John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (Heswall (England), 30 August 1939 – Cuzco (Peru), October 25, 2004) was an English radiodisc jockey who from 1967 until his death under the name John Peel was active for the BBC.

As the champion of 'alternative' music he played, especially in the punk and post punk, an important role in the break-through of various British bands. In the mid-eighties he made some time a weekly radio broadcast for the Dutch VPRO.

Because the BBC in the past, for various reasons, but a limited share of broadcasting time should spend to gramophone records, took out Peel regularly bands for a recording session to the studio. Of these Peel Sessions, which in the best case the immediacy of a live performance with the sound quality of a recording studio, in the course of time many were released as an album. The same idea was later applied in Netherlands by Jan Douwe Kroeske in its 2 Meter Sessions .

Although Peel had a broad taste, he is mainly associated with artists from the punk era. His favorite band was The Fall and his favorite single Teenage Kicks by The Undertones.

John Peel died on 25 October 2004 during a working holiday in Peru of a heart attack.

A year later in England the first John Peel Day held. In memory of the dj performances took place throughout the country to draw attention to ' alternative ' music. In Netherlands was a stage at Pinkpop 2005 named after him. (From 1978 to 1986 was Peel presenter of Pinkpop.) In the same year was also the stage for new bands at Glastonbury Festival to Peel named.