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Thursday, October 28, 2004

Do ye ken John Peel

I was greatly saddened to hear of the demise of John Peel. If you've never heard him, or even heard of him, you missed one of the most remarkable characters in UK broadcasting history.

John Peel was what you might call a Radio DJ. But he was much more than that. He was intelligent and possessed the dry, witty sense of humour that Brits are renowned and misunderstood for around the world.

He was always a champion of original musical talent, and helped launch the careers of numerous performers by playing music from unknown bands on his late-night radio show. Playlists? Forget it. He played what he liked. And he really did like it!

But for me, his most amazing quality was that he never, ever, lost interest in music until his dying day. At the age of 65 he was still working, still looking for the edges of the envelope.

He will be sadly missed. Visit the BBC tributes page(s) to see what a few thousand other people have said.