Celebrating John Peel

When I was 14, already a music obsessive, I joined my first band. Our hero, mentor, influence, guru was John Peel. Every night from 10pm I glued my ear to my Amstrad radio, hungry to hear new sounds, everything from Egyptian folk music to heavy dub reggae, always with a dose of The Fall and The Smiths thrown in. Nowhere else could you hear such an amazing, eclectic choice of records, always on vinyl, often played at the wrong speed to begin with (I'll never forget the Pinky and Perky version of Joy Division's 'Atmosphere'). He influenced my choice of so much culture, way beyond just the music, and continues to do so today.

One night during his show, I called the BBC switchboard and asked to speak to him. Amazingly, they put me straight through. My recollection of the conversation is rather hazy - he'd just put on a record by a band called Stump I think - but he told me to send my demo tape in with my band's name written in large letters all over it. I never sent it, I'm not sure why. Maybe just speaking to him had been enough.

I was staying in Bury St Edmunds the week after he died, and the funeral was directly opposite my hotel. I visited the cathedral the next day - thousands of floral tributes including offerings from Polly Harvey and even Elton John. This was the man who invented 'indie', who managed T Rex, who drunkenly mimed on Top of the Pops with Rod Stewart. The man who changed my life, affected and influenced hundreds of thousands of bands and artists, from Bowie to Beefheart, from Jack White to Jah Rule. I miss him so much even now.

John Peel's Shed is our tribute to him, and the writer and performer John Osborne says it all - "Music you want to hear, played by a man who wants you to hear it".

-Adrian Berry, Artistic Director

John Peel's Shed is at Jacksons Lane Tue 25 - Sat 29 Oct 8pm

Box Office: 020 8341 4421