John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004. He was known for his eclectic taste in music and his honest and warm broadcasting style.

He was one of the first broadcasters to play psychedelic rock and progressive rock records on British radio, and he is widely acknowledged for promoting artists working in various genres, including pop, reggae, indie pop, indie rock, alternative rock, punk, hardcore punk, breakcore, grindcore, death metal, British hip hop, electronic music, jungle and dance music. Fellow DJ Paul Gambaccini described him as "the most important man in music for about a dozen years".

Peel's Radio 1 shows were notable for the regular "Peel sessions", which usually consisted of four songs recorded by an artist live in the BBC's studios, and which often provided the first major national coverage to bands that would later achieve great fame. Another popular feature of his shows was the annual Festive Fifty countdown of his listeners' favourite records of the year.

Peel Sessions (Galaxie 500 album)

Peel Sessions is a compilation album of live BBC radio sessions by Galaxie 500.

Track listing

All songs written by Galaxie 500 except as noted.

  • "Submission" (Sex Pistols) - 4:10
  • "Final Day" (Young Marble Giants) - 2:54
  • "When Will You Come Home" - 5:11
  • "Moonshot" (Buffy Sainte-Marie) - 3:21
  • "Flowers" - 4:39
  • "Blue Thunder" - 3:49
  • "Decomposing Trees" - 4:04
  • "Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste" (Jonathan Richman) - 6:48
  • External links

  • Lyrics and Tablature
  • Podcasts:

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    Routine GP appointments suspended during doctor training

    BBC News 01 Apr 2025
    Routine GP appointments are set to be suspended over three afternoons while GPs doctors attend training sessions ... Appointments at Peel, Palatine and Hailwood GP practices will be affected during the first session scheduled for Wednesday ... .
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    Record Store Day reveal 2025 releases raising money for War Child – with The Cure, ...

    NME 26 Mar 2025
    Other presses include ‘Communion’ by Years & Years, ‘Be Just And Fear Not’ by Van Morrison, ‘Peel Sessions 1979-1983’ by OMD, ‘Taller In More Ways’ by Sugababes and ‘Dawn of the Rats ... OMD – ‘Peel Sessions 1979 – 1983’.
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    WATCH: Fitness fanatic's ridiculously early morning routine goes viral for all the wrong reasons

    Independent online (SA) 25 Mar 2025
    they are sleep ... The rest of the routine includes doing a few push-ups on his balcony, journalling, a face ice bath, a gym session followed by a swim, a quick shower, rubbing his face with a banana peel and another face ice bath before a meeting.
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    The 1975’s Matty Healy shares list of his favourite albums of all time 

    NME 25 Mar 2025
    Matty Healy of The 1975 has shared a list of his all-time favourite albums. Find out what made the cut below. READ MORE. The NME Big Read – The 1975 ... Matty Healy of The 1975 performs in 2024. CREDIT ... The Fall – ‘John Peel Session 15/9/81’ ... .
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    John Peel’s studio to be torn down in Maida Vale revamp

    The Times/The Sunday Times 23 Mar 2025
    The small room at the BBC’s Maida Vale recording studios hosted the famous John Peel Sessions, broadcast on Radio 1 from 1967 until the DJ died in 2004. Peel recorded 4,000 sessions with more than ...
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    The Low Culture Essay: Jeanette Leech on Elastica's The Menace

    The Quietus 19 Mar 2025
    I had started to hope for new material by this point ... Listening to it now – there is a live version recorded in Japan on YouTube, dating from the same month as the Forum show – it’s striking how much it sounds like their first Peel Session from 1993.
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