Having just heard of the tragic news of John Peel's death I am absolutley gutted. To explain for our transatlantic friends, he was a legendary DJ on BBC Radio 1.

Right now I'd like to just sit back and listen to everything John's ever done. (Although seeing as his carrer spanned 40yrs this would take some time.)

If there was an obituary channel which specialised in quickly researching and playing archive footage of the recently deceased 24hrs a day I'd sign up. This would work for both radio & television.

I realise that there are biography channels and that main stream channels show tribute programmes but this would be more current than the biography channels and more in depth than the tribute programmes.

Thanks for the music John.
-- etherman, Oct 26 2004

John Peel Is Dead http://www.reuters....609590&section=news
thoughts are with Sheila. [calum, Oct 26 2004]

Sad news indeed. Growing up, John was like my radio Dad, and he was much cooler than DLT.
-- zen_tom, Oct 26 2004


Hear hear. John's shows definitely helped shape my musical tastes. The world will be a quieter place without him.
-- lostdog, Oct 26 2004


Television and print media have obitutuary teams who rustle up obituaries on living people who are either (a) massively famous or (b) getting on a bit, so that they can plonk them in, with little revision, when the subject croaks.

The Obituary Channel would be hamstrung by topicality. Repeating programmes well after the subject has done his or her mortal coil shuffling renders the station utterly dissimilar to existing biography channels.

Very displeased to hear of JP's death. One of the best things about him, other than the fact that he played Dutch gabba and Half Man Half Biscuit's "The Slipknot Song" on Radio 1, is that his childrens' middle names are Anfield, Anfield, Dalglish and Shankly.
-- calum, Oct 26 2004


[That's very sad. As a teenager I secretly stayed up late to tape songs off John Peel's Music, hitting "record" at just the right time, then hastily rewinding the tape back across something incomprehensible and noisy, just in time to catch the next. Each John Peel's music night would bring three, four songs that stayed, on a tape that got played until the imperfections of the recording became part of the music, because you'd never hear this stuff anywhere else on the radio. The Fall, sure; but also Mark Riley and the Creepers, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The Go Betweens, The Cocteau Twins. ...]

This could be interesting, but it would have to be raw. Edited, but not written. It would just satisfy the feelings of loss and craving for denial and review of the recently bereaved. The ghost channel. The interplay of disconnected snippets of people who had little in common other than their date of death might make something new.

[If there were a BBC Reenactment Channel that just replayed all of those shows, I think I'd listen to that more than watch the obituary channel, though.]
-- jutta, Oct 26 2004


Agree with everything you say about JP (even thought I'm a Man U fan) but I don't understand your point about the channel. There are more than likely to be a couple if not more famous deaths a week (unfortunate but true) and there would be no problem filling airspace. Yes the programmes would get repeated alot in that week, but only for that week, when they are topical, unlike discovery of the biography channel where programmes are repeated ad nauseum.
-- etherman, Oct 26 2004


The channel exists to provide information on the lives of the recently departed, ne. If the channel starts to provide information on the lives of the long or nearly long dead, it is tending towards identicality to existing biography channels, which deal almost exclusively with the dead (because the dead cannot be defamed). If the Obit Channel wishes to retain its USP in the market, it will have very limited use for its homegrown programme stock. This is not likely be very cost effective. I suppose an alternative source of income would be to sell programmes on the long dead to the Biog Channel.
-- calum, Oct 26 2004


A great man, taken too early from us.

And an interesting idea to boot, I'd certainly be watching/listening to it tonight.
P.S. I even used to louk forward to waking up early on a Saturday to listen to Home Truths..
-- neilp, Oct 27 2004


I feel deprived of his influence on my formative years. Think what I might have been. My condolences to those who knew and loved. That being said, I would find it too much to watch footage of the heroes of my youth after they are taken. Too sad.
-- k_sra, Oct 27 2004


Oh dear UB. The thought of a 'medium' doing bad impressions of Wayne & Cagney is truely stomach churning.

although I would be interested to find out if there was a heavenly recreation of the 'awwwww surely he was the son of God' episode.
-- etherman, Nov 19 2004


//As a teenager I secretly stayed up late to tape songs off John Peel's Music...Each John Peel's music night would bring three, four songs that stayed, on a tape that got played until the imperfections of the recording became part of the music//

Cool. So it wasn't just me that did that then?
-- DrBob, Nov 19 2004


'sup with Zimmy?
-- half, Apr 16 2006


Ximmy is a foolish fool. (I'm so sorry y'all!)
-- Zimmy, Apr 17 2006


sp: "Zimmy," [Zimmy].
-- Letsbuildafort, Apr 17 2006


How did this get on here?
-- egbert, Apr 17 2006



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