A Personal Tribute: John Peel

By Colin Serjent

I spoke to Phil Hayes, who ran the now defunct Picket music venue for more than 20 years, following the death of legendary DJ John Peel last October.
He became friends with Peel after the Liverpool-based band, The High Five, of which he was a member, recorded three sessions during the 1980s for his Radio One show.
"The last time I saw John was at his 65th birthday party held at his farm in East Anglia," said Phil.
"He regularly received such a mass of tapes and CDs from up-and-coming bands and singers that he suggested that even if there were five John Peel clones, they still would not be able to cope with the vast amount of music sent to him in the post."
Without doubt there will be a void in broadcasting terms in regard to who is going to replace him and deal with this deluge of new music.
Who do new bands now send their demos to with the hope of getting some radio airplay?
"John was his own man, even though he was diverse, eclectic, idiosyncratic and in some ways old fashioned," commented Phil.
"He was without question a very humble man - he did not recognise his importance and status within the music industry."
Although Peel sometimes made mistakes on his programme in playing the wrong record or at the wrong speed, Phil mentioned how very methodical he was in cataloguing his massive record collection.
"For instance, when I visited him at his home once, he was able to pick out within seconds a 1980s LP by The High Five from his collection. He handed it to me and asked me to autograph it for him.
"I was in the home of a music legend and he requested me to sign the cover of the band's record!
"He had a strong connection with the Picket. He opened the refurbished venue in 1996, and also gave us a lot of support last year in our efforts to keep it open. For instance, he sent a letter of support on our behalf to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, as well as doing a voice-over for an audio promo to keep the Picket open."
As a tribute to Peel, this year's Glastonbury Festival will have a stage, that features new bands, named after him. It's a great pity he will not be there to see them.