John Peel worked for BBC Radio. He is responsible for the careers of many artists. For example, he got his hands on a copy of Laurie Anderson’s ‘O Superman’ and played it a lot. Because of this unexpected popularity in UK, Anderson found herself being offered a major label deal. This is just one example of the Peel effect! He tirelessly championed The Fall (gotta throw that in there). His “Peel Sessions” was a regular thing for years. Sooo many bands recorded Peel Sessions. I had a CD anthology of all the Wedding Present Peel Sessions. Loved that CD.

Getting played on Peel’s show was a big deal for alternative artists. A lot of bands’ and artists’ music was influenced by John Peel because they listened so much to his show and were inspired by the music they heard.

There have been radio and TV docs made about him. You can find some on YouTube.