FANS of the legendary DJ John Peel will be glued to the small screen on Monday as programme makers delve into his priceless record collection.The broadcaster's selection of music is said to be so large it almost took over his family home in Great Finborough.
FANS of the legendary DJ John Peel will be glued to the small screen on Monday as programme makers delve into his priceless record collection.
The broadcaster's selection of music is said to be so large it almost took over his family home in Great Finborough.
But in a small, ill-kept wooden box he kept a precious selection of seven-inch singles which meant more to him than the others.
Viewers have the opportunity to look at the songs which made up that collection in a programme marking the first anniversary of his death.
The exclusive insight into his private records has been supported by his family and son Tom Ravenscroft who worked as the show's researcher.
The programme - telling the extraordinary stories behind the records and the artists who created them - features interviews and anecdotes from close friends and family including his wife Sheila Ravenscroft, Sir Elton John, Fergal Sharkey and Michael Palin.
Sheila Ravenscroft talks about the contents of the box which range from Status Quo, Sheena Easton, The Yardbirds, Laurie Anderson, Bill Oddie and Nilsson.
She also speaks about the pressure he was under by getting inundated by demos sent in from struggling artists.
She said: “When we looked through the box when John died, I was actually quite surprised - quite a few of them didn't seem to make any sense.
“I was desperate to ask him why that was in but we'll never know.
”The pressure that he was under sometimes really got him down terribly.
“He used to get quite depressed about the boxes and boxes of things that he just knew he couldn't get through. And he really wanted to but there just weren't enough hours in the day.”
John Peel's Record Box is on Channel Four at 11.10pm on Monday. It is part of the UK Music Hall of Fame season.
Did John Peel inspire your record collection? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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