you-d-think-bbc-would-have-learned-its-lesson-now-9797148.html|title=Fiona Struges: 'The teary tributes to John Peel make me feel queasy – you'd think the BBC would have learned its lesson by now|last=Struges|first=Fiona|date=16 October 2014|website=The Independent|access-date=26 October 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211026012350/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/fiona-sturges-teary-tributes-john-peel-make-me-feel-queasy-you-d-think-bbc-would-have-learned-its-lesson-now-9797148.html|archive-date=26 October 2021}}</ref> Peel always maintained that she lied about her age at their time of marriage, claiming she was 16.<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/john-peel-stage-glastonbury-rename-music-b1010268.html | title=Calls for John Peel stage to be renamed at Glastonbury | date=July 6, 2022 | website=The Standard }}</ref>

Peel told ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 1975, regarding his relations with female fans, "Well, of course, I didn't ask for ID. All they wanted me to do was abuse them, sexually, which, of course, I was only too happy to do."<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Burchill |first1=Julie |last2=Burchill |first2=By Julie |date=1999-01-23 |title=Rake's progress |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/1999/jan/23/weekend.julieburchill |access-date=2023-06-14 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is second-hand in an op-ed".|date=October 2025}}

He sardonically told ''[[The Sunday Correspondent]]'' in 1989, "Girls used to queue up outside. By and large not usually for shagging. Oral sex they were particularly keen on, I remember. There was one extraordinary older woman - when I say older, I mean about 21 - came in and just climbed into bed with me. And we had a quick shag and she got dressed and went away again. So to go from years of self-abuse - I was unimaginably innocent by modern standards until I was 21 - to find yourself in that sort of position was like having all your masturbation fantasies becoming fact. But with it came dangers. One of my, er, regular customers, as it were, turned out to be 13, though she looked older. It became expedient to move to Oklahoma".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lGin17YYxLo/VEqFRbKgngI/AAAAAAAADsg/OKOErB95Yrs/s1600/Peel_SC051189(4).jpg|title=John Peel, ''The Sunday Correspondent'', 5 November 1989|via=andywalmsley.blogspot.com|access-date=25 August 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211026012218/https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lGin17YYxLo/VEqFRbKgngI/AAAAAAAADsg/OKOErB95Yrs/s1600/Peel_SC051189(4).jpg|archive-date=26 October 2021}}</ref><ref name=FarOut20211025>{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-dark-side-of-john-peel-abuse-claims/|title=A troubling national treasure? Dissecting the dark side of John Peel|last=Kemp|first=Sam|date=25 October 2021|website=Far Out Magazine|access-date=26 October 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211026044731/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-dark-side-of-john-peel-abuse-claims/|archive-date=26 October 2021}}</ref>

In 2012 a woman, Jane Nevin, came forward stating that she had a three-month affair with Peel in 1969, when she was 15 and he was 30.<ref name=Telegraph20121012 /><ref name=Guardian20121012>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/12/jimmy-savile-john-peel|title=John Peel tribute could be ditched by BBC|last=Conlan|first=Tara|date=12 October 2012|website=The Guardian|access-date=25 August 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161120231439/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/12/jimmy-savile-john-peel|archive-date=20 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bbc-erect-john-peel-plaque-hq-9796624.html|title=BBC to erect John Peel plaque at HQ, despite claims DJ got underage girl pregnant|last=Sherwin|first=Adam|date=16 October 2014|website=The Independent|access-date=25 August 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211026012507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bbc-erect-john-peel-plaque-hq-9796624.html|archive-date=26 October 2021}}</ref> She said they had unprotected sex; this was shortly after Peel discussed contracting a [[sexually transmitted disease]].<ref name=Telegraph20121012 /> The relationship resulted in a "traumatic" abortion.<ref name=Independent20190910 /><ref name=Telegraph20121012>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9603959/John-Peel-got-15-year-old-pregnant-after-meeting-at-Black-Sabbath-concert-claims-woman.html|title=John Peel got 15-year-old pregnant after meeting at Black Sabbath concert, claims woman|date=12 October 2012|website=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=25 August 2021|url-access=limited|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825222021/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9603959/John-Peel-got-15-year-old-pregnant-after-meeting-at-Black-Sabbath-concert-claims-woman.html|archive-date=25 August 2021}}</ref> She stated that, "Looking back, it was terribly wrong and I was perhaps manipulated. But it was a different era".<ref name=Telegraph20121012 /> Two months after making her story public, Nevin reached out to the BBC saying she regretted sharing it and wanting to put the record straight. She said that she had felt the need to share her story in the wake of the [[Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal]], but in retrospect she felt her relationship with Peel was not abuse. In a video interview she stated that she had never told Peel her age, while providing a photo to show she looked much older than 15. She explained that she felt that she had been partially responsible for unfairly tarnishing Peel's name, stating, "it shouldn't be that way, he was marvellous... he was lovely to me."<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-20732805 | title=John Peel: Jane Nevin regrets tabloid story | date=December 14, 2012 | website=BBC }}</ref>

An interview originally published in ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]'' in April 2004 stated that he admitted to sexual contact with "an awful lot" of underage girls. He said that, in the United States in the 1960s, the only available "pool of single, unconnected women was high school", as most women were married by 20.<ref name=Herald20150928 />

In July 2022 a petition was launched to rename the "John Peel Stage" at the [[Glastonbury Festival]], because of the accusations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=3 March 2023 |title=Glastonbury renames John Peel Tent ahead of 2023 festival |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/glastonbury-renames-john-peel-stage-ahead-of-2023-festival-3407694 |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=NME}}</ref> In 2023 the stage was renamed "Woodsies". [[Emily Eavis]], co-organiser of the festival, said the name change "was not related to a recent petition".<ref name="grimshaw">{{cite web | url= https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/glastonbury-removes-john-peel-name-26518737 | title= Glastonbury removes John Peel name from stage for 2023 festival | work=Chronicle Live | first1=Emma | last1=Grimshaw | first2=Stephen | last2=Pitts | date=21 March 2023 |access-date=17 April 2023}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=3 March 2023 |title=Glastonbury renames John Peel Stage after nearly two decades |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/john-peel-emily-eavis-texas-bbc-somerset-b2293625.html |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=The Independent}}</ref>

== Death ==
On 25 October 2004,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Perrone |first=Pierre |date=2014-09-12 |title=John Peel: Ten years after death, no one compares to his talent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/bbc-radio-dj-john-peel-ten-years-after-his-death-no-one-compares-to-his-talent-9729508.html |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> during a working holiday in the Peruvian city of [[Cusco]], Peel suffered a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] and died suddenly at the age of 65.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=2004-10-26 |title=Broadcasting legend John Peel dies aged 65 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/oct/26/artsnewstemporary.media |access-date=2024-02-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Shortly after the announcement of his death, fans and supporters paid tribute to him. The following day, [[BBC Radio 1]] cleared its schedule to broadcast a day of tributes.<ref name=":0" /> London's ''[[Evening Standard]]'' boards that afternoon read "the day the music died", quoting [[Don McLean]]'s hit "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]".

Peel had often spoken [[Deadpan|wryly]] of his eventual death. He once said on the [[Channel 4]] miniseries ''Sounds of the Suburbs'', "I've always imagined I'd die by driving into the back of a truck while trying to read the name on a cassette and people would say, 'He would have wanted to go that way.' Well, I want them to know that I wouldn't."<ref>''John Peel's Sounds of the Suburbs: Cornwall'', 21 March 1999.</ref>

Peel once said that if he died before his producer [[John Walters (broadcaster)|John Walters]], he wanted Walters to play [[Roy Harper (singer)|Roy Harper]]'s song "[[When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease]]".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.goodfuneralguide.co.uk/2010/07/when-an-old-cricketer-leaves-the-crease/ |title=When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease |work= The Good Funeral Guide |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> Walters had died in 2001, leaving [[Andy Kershaw]] to end his tribute programme to Peel on [[BBC Radio 3]] with the song. Peel's stand-in on his Radio 1 slot, [[Rob da Bank]], also played the song at the start of the final show before his funeral. Another time, Peel said he would like to be remembered with a [[Gospel music|gospel song]]. He stated that the final record he would play would be the [[C. L. Franklin]] sermon "Dry Bones in the Valley".

On his ''Home Truths'' BBC radio show, Peel once commented about his own death: "I definitely want to be buried, although not yet. I'm 61 on Wednesday{{emdash}}just a working day for me, I'm afraid{{emdash}}so actually I should have a mile or two left in me, but I do want the children to be able to stand solemnly at my graveside and think lovely thoughts along the lines of 'get out of that one, you swine', which they won't be able to do if I've been cremated."<ref>{{cite web| first= John| last= Peel |url= https://soundcloud.com/myattentionspan/john-peel-on-his-demise |title=John Peel On His Demise by My Attention Span |website= Soundcloud.com |date=30 August 2012 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

[[File:John Peel's grave, Great Finborough, Suffolk - geograph.org.uk - 1162596.jpg|thumb|John Peel's grave]]
Peel's funeral took place in [[Bury St Edmunds]] on 12 November 2004 and was attended by over 1,000 people, including many of the artists he had championed. Eulogies were read by his brother Alan and fellow DJ [[Paul Gambaccini]]. The service ended with clips of him talking about his life. His coffin was carried out to the accompaniment of his favourite song, [[the Undertones]]' "[[Teenage Kicks]]".<ref>{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4005023.stm |title= Thousands mourn Peel at funeral |publisher=BBC News |date=12 November 2004 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> Peel had written that, apart from his name, all he wanted on his gravestone were the "Teenage Kicks" lyrics "teenage dreams, so hard to beat".<ref name="guardian1">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,3605,585007,00.html |title= John Peel on the Undertones &#124; Film |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=9 February 2013 |location=London |date=12 June 2002}}</ref> A headstone featuring the lyrics and the [[liver bird]] from his favourite football team, [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool FC]], was placed at his grave in 2008.<ref name=":2">{{cite news| url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578522/John-Peel-gets-Teenage-Kicks-epitaph.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578522/John-Peel-gets-Teenage-Kicks-epitaph.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=John Peel gets Teenage Kicks epitaph |newspaper= Telegraph |access-date=9 February 2013 |location=London |first1= Sally |last1= Peck |date= 13 February 2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He was buried in the graveyard of St Andrew's Church in [[Great Finborough]].<ref name=":2" />

== Life in music ==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2024}}

=== Peel Sessions ===
<!-- linked from redirect [[Peel session]] -->
{{See also|List of Peel Sessions}}
John Peel Sessions were a feature of his BBC Radio 1 shows, which usually consisted of four pieces of music pre-recorded at the BBC's studios. The sessions originally came about due to restrictions imposed on the BBC by the [[Musicians' Union (UK)|Musicians' Union]] and [[Phonographic Performance Limited]] which represented the record companies dominated by the [[EMI]] cartel.

Due to these restrictions, the BBC had been forced to hire bands and orchestras to render [[cover versions]] of recorded music. The theory behind this device was that it would create employment and force people to buy records and not listen to them free of charge on the air. One of the reasons why the offshore broadcasting stations of the 1960s were called "pirates" was because they operated outside of British laws and were not bound by the [[needle time]] restriction on the number of records they could play on the air.

The BBC employed its own house bands and orchestras and it also engaged outside bands to record exclusive tracks for its programmes in BBC studios. This was the reason why Peel was able to use "session men" in his own programmes. Sessions were usually four tracks recorded and mixed in a single day; as such they often had a rough-and-ready, demo-like feel, somewhere between a live performance and a finished recording. During the 37 years Peel remained on [[BBC Radio 1]], over 4,000 sessions were recorded by over 2,000 artists.<ref>{{cite web |title=Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel – Sessions |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> Many classic Peel Sessions have been released on record, particularly by the [[Strange Fruit Records|Strange Fruit]] label. In May 2020, an alphabetised catalogue of hundreds of classic Peel Sessions others had previously uploaded to YouTube was published.<ref>{{cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=12 May 2020 |title=Listen to 1000 classic John Peel Sessions via extensive A-Z catalogue |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/1000-classic-john-peel-sessions-via-extensive-a-z-catalogue-2666903 |access-date=10 July 2020 |website=[[NME]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Festive Fifty ===
{{main|Festive Fifty}}
The [[Festive Fifty]] – a countdown of the best tracks of the year as voted for by the listeners – was an annual tradition of Peel's Radio 1 show. Despite his eclectic play list, it tended to be composed largely of "white boys with guitars", as Peel complained in 1988. In 1991, the broadcast of the chart was cancelled due to a lack of votes.

Topped by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]", this Phantom Fifty was eventually broadcast at the rate of one track per programme in 1993.<ref name="F50">{{cite web |title=Radio 1 – Keeping it Peel – Festive 50s |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/festive50s/ |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> The 1997 chart was initially cancelled due to the lack of air-time Peel had been allocated for the period, but enough "spontaneous" votes were received over the phone that a Festive Thirty-One was compiled and broadcast.<ref name="F50" />

Peel wrote that "The Festive 50 dates back to what was doubtless a crisp September morning in the early-to-mid Seventies, when John Walters and I were musing on life in his uniquely squalid office. In our waggish way, we decided to mock the enthusiasm of the Radio 1 management of the time for programmes with [[alliterative]] titles. Content, we felt, was of less importance than a snappy ''Radio Times'' billing. In the course of our historic meeting we had, I imagine, some fine reasons for dismissing the idea of a Festive 40 and going instead for a Festive 50, a decision that was to ruin my Decembers for years to come, condemning me to night after night at home with a ledger, when I could have been out and about having fun, fun, fun."<ref>Peel, J., "Bang Bang hits the tops", ''[[The Times]]'', {{ISSN|0140-0460}}, 2 January 1993, Features section p. SR.12.</ref>

After his death, the Festive Fifty was continued on Radio 1 by [[Rob da Bank]], [[Huw Stephens]] and [[Ras Kwame]] for two years, but then given to Peel-inspired Internet radio station [[Dandelion Radio]], and continues to be compiled.

=== Dandelion Records and Strange Fruit ===
In 1969, Peel founded [[Dandelion Records]] (named after his pet hamster) so that he could release the debut album by [[Bridget St John]], which he also produced. The label released 27 albums by 18 different artists before folding in 1972. Of its albums, ''[[There is Some Fun Going Forward]]'' was a [[Sampler (record)|sampler]] intended to present its acts to a wide audience, but Dandelion was never a great success, with only two releases charting nationally: [[Medicine Head]] in the UK with "(And the) Pictures in the Sky" and [[Beau (guitarist)|Beau]] in [[Lebanon]] with "1917 Revolution". Having had an affinity with the Manchester area from working in a cotton mill in Rochdale in 1959, Peel signed Manchester bands [[Stack Waddy]] and [[Tractor (band)|Tractor]] to Dandelion and was always supportive of both bands throughout his life. It is alleged that Peel spotted a Rochdale postmark on the envelope containing the tape sent to him by Tractor, then called "The Way We Live".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northwest/series11/week2_tractor_bands.shtml|title=BBC Inside Out -|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=16 July 2017}}</ref>

Peel later said:

<blockquote>It was never a success financially. In fact, we lost money, if I remember correctly, on every single release bar one. I did quite like it but it was terribly indulgent. Not as indulgent as it would have been had I not had a business partner, admittedly{{nbsp}}... I liked having a label. It enabled you to put out stuff that you liked without, in those days, having to worry about whether it was going to work commercially. I've never been a good business man.</blockquote>

Peel appeared on one Dandelion release: the [[David Bedford]] album ''[[Nurses Song with Elephants]]'', recorded at the Marquee Studios, as part of a group playing twenty-seven plastic pipe twirlers on the track "Some Bright Stars for Queen's College".

In the 1980s Peel set up [[Strange Fruit Records]] with Clive Selwood to release material recorded by the BBC for Peel Sessions.

=== Production (albums) ===
* 1969: ''Mike Hart Bleeds'' – [[Mike Hart (singer-songwriter)|Mike Hart]]
* 1969: ''The Year of the Great Leap Sideways'' – Occasional Word Ensemble
* 1969: ''Soundtrack'' – [[Principal Edwards Magic Theatre]]
* 1970: ''New Bottles Old Medicine'' – [[Medicine Head]]
* 1970: ''[[Burnin' Red Ivanhoe]]'' – Burnin' Red Ivanhoe (co-produced w/ [[Tony Reeves]])
* 1972: ''[[Bugger Off!]]'' – [[Stack Waddy]]

John Peel is sometimes confused with the more prolific record producer Jonathan Peel, who was an in-house music producer for [[EMI]] before going freelance in 1970.<ref>Billboard, 30 May 1970</ref>

=== Favourite music ===
John Peel wrote in his autobiography, ''[[Margrave]] of the Marshes'', that the band of which he owned the most records was [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]]. Regulars in the [[Festive 50]], and easily recognised by vocalist [[Mark E. Smith]]'s distinctive delivery, the Fall became synonymous with Peel's Radio 1 show through the 1980s and 1990s. Peel kept in contact with many of the artists he championed but only met Smith on two, apparently awkward, occasions.

[[The Misunderstood]] is the only band that Peel ever personally managed – he first met the band in Riverside, California in 1966 and convinced them to move to London. He championed their music throughout his career; in 1968, he described their 1966 single "[[I Can Take You to the Sun]]" as "the best popular record that's ever been recorded."<ref>John Peel, ''[[Top Gear (radio show)|Top Gear]]'' ([[BBC Radio 1]]), 8 November 1968.</ref> and shortly before his death, he stated, "If I had to list the ten greatest performances I've seen in my life, one would be the Misunderstood at Pandora's Box, Hollywood, 1966 ... My god, they were a great band!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/john_peel.shtml |title=Index Magazine – John Peel Interview |publisher=Index Magazine | date=2003 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref>

His favourite single is widely known to have been "[[Teenage Kicks]]" by [[the Undertones]]; in an interview in 2001, he stated "There's nothing you could add to it or subtract from it that would improve it."<ref name="guardian1" /> In the same 2001 interview, he also listed "No More Ghettos in America" by Stanley Winston, "[[There Must Be Thousands]]" by [[the Quads]] and "Lonely Saturday Night" by Don French as being among his all-time favourites. He also described [[Lianne Hall]] as one of the great English voices.

In 1997 ''[[The Guardian]]'' asked Peel to list his top 20 albums. He listed [[Captain Beefheart]]'s ''[[Trout Mask Replica]]'' as his number 1, having previously described it as "a work of art". The top 20 also included LPs by [[the Velvet Underground]], [[the Ramones]], [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]], [[Misty in Roots]], [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Neil Young]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Four Brothers (band)|the Four Brothers]], [[Dave Clarke (techno DJ)|Dave Clarke]], [[Richard and Linda Thompson]], and [[the Rolling Stones]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/oct/12/johnpeel.popandrock |title=The Peel detective |last1=Dennis |first1=Jon|date=12 October 2005 |website=[[theguardian.com]] |access-date=17 April 2014}}</ref>

A longer list of his favourite singles was revealed in 2005 when the contents of a wooden box in which he stored the records that meant the most to him were made public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/peel2005.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620163231/http://rocklistmusic.co.uk/peel2005.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 June 2006 |title=Rocklist.net...The Records That John Peel Loved The Most |publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> The box was the subject of a television documentary, ''[[John Peel's Record Box]]''. Out of 130 vinyl singles in the box, 11 of them were by [[the White Stripes]], more than any other band in the box.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GebrWLppW8 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/4GebrWLppW8| archive-date=11 December 2021 | url-status=live|title=John Peel's Record Box (1/4) | date=16 October 2011|publisher=YouTube |access-date=9 February 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Awards and honorary degrees ===
Peel was 11 times ''[[Melody Maker]]''′s DJ of the year, [[Sony]] Broadcaster of the Year in 1993, winner of the publicly voted Godlike Genius Award from the ''[[NME]]'' in 1994, [[Sony]] Gold Award winner in 2002 and is a member of the [[Radio Academy]] Hall of Fame. At the NME awards in 2005, he was Hero of the Year and was posthumously given a special award for "Lifelong Service To Music". At the same event the "John Peel Award For Musical Innovation" was awarded to [[The Others (band)|the Others]].

Peel was awarded many [[honorary degree]]s including an MA from the [[University of East Anglia]], doctorates ([[Anglia Ruskin University|Anglia Polytechnic University]] and [[Sheffield Hallam University]]), various degrees ([[University of Liverpool]], [[Open University]], [[University of Portsmouth]], [[University of Bradford]]) and a fellowship of [[Liverpool John Moores University]].

Peel was appointed an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 1998, for his services to British music. In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the ''[[100 Greatest Britons]]'' of all time, in which Peel was voted 43rd.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/greatbritons/list.shtml/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021204214727/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/greatbritons/list.shtml/|archive-date=4 December 2002|title=BBC – Great Britons – Top 100|work=[[Internet Archive]]|access-date=19 July 2017}}</ref>

=== Various shows ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-
! Name of show
! Radio station
! First show
! Last show
! Frequency
! Remarks

|- valign="top"
| ''Kat's Karavan''
| [[WRR (FM)|WRR]], Dallas
| 1961
| ?
| weekly
| unpaid

|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[KLIF (AM)|KLIF]]
| ?
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[KOMA (FM)|KOMA]], Oklahoma City
| ?
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| KLMA, Oklahoma City
| ?
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| KMEN, San Bernardino
| 1966
| 1967
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ''[[The Perfumed Garden (radio show)|The Perfumed Garden]]''
| [[Wonderful Radio London]]
| ca 8 March 1967
| 14 August 1967
|
|
|- valign="top"
| [[Top Gear (radio show)|''Top Gear'']]
| [[BBC Radio 1]]
| 1967
| 1975
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ''Nightride''
| [[BBC Radio 1]]
| 6 March 1968
| 1969
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ''John Peel''
| [[BBC Radio 1]]
| 1975
| 2004
|
|
|- valign="top"
| Rock Today
| [[British Forces Broadcasting Service|BFBS Radio 1]]
| April 1977
| December 1979
| weekly
|
|- valign="top"
| John Peel's Music on BFBS
| [[British Forces Broadcasting Service|BFBS Radio 1]]
| Jan 1980
| ?
| weekly
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[DT64]]
| ?
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| The John Peel Show: essentiële popmuziek zonder ondertiteling
| [[VPRO]] [[3FM|Radio3]]
| 26 September 1984
| 24 September 1986
| weekly
| every Wednesday

|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[Hansawelle]]
| ?
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ''John Peel''
| [[YleX|Radio Mafia]], Helsinki
| 1990
| 2003
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ''John Peel Show''
| [[YleX|Rockradio]], Finland
| 1987
| 1990
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[YleX]], Finland
| 2003
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[Radio Bremen 2]]
| 1985
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| Radio Bremen Vier
| 1987
| ?
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ?
| [[BBC Radio Cambridgeshire]]
| 1988
| 1990
| weekly
|
|- valign="top"
| ''Nachtexpress''
| [[Hitradio Ö3]]
| 1989
| 1994
| monthly
|
|- valign="top"
| ''Offspring''
| [[BBC Radio 4]]
| 1995
| 1997
|
|
|- valign="top"
| ''Peel''
| Radio Eins, Berlin
| September 1997
| 18 December 2003
| weekly
|
|- valign="top"
| ''Home Truths''
| [[BBC Radio 4]]
| 1998
| 16 October 2004
|
|
|}

== Legacy ==
Since his death various parties have recognised Peel's influence. A stage for new bands at the [[Glastonbury Festival]], previously known as "The New Bands Tent" was renamed "The John Peel Stage" in 2005, although this was renamed again as "Woodsies" in 2023.

In 2008 [[Merseytravel]] announced it would be naming a train after him.<ref name="train" />

The John Peel Centre for Creative Arts opened in [[Stowmarket]] in early 2013. The main purposes of the centre is to serve as a live venue for music and performance and as a community meeting point.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-21277967 |title=BBC News – John Peel Centre in Stowmarket reopens |publisher=BBC |date=31 January 2013 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/stowmarket_john_peel_centre_for_creative_arts_prepares_for_first_music_gig_1_1831753 |title=Stowmarket: John Peel Centre for Creative Arts prepares for first music gig – News |work=East Anglian Daily Times |date=30 January 2013 |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-date=6 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506113740/http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/stowmarket_john_peel_centre_for_creative_arts_prepares_for_first_music_gig_1_1831753 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 2005 [[Mogwai]] live compilation album ''[[Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996–2003]]'' was dedicated to Peel as some of the tracks had been performed during the Peel Sessions. Peel's voice announces "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mogwai!" at the intro to "Hunted by a Freak", the album's opener.<ref>Michal 2022, 21 June Mogwai – Government Commissions: BBC Sessions 1996–2003 [Full Album] HD [Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZuiJ4u4HM0</ref>

On 8 October 2005 [[Cotswold Rail]] locomotive [[British Rail Class 47|47813]] was named ''John Peel'' by Peel's widow Sheila at [[Bury St Edmunds railway station|Bury St Edmunds station]].<ref>John Peel honoured by Cotswold Rail Class 47 naming ceremony ''[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]]'' issue 525 26 October 2005 page 50</ref>

On 13 October 2005, the first "John Peel Day" was held to mark the anniversary of his last show. The BBC encouraged as many bands as possible to stage gigs on the 13th, and over 500 gigs took place in the UK and as far away as Canada and New Zealand, from bands ranging from Peel favourites [[New Order (band)|New Order]] and [[The Fall (band)|The Fall]], to many new and unsigned bands. A second John Peel day was held on 12 October 2006, and a third on 11 October 2007. The BBC had originally planned to hold a John Peel Day annually, but Radio 1 has not held any official commemoration of the event since 2007, though gigs still took place around the country to mark the anniversary for a number of years afterwards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2008/10/06/john_peel_day_2008_feature.shtml |title=The Session – John Peel Day 2008 |publisher=BBC Berkshire |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="listentomanc">{{Cite web|url=http://www.listentomanchester.co.uk/gig/a4091942-87b4-4318-bae5-d862e767e637| date=1 October 2009|website=Listen to Manchester |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301071307/http://www.listentomanchester.co.uk/gig/a4091942-87b4-4318-bae5-d862e767e637 | title= Pull Yourself Together presents... John Peel Day 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-date=1 March 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, ambient duo [[Stars of the Lid]] released a tour EP ('Carte De Visite') with a track titled 'J.P.R.I.P' with a soundbyte of Peel during the intro.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1143841-Stars-Of-The-Lid-Carte-De-Visite | title=Stars of the Lid – Carte-De-Visite | website=[[Discogs]] | date=20 November 2007 }}</ref>

At the annual Gilles Peterson's [[Worldwide Winners|Worldwide Awards]], the "John Peel Play More Jazz Award" was named in his honour.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/11_november/22/r1_awards.shtml Radio 1 presents The Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards ceremony], ''BBC Press Office'', 22 November 2004.</ref>

In Peel's hometown of Heswall, a pub was opened in his honour in 2007. Named The Ravenscroft, the pub was converted from the old Heswall Telephone Exchange<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/shricthism/2188881823/|title=Former Telephone Exchange in Heswall.|date=13 January 2008|access-date=13 May 2019|via=Flickr}}</ref> but has since been renamed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whatpub.com/pubs/WIR/081/exchange-heswall|title=Exchange, Heswall|website=whatpub.com|access-date=13 May 2019}}</ref>

In 2012 Peel was among the [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British cultural icons]] selected by artist Sir [[Peter Blake (artist)|Peter Blake]] to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album cover.<ref>{{cite news|title=New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday|url= https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/02/peter-blake-sgt-pepper-cover-revisited|agency=The Guardian|date= 2016}}</ref>

Several Peel-related compilation albums have been released since his death, including ''[[John Peel and Sheila: The Pig's Big 78s: A Beginner's Guide]]'', a project Peel started with his wife that was left unfinished when he died, and ''Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio'' (2009), a 4 CD [[box set]]. Rock music critic [[Peter Paphides]] said in a review of the box set that "[s]ome artists remain forever associated with him", including [[...And the Native Hipsters]] with "There Goes Concorde Again", and [[Ivor Cutler]] with "Jam".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/turkey/kats-karavan-the-history-of-john-peel-on-the-radio-zpn26nb9qtm |title=Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |first=Peter |last=Paphides |author-link=Peter Paphides |date=12 December 2009}}</ref> A sizable online community has also emerged dedicated to sharing recordings of his radio shows.<ref>Garner, Ken. "Ripping the pith from the Peel: Institutional and Internet cultures of archiving pop music radio." ''Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media'' 10.2 (2012).</ref>

In May 2012 a campaign was started to turn demolition-threatened [[Bradford]] Odeon into the John Peel Creative Arts Centre in the North,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnpeelnorth.org/ |title=A campaign to save Bradford Odeon and repurpose it as an arts centre inspired by and dedicated to the work of John Peel |publisher=John Peel North |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref> though this was ultimately unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-30288587 |title=BBC News – Bradford Odeon live music revamp approved by council|work=BBC News |date=2 December 2014 |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref>

=== Blue plaques ===
In 2009 [[blue plaque]]s bearing Peel's name were unveiled at two former recording studios in [[Rochdale]] – one at the site of Tractor Sound Studios in [[Heywood, Greater Manchester|Heywood]], the other at the site of the Kenion Street Music Building – to recognise Peel's contribution to the local music industry.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8272332.stm "Peel studios given Blue Plaques"], ''[[BBC News]]'', 24 September 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2015.</ref>

In June 2017 Peel's widow Sheila unveiled a blue plaque in his honour in Great Finborough.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/legendary-dj-john-peel-honoured-by-blue-plaque-in-home-2349578|title=Legendary DJ John Peel honoured by blue plaque in home village of Great Finborough|first=Matt|last=Reason|date=15 June 2017|newspaper=[[East Anglian Daily Times]]|access-date=8 January 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Peel Sessions]]
* [[Alan Bangs]]
* [[John Peel Is Not Enough]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book | last=Heatley | first=Michael | title=John Peel : a life in music | publisher=Michael O'Mara | publication-place=London | date=2004 | isbn=978-1-84317-151-5 | oclc=56963874}}

== Further reading ==
* ''Margrave of the Marshes'', Autobiography with Sheila Ravenscroft, Bantam Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-593-05252-8}}
* ''The Olivetti Chronicles''. Articles for ''[[The Observer]]'', ''[[Radio Times]]'', ''[[The Guardian]]'' a.o., selected by his wife Sheila and their children. Bantam Press 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-593-06061-2}}
* ''Good Night and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Life'', David Cavanagh, Faber & Faber, 2015, {{ISBN|978-0571302475}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/ BBC – Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040822021140/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/alt/johnpeel/ Archived BBC – Radio 1 – John Peel]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/images/pdfs/John_Peel_Biography.pdf BBC John Peel Biography] ([[Portable Document Format|PDF]])
* [http://www.johnpeelarchive.com/ John Peel Archive Project]
* [http://johnpeeleveryday.blogspot.com/ John Peel Everyday]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00940m5 John Peel] on [[Desert Island Discs]]
* {{IMDb name|id=nm0670239|name=John Peel}}

{{UK underground}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, John}}
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