Legendary British disc jockey John Peel suffered a fatal heart attack while vacationing in Peru with his wife on Tuesday.
The 65-year-old received the highest praise a radio host can receive; he watched bands whose poorly recorded demo tapes he'd discovered and played on the air develop into legendary stars. There were the Smiths and Pulp, Jimi Hendrix and the White Stripes, Blur and The Dead Kennedys. He popularized drum and bass, brought punk to America, fought for reggae bands and rock bands alike with never-ending zeal.
And throughout it all, even after iconic stints on both sides of the ocean, Peel never used status to cater to rock 'n' roll's cult of celebrity. To the end, The Peel Sessions would air live shows from acts whose talent compensated for their name recognition.
The live songs he broadcast over the air became the bootlegs sought after by collectors once the band got popular. Many were released on full albums. Cat Power would show up and perform her version of \Wonderwall"" in the studio, Nirvana would debut a cover of ""Molly's Lips,"" the Liars, Von Bondies, Bis and all the comebacks of The Fall made some of their first appearances on Peel's radio show.
In honor of John Peel, Franz Ferdinand played his favorite song to close a concert Tuesday night, The Undertones' ""Teenage Kicks."" The new bands tent at the Glastonbury music showcase will be renamed the John Peel tent. Radio 1's DJs dedicated Wednesday to Peel, playing only songs he would have liked.
John Peel won't be remembered as a hero of indie-rock, or even as a hero of radio, but as a great champion of music. He will be sorely missed.
