John Peel

john_peel
Originally uploaded by Jaqaroo.

I recieved an email last night with the line:
"Hear about Peel? Sad day"
I hadn't but some heart chilling dread tightened in my stomach. I went to the BBC News website and saw the news.
I really was stunned; couldn't believe the news; I thought he would always be around, never even thought about the fact that he might at some point die. I'm sure being able to listen to John Peel on the radio was one small aspect in my thinking of moving back to the UK, and now I'll never be able to hear his show again, or Home Truths. It really is the end of an era; an era that began for me back in the late 1970's, all through the 1980's; tuning in at 10:00... I can't think of another British public figure who I cared about or respected more than him. In no small way he influenced the kind of person I am today. I probably wouldn't be listening to the music I do if it weren't for him. I feel empty, as if I've lost something I can never get back; like a part of my life has gone, and in a way it has. He was a part of my youth and younger years. I now realize that I took him for granted; thought he would always be there; that he would be there when I finally did move back to the UK (or when I finally did get the radio working on the computer). But I waited too long and now he's gone; gone forever. No more Festive 50... 2003 was the last one. One less reason to go back to the UK? But it wasn't just the fact that he played the music that defined my youth; it was his whole approach to music and to life that made him such a great man. He was open, honest, loved life, music. He did what he loved and there no pretence about what he did or said, which is what made him so different from all the other Radio 1 DJ's, until very recently. He did what he loved and made no apology for what he loved, did it with passion and with a dry, self-deprecating and warm humour. He is a role model for living a good life that I would gladly follow. A well-rounded human being. A great man who will be sorely missed, by everyone and by me.