The 60s saw Peel bring the likes of Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin some much needed early exposure, while the 70s saw David Bowie, Elton John and T Rex benefit from his enthusiastic patronage. So great is the amount of material recorded that these sessions have been released as a six CD box set.Īs a man whose taste kept up with the times, Peel Sessions have been an essential way to keep track of the shifting sands of musical movements. The Fall famously recorded the highest number of Peel Sessions, turning in an incredible 24 separate sessions. John Peel at 80: raising a glass to a broadcaster like no other The first track on the first album by Bauhaus, Double Dare, is taken from their Peel Session, as they felt unable to match the intensity of this version in a professional studio. Others found that their time in the BBC’s Maida Vale studios gave them better results than when they were in bigger and better studios, with time and better equipment at their disposal. A listen to some of the songs Echo and the Bunnymen recorded for him is to hear a vital step in a song’s gestation. More established bands treated a Peel Session as a free day in the studio and gave fans glimpses of work-in-progress songs. Some of our finest long lost bands who may never have had a record out were captured in their full glory on a Peel Session, such as the classic sets from Liverpool’s own Come In Tokio. To have been given a Peel Session was a mighty landmark for new bands. His desire to find new bands and new music was represented in the sessions he had recorded for his various radio shows. Peel loved it so much that he played it twice in a row and, as a result, started The Undertones on their path to fame. Legend has it that when The Undertones released their Teenage Kicks EP on Terri Hooley’s Good Vibrations label, they couldn’t afford to send out many copies of the records for promotion, so they just sent one – to John Peel. His insatiable quest for new music led him to discover and popularise dozens, or even hundreds of bands and artists. John Peel was, without question, one of the most influential figures in modern British music. John Peel (Credit: Radio 6 Facebook page)Īs a valuable archive is made available, Getintothis’ Banjo looks back at the importance of the Peel Session.
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